Gender in Shakespeare’s plays with a special reference to Twelfth Night The Renaissance Society viewed men’s and women’s role differently. Men were seen as having the ruling voice as fathers ,husbands ,masters ,teachers ,preachers ,soldiers ,lords etc. The public life was virtually impossible for women and indeed having a public reputation would generally involved a woman in scandal. There were exceptions such as Queen Elizabeth and Bess of Hardwick but the rule was to see women as at their best
Twelfth Night by William Shakespeare has often an over-looked theme of gender roles. Female homoeroticism, motive of mutual obligations, and sexual attraction are all major aspects of gender roles in the play that are not always identified. Jami Ake, Camille slights, and Casey Charles help analyze the importance of gender roles in Twelfth Night by explaining how relationships throughout the play are more than just a romantic comedy, but a slightly more complicated romantic comedy than what is the
Shakespeare’s play, Twelfth Night provides a great deal of insight into the gender roles that existed in Elizabethan society. In this period, both men and women were strictly held to separate sets of explicit standards, expectations and values. For example, women were expected to have guardians and protectors, and men were expected to be courageous. Those who violated the accepted gender norms, such as cowardly men, or overly independent women, would have been frowned upon, or insulted. Contradictorily
“In Twelfth Night conventional expectations repeatedly give way to a different mode of perceiving the world” (Greenblatt 1187). This is exactly what happens when a closer look is given to the way Shakespeare addresses the concepts of gender and morality in the play. The audience of the day who accepted a distinct division of gender into masculinity and femininity – based on sex – and of morality based on absolute good and bad was given a different interpretation of these taken-for-granted definitions
and Puchner 31). During this time in history, two of the most legendary playwrights, William Shakespeare and Jean-Baptiste Poquelin, also known as Molière, introduced their timeless plays to the world. Two of their greatest comedic plays were Twelfth Night; or, What You Will, by William Shakespeare, and Tartuffe, by Molière. Though these two plays were
English Literature Comedy in Act 1 of Shakespeare's 'Twelfth Night' Shakespeare's 'Twelfth Night' greatly includes elements of mistaken identity and gender - crossing disguise within act one which follows the outline of Elizabethen comedy. As well as that, dramatic methods are used to add to the comedic effect of the play. Also, farce and satirical aspects included within this act build the tension to form the ultimate effect. To begin with, Viola being shipwrecked in Illyria disguises herself
Comedies William Shakespeare’s comedies cover an array of themes associated with sexuality, from gender reversals to the same-sex relationships. Yet, perhaps the most consistent and prominent focus of his plays is homoeroticism. Since this theme of homoeroticism proceeds from the prohibition of women on English stage, consequently young female roles were typically played by young boys, which may have played a role in the theme’s reoccurrence (Bullion 1). A suggestion made by Stephen Orgel explains that
also a good theme to write about as it reveals human weaknesses and foibles. Twelfth Night or What you Will, was written in the 1600s’ by William Shakespeare, whereas The Importance of Being Earnest was written in the 1890’s by Oscar Wilde. The title Twelfth Night suggests that there will be ticks and jokes as the twelfth night of Christmas was full of jokes and tricks that would be led by ‘The Lord of Mis-rule’, this role could be associated with Maria as she organised the trick on Malvolio.
Relationships William Shakespeare’s comedies cover an array of themes associated with sexuality, from gender reversals to the same-sex relationships. Yet, perhaps the most consistent and prominent focus of his plays is homoeroticism. Since this theme of homoeroticism proceeds from the prohibition of women on English stage, consequently young female roles were typically played by young boys, which may have played a role in the theme’s reoccurrence. A suggestion made by Stephen Orgel explains that the prohibition
THESIS: Love has positive outcomes, but can lead to negative outcomes such as deception, confusion and lost identity. In Shakespeare’s play, Twelfth Night, deception is displayed as the central theme. In act I, scene two, Viola, a captain and sailors arrived in Illyria after a ship wreck. During the shipwreck Viola believed her brother, Sebastian, had drowned. However, the captain of the ship eased Viola’s worries by stating he saw Sebastian holding on to the mast of the ship. Once Viola’s worries