Gender Roles in Twelfth Night - 2204 Words

Born on approximately April 23, 1564 in Stratford-upon-Avon, England, William Shakespeare is considered by many to have been the greatest writer the English language has ever known. His literary legacy included 37 plays, 154 sonnets, and five major poems. Among his many plays is the notable, Twelfth Night, a romantic comedy, placed in a festive atmosphere in which three couples are brought together happily. The play opens with Orsino, the Duke of Illyria, expressing his deep love for the Countess Olivia. Meanwhile, the shipwrecked Viola disguises herself as a man and endeavors to enter the Dukes service. Although she has rejected his suit, the Duke then employs Viola, who takes the name of Cesario, to woo Olivia for him. As the play†¦show more content†¦For a woman to show an interest in current affairs, to express opinions or even to write literature other than a personal diary was to exhibit unladylike and indecorous behavior (Green 8). As a minor, a girl was under the gua rdianship of her father, who arranged her marriage. As a wife, a woman passed to the guardianship of her husband, who controlled any land she brought to the marriage (Fritze 685). Under the common law, married women could not inherit or administer land, make wills, sign contracts, sue or be sued, or make trusts or bonds. The legal term for the status of married women was ‘coverture, which meant literally that a womans legal identity was ‘hidden or ‘covered by her husbands (Fritze 685). Consequently, the general assertion has often been that the roles of women in Shakespeares plays were prominent for the time and culture that he lived in. Shakespeares notion of Elizabethan gender roles, and in particular those of Elizabethan women, was presumably that of the accepted theological doctrine, which taught that Adam was created first, and Eve from his body; she was created specifically to give him comfort, and was to be subordinate to him, to obey him and to accept her lesser status. Thus, to Elizabethans the concept of sexual equality would have been anathema. A dominant woman was unnatural, a symptom of disorder (Green 2). Little conclusive evidence exists concerning the actual involvement of womenShow MoreRelated Gender Roles in Twelfth Night Essay example2154 Words   |  9 PagesStratford-upon-Avon, England, William Shakespeare is considered by many to have been the greatest writer the English language has ever known. His literary legacy included 37 plays, 154 sonnets, and five major poems. Among his many plays is the notable, Twelfth Night, a romantic comedy, placed in a festive atmosphere in which three couples are brought together happily. The play opens with Orsino, the Duke of Illyria, expressing his deep love for the Countess Olivia. Meanwhile, the shipwrecked Viola disguisesRead MoreTwelfth Night By Shakespeares Influence Of Gender Roles In Poetry1133 Words   |  5 Pages Gender roles play a major part in interpreting plays and poems. From the Early Modern English period to the 18th century and Enlightenment to present day gender roles and how they are viewed have changed. In the first piece woman were viewed as less than men and had to maneuver around to please men. As time progresses, the second piece shows how gender roles become more equal in life. This changes through time and is shown when you read Twelfth Night by Shakespeare and A Nocturnal Reverie byRead Moretwelfth night Essay952 Words   |  4 Pages Twelfth Night Essay While many will agree that Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night is critically acclaimed to be one of the most entertaining and well-liked pieces that he has written, there tends to be a discrepancy over how the characters in the play are portrayed when it comes to the importance of gender roles. After reading James C Bulman’s article over the Globe’s more recent performance of Twelfth Night and Shakespeare’s original written version, I realized that there are many ways that this famousRead MoreWilliam Shakespeare s Twelfth Night1221 Words   |  5 PagesShakespeare’s Twelfth Night is a widely known romantic comedy that was first published in 1623. Twelfth Night is one of Shakespeare’s finest works and it tends to have an affinity to modern romantic comedy films and stories. The play has love triangles, unrequited love, lies and deceit, playful comedic relief, and obstacles that interfere with characters’ goals. Many of Shakespeare’s pl ays were turned into film adaptations and many were used very loosely as source material. Hamlet had Lion King (veryRead MoreEssay Gender in as You Like It and Twelfth Night1438 Words   |  6 PagesGender Roles in Twelfth Night and As you Like It Much of the comedy in Twelfth Night and As you Like It emerges from Shakespeare’s distortion of traditional gender roles, as both plays contain strong female leads who disguise themselves as males. Though both Viola and Rosalind help their less-than-ideal beloveds woo their own objects of desire, and both disguises emerge party from the loss of a male familial figure, the women inhabit their male facades in drastically different ways. In both playsRead MoreEssay on Disguises and Mistaken Identity in Twelfth Night1372 Words   |  6 Pagesdisguise are important aspects of comedy in Twelfth Night that stand at the forefront of the play’s comedy. Not only are mistaken identities and disguise evident within the main plot of the play but also in various other situations. Sexual confusion amongst characters, subversion of gender roles and farcical elements through stagecraft all effectively contribute to the dramatic comedy genre. However, it can be suggested that certain e lements of Twelfth Night are not interpreted to be purely comedic;Read MoreHamlet And Twelfth Night Comparison Essay957 Words   |  4 Pagescomedies. Of them, Hamlet and Twelfth Night are perfect examples of both. A comparison between them could be of interest because their common points demonstrate that, however differing their genres are, Shakespeare’s plays essentially illustrate what it is to be human[1] . [2] Hamlet and Twelfth Night could both be compared through instances of body imagery, critical thought and social integration. In the first place, when it comes to body imagery in Hamlet and Twelfth Night, the first uses it as aRead MoreWilliam Shakespeares Twelfth Night Essay1146 Words   |  5 PagesWilliam Shakespeares Twelfth Night The use of genre in any literary work assist the responder in understanding the text, as prior knowledge and past experience are used by composers to construct certain expectations due to characteristics that are recognised. Shakespeare, in his play Twelfth Night uses the Romantic comedy genre and its conventions of strong themes of love and a series of obstacles and misunderstandings concluded with a harmonious union of the loversRead More Essay on Twelfth Night: A Gender-Bending Journey1574 Words   |  7 PagesTwelfth Night: A Gender-Bending Journey      Ã‚   Shakespeare enjoyed writing passionate plays about young lovers, but, after a while, the formula became exhausted and the Bard was forced to dig deeper, creatively speaking. Twelfth Night is an example of a Shakespearean love tale with a slight twist to keep things interesting. This play was the â€Å"Tootsie† of its time. Twelfth Night takes the audience on a gender-bending journey, while maintaining all the elements of true love throughout. At one pointRead MoreCompare And Contrast Hamlet And Twelfth Night1162 Words   |  5 PagesFrom Hilarity to Tragedy in Shakespeare: How Hamlet and Twelfth Night Compare By Zawadi Bunzigiye William Shakespeare wrote plays covering the breadth of human experience. They seem to have transcended the restraints of age because of the universal themes that they contain. His body of his work is comprised of genres of plays varying from tragedies to comedies. Of them, Hamlet and Twelfth Night are perfect examples of both. A comparison between them would be of interest because their common points