Describe the Different Forms of Disguise and Deception...

Deception and disguise are two key themes in Shakespeares Twelfth Night. As in most comedies, Twelfth Night celebrates different forms of disguise and deception in order to make the play more entertaining. It also develops a strong connection between the main plot (with Viola, Orsino, Olivia, and the others) and the sub-plot (involving Sir Andrew, Sir Toby, Malvolio, and Maria). Disguise and deception appear in many different ways throughout the story. One of the most overt examples of disguise is through the character of Viola. This is the origin of much of the deception in the play. Stranded in Illyria after a shipwreck, she dresses as a male in order to work as a Eunuch for the Duke Orsino. Thou shall present me as an eunuch to†¦show more content†¦Malvolio’s lack of self-criticism or self-awareness makes him vulnerable to Marias plan to ridicule him. The most obvious, almost worst deception in â€Å"Twelfth Night† is Sir Toby having a false friendship with Sir Andrew. Sir Toby is disguising himself as a jolly, lively man to be friends with, when behind Sir Andrews back, he is nasty (sniggering with Fabian), ruthless (not caring about Sir Andrews life when it comes to the duel between Cesario) and selfish (only being with Sir Andrew for his money and wanting his niece Olivia to marry him). When Shakespeare put him in the play, he intended Sir Toby to be the funny, but also arrogant and nasty character who helps devise the plan. The most interesting character of â€Å"Twelfth Night† is Feste. He has such a double character that shows at different times of the play. His first ‘character’ or ‘personality’ is his wise and humorous one: ‘I am not tall enough to become the function well, nor learn enough to be thought a good student.’ Although he is meant to be the fool of the play, he is actually the wisest of them all. However his other personality, which is kept deep down until near the end of the play, is feisty and dark which is confirmed when he says, ‘Then you are man indeed, if you be no better in your wits than a fool.’ (IV.1) ‘Nothing that isShow MoreRelatedHow Shakespeare Explores the Theme of Deception and Self-Deception in Twelfth Night2536 Words   |  11 PagesHow Shakespeare Explores the Theme of Deception and Self-Deception in Twelfth Night Deception is the use of deceit that deceives everyone around you including yourself. It is the fact or state of being deceived. It can be a ruse or a trick in disguise, which deludes, giving a sense of indirection. It’s a misleading falsehood. One can deceive by running away from even their true self either physically or mentally. Self-deception on the other hand is the act of deluding oneselfRead MoreTwelfth Night- Literature Cape Unit !7125 Words   |  29 PagesTwelfth Night Criticism William Shakespeare and The Twelfth Night Known for his tragedies, comedies, sonnets and love stories, William Shakespeare is argued to be one of the best writers of his time. Throughout his plays, including The Twelfth Night, he uses disguise and deceit to fool the other characters to benefit another. Shakespeare was born in April of 1564 in the town Stratford-upon-Avon. Although the exact date of his birth is not known, historians traditionally celebrate it on the 23rdRead MoreLogical Reasoning189930 Words   |  760 Pages................................................................ 34 Discount Indicators .......................................................................................................................... 37 Rewriting Arguments in Standard Form .......................................................................................... 38 Conditionals and the Word If ............................................................................................................. 40 DeductivelyRead MoreIgbo Dictionary129408 Words   |  518 PagesDuring the 1990s, the manuscript was partly typed without alteration into a Word processor, originally an Apple-based system. This was transferred to an IBM system quite recently, but without any conversion of the character codes. It seems that two different systems of coding diacritics were used and more than two IPA phonetic fonts. Furthermore, for some reason, the typing of the grammar sketch which precedes the manuscript is incomplete. In order to make the manuscript available, I have therefore joined