After reading some of "Twelfth Night" I think there is so much in it
that could be analyzed. The second alternate title for the play is "What
You Will," which is almost Shakespeare saying, "get whatever you will
out of this comedy." With its similarity to stories like “She’s the Man,”
this play offers the ridiculousness of love.
One of the things I noticed right away was not just the humor, but where
the humor was coming from. When Viola disguises herself as a eunuch, and then
is described as feminine and compared to women, we get situational humor. The
same holds true for when Olivia falls in love with Viola. But there are
characters in the play who are just funny, as well. Sir Toby is a drunk, and
much of what he says is comical. He plays on words and has Andrew dance for
him, but is still able to say profound things: "What dost thou mean? Is it
a world to hide virtues in?"
Then there is the Fool. He is just returning from a trip and needs to
get into Olivia’s good graces. The first thing that happens is not in his favor:
Olivia. Take the Fool away
Fool. Do you not hear fellows? Take away the Lady.
I laughed
at this part, but he goes on to explain how Olivia really is being a fool for
her prolonged mourning.
Meanwhile,
Orsino is pining after Olivia. And it seems to be all he does, despite Olivia’s
rejections. The play seems to point out how love is what makes people foolish,
not the usual things, like being drunk or actually being a Fool. This
comparison of love and foolishness is fascinating. For further research I would
look up articles that have probably been written about the subject, but also I
might look at other plays by Shakespeare that have similar tones. I would especially
look at his other comedies to see if they might have similar themes that
Shakespeare liked to explore.
I'll mention one more direction I could go in my research. "Twelfth Night" includes a lot of pagan symbols, which doesn't strike me as odd in a story full of deception. It reminds me somewhat of some of those old greek mythological stories. I might look into the images used in the play and see how they relate to the mythology.
Interesting connection between love and foolishness! Chris and I noticed in The Merchant of Venice that love seemed to be one of the only factors that affects the moods of Shakespeare's characters (well, love and money haha). Antonio says that he's sad, but it can't be because of his business, so his friend Solanio responds with "Why then you are in love." Shakespeare seems to use love as a catalyst for all sorts of things (foolishness, nobility, improvement, revenge, sacrifice, and even murder).
ReplyDeleteThis play is really hilarious! I love it! What is interesting is that Shakespeare did this in a transvestite theater. So someone like Viola who is a girl being a guy is played by a guy who is playing a girl who is pretending to be a guy. Inception, right? Also, I like the idea of foolishness, an obvious comparison would be King Lear seeing as the fool is such a prominent character. But I looked up a source for you (http://dsc.dixie.edu/shakespeare/12thess.htm), an essay specifically about folly and foolishness which alludes to love at some points as well.
ReplyDeleteI actually just saw "She's the Man" the other day; I had no idea it was based on this Shakespeare play! (The movie is really dumb... but I'm guessing the play is a lot better haha). In this article (http://www.field-of-themes.com/shakespeare/essays/Etwlefth.htm), it talk about the role of the fool, which is to use "silly acts and wits to invade other characters that "evade reality or rather realize a dream." Maybe this could be of help.
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