Describe the Different Forms of Disguise and Deception That Feature in “Twelfth Night”

In studying William Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night, or What You Will, it becomes clear that the theme of “Inside/Outside” is visible at many different levels. One of the comedic methods applied is the mistaken identity of Viola and Sebastian. Another case is Malvolio’s sudden change of character and clothes. Furthermore, Feste, who acts as a professional fool in the play, turns out to be a bright and wise character, against the expectations of the readers. Without these important elements where the characters show to be entirely different on the outside than on the inside, the play would be less intriguing, and moreover, they are essential to develop major scenes.

Although he does not make any profound remarks, he seems to be the wisest person of all the characters in the comedy. Viola remarks this by saying, "This fellow's wise enough to play the fool"(III.i.61). Since Feste is a licensed fool, his main role in Twelfth Night is to speak the truth. This is where the humor lies, his truthfulness. In one example he proves Olivia to be a true fool by asking her what she was mourning about. The point Feste tried to make was that Olivia was mourning for a person whose soul is in heaven.

In William Shakespeare's comedic play, Twelfth Night, a recurring theme is deception. The characters in the play used deception for a variety of purposes. Viola's use of deception involves her disguising herself as a man in order to obtain a job with the Duke of Illyria, Orsino. On the other hand, Maria, Olivia's servant, writes a letter to Malvolio in Olivia's handwriting to make Malvolio act foolishly because of his love for Olivia. While some use deception as a means of survival, others use deception to trick others and make them act foolishly.

“better a witty fool, than a foolish wit” (1.5.327). Here, Shakespeare uses Feste to articulate his

     Deception is a key theme in William Shakespeare's Twelfth Night. The characters must use deception to obtain good things, escape bad situations, or to play cruel hilarious ticks on other people. One example of deception is when Viola clothes herself in men's clothing in order to obtain a job under the Duke of Illyria, Orsino. During another scene Sir Andrew, Fabian, Maria, and Sir Toby Belch trick Malvolio into making a fool of himself. A third example of deception is when Feste the jester disguises himself as Sir Topas and taunts Malvolio. Each of these scenes and characters helps depict the different uses of deception.

Obstacles are found in many situations, especially true love when disguise is involved. The mistaken identity of one has a powerful effect on the rest of the characters in Shakespeare’s twelfth night as it creates problems for true love. Aside from Shakespeare’s others, the play focuses on mistaken identity/disguise and unrequited love. Disguise truly is an obstacle for true love to prevail in twelfth night. The obstacle of disguise that occurs in the play will be analyzed by exploring situations, character’s thoughts, and the result of poor decisions made.

In the Shakespearian play: The Taming of the Shrew, deception is one of the major concepts. A tangled web is created in the play through deception of character behavior and the change between clothing and class. Most of the deception in the play have particular motives behind them and create dramatic irony. Shakespeare has used dramatic irony to create a comedic play.

However, his statement “Thou say thou art a man.” (Act I, Scene V, line 30) Is short, blunt and definite, proving that he is in fact oblivious to her deception. This is yet another example of dramatic irony, as only the audience and Viola are aware of her true identity. This irony shows us that Orsino has been outsmarted by a female, straying from the traditional patriarchal views of women and consequentially reinforcing Dusinberre’s critique of the text. In our modern society, with this current new wave of feminism, this message is particularly relevant, and so would arguably have a greater impact on an audience than the shame felt from Twelfth Night would. If it is to have a greater effect, then it is superior to Shakespeare’s evocation of shame, and thus feeling ashamed cannot be the ultimate effect of Shakespeare’s Twelfth

      William Shakespeare's classic romantic comedy, Much Ado about Nothing and tragic history, Macbeth revolve around the theme of deception, trickery, and concealment. There are portrayals within these two plays that depict deception and trickery as merely harmless and even beneficial. In some cases the characters are thoroughly masked in their lies; for ill or well, they are hiding who they truly are. In other cases, the person they attempt to hide is merely obscured, the masks being only a slight deterrent from their real personalities. Sometimes they are harmless diversions; sometimes they are even beneficial tools to be utilized for one's

In Twelfth Night, the fools are the ones that control the comedy and humor in the play. They assist in the make believe game and fool around with characters who "evade reality or rather realize a dream". In Twelfth Night, Feste, Maria and Sir Toby are the fools that make the comedy work in many senses. They create the confusion through humor and it all works out in the end to make William Shakespeare's Twelfth Night a comical play of his time and today. In Twelfth Night, the clown and the fools are the ones who combine humor and wit to make the comedy work, just like in many comical plays in today’s society. Modern audiences would laugh from the foolery caused by these characters while the comic truth is unwinding to build up this comedy.

Malvolio is mislead at one point of the play by Maria and Sir Toby. They write him a fake letter that is supposedly from Olivia saying how much she loves him. He only believes the letter because he loves her so much and will believe and do whatever it takes to be with her. This is his down fall with what appears to be a good situation for him, but is actually people playing tricks on him. He acts how he really feels in front of Olivia to only turn her off, and because of his own pride causes him to act foolish.

This line shows how Malvolio thinks he is much above Maria’s social status as he considers her a peasant and himself a noble man. This compels the audience o enjoy witnessing the downfall of the supposed ‘villain’ who has overstepped the bounds of his social position and attempted to destroy the festive spirit of the foil characters: Maria, Sir Andrew and Sir Toby.

Shakespeare shows the connection between disguise and deceit in Goneril. Goneril uses flattery as a disguise. She disguises her personality towards her father, King Lear. Towards the beginning of the play, Goneril is portrayed as a sweet, compassionate daughter who only wants what is best for her father. A great example of this from the text is when Goneril says, “Sir, I love you more than word can wield” (Shakespeare, 11) and “As much as child e’er loved, or father found; A love that makes breath poor, and speech unable. Beyond all manner of so much I love you” (Shakespeare, 11) to her father. Everything Goneril said to her father about how much she loved him turned out to be false. Goneril used flattery as a disguise to conceal her true feelings in order to receive land and power from her father. We know that Goneril’s speech was fictional because when Lear decides to spend time in Goneril’s castle later on in the play, she tells her servants to neglect him. When King Lear says “O you, sir, you, come you hither, sir. Who am I , sir?”, Oswald says “My lady’s father.” This line is important important because King Lear thinks very highly of himself since he is the king and the steward Oswald looked at King Lear as his lady, Goneril’s father not a king.

Deliberately falsifying information for personal gain causing an ensuing conflict is a motif clearly contrived within William Shakespeare’s tragedy Antony and Cleopatra. Deception is represented within the protagonist, the queen of Egypt, Cleopatra, a tempting seductress who has a false relationship with Antony only for personal motives. Within the play Cleopatra fabricates illnesses, deceives Antony’s love through her betrayal at sea and likens Caesar to a god, Antony’s enemy, all to achieve attention and advance politically. Created in 1606 during the Elizabethan era the characters within the play are based on an imaginary and partially real concept of historical characters. Shakespeare showcases Cleopatra as a woman unlike many of the time, holding power over man. In the visual representation a mask, ships on a stormy sea and a serpent are used to represent the act of deception. Antony’s fatal attraction to the queen, and Cleopatra’s hidden desires bind the two together to create a falsified love on public display that is fueled by deception.

Critique of the status quo is at the core of the Twelfth Night. It is said that Queen Elizabeth I’s controversial reign at the time informed the play’s content. She, in fact, used to like to invite theater companies to her palaces against public opinion (SparkNotes Editors) and saw a performance of the play in question (SparkNotes Editors). In her medieval England, people met the idea of a female monarch with hostility (Castor), because there had never been one until her ascent to the throne. Ergo, the challenge to tradition that was Queen Elizabeth I’s reign most likely to lead the discussion of gender roles in Twelfth Night.