Essay on Appearance vs Reality in Othello and Twelfth Night

In the beginning, Viola was grieving because she thought that her brother was lost in the ocean. She was very convinced that he died. Viola tells the sea captain that she wants to dress up like a man so she could serve Duke Orsino. She wants to do this because

Usually most of us have an appearance that lies behind another appearance but as we go through life we either get tired from hiding it or learn that we should always show our true self no matter the situation we’re in. when we don’t show our true self, its either because we are afraid of what people will think of us or change our true it to please others. Shakespeare demonstrate the character’s appearance as two different books combined in one. Shakespeare keep playing constantly with the characters appearance and misleading the audience. Shakespeare distinguish 3 different types of appearance in the play.

Outward appearances are not always comparable to inner character. Identity is not the only thing that can be concealed. Penned letters and vocations of love can also be masked and coupled with dishonesty. In Shakespeare’s As you Like It, after Duke Frederick Banished Rosalind from his court, Rosalind disguises herself as a boy named Ganymede and enters the forest of Arden.

Shakespeare’s King Lear exhibits characters whose disguises make significant class distinctions by shedding light on the lower class and bringing forth the different approaches of disguises as portrayed in the play by Edgar, Kent, and King Lear.

As Viola “transforms” into her brother via a wig and clothing, she realizes that biological differences are not the only things that distinguish her from her brother, and that she is more in touch with her feminine side than she thought. Though Viola has learned to do things in a “manly way” such as spit, walk, talk, and look like a man, she cannot deny her female feelings she has developed for her male roommate, Duke. She is forced to repress the habitual way she acts emotionally, physically, the way she talks, and daydreams. She has to completely alter her identity, but still finds herself retreating back to her feminine side. She sometimes experiences a Freudian slip and says, “you’re so hot” to Duke and then has to correct herself and say

Viola realizes that her portrayal of a man are morally wrong, and have brought wicked ways into her life. However, she is stuck in this disguise, because she can not tell Olivia the real reason she, or Cesario, can not love her. She is stuck in her own

This act shows that Viola puts up an appearance to meet her goals, but in reality she is a totally different

In the play Viola’s actions caused a lot of confusion by dressing up as a man. She dressed up as a man and fooled everyone. But her doing that made Olivia fall in love with the wrong person. And that possibly ruined the duke’s chances with Olivia.

Appearance vs reality is a theme in the Shakespearean tragedy Othello, and it is one of the most

With Viola being able to hold on to such a great task as the one she is put in being a woman and pretending to be a man. The fact that she is able to put her emotions aside to still be able to find her brother. Shows Viola as being one of the greatest actors to ever be presented. I agree with Bloom, from Shakespeare: The Invention of the Human, on how he feels about Viola, as a character. He is concept along with how I feel Viola not only takes on the costume, but speaks in such a way that demands someone to pay attention to her. She is the only character who offers true feeling, as she comments: "Write loyal cantons of contemned love And sing them loud even in the dead of night..." (I.V). Not only is she poetic, but she is demanding in her tone: "O, You should not rest Between the elements of air and earth But you should pity me" (I.V). In a monologue, she expresses such a poetic version of her love. Bloom is correct in stating that Viola is a great actress. Her speech and unwavering affection make her the only "true" character in the play.

Friendship is present throughout Twelfth Night in the form of Viola and Orsino, and Antonio and Sebastian. Viola and Orsino quickly become friends after Viola, disguised as Cesario, enters Orsino’s service. However, unbeknownst to Orsino, Viola is in love with him! When Orsino entrusts Viola with a message for the woman he loves, Olivia, she becomes conflicted between her emotions and her wish to remain loyal to him. Despite Viola’s affection for Orsino, she chooses not to betray her master’s trust and delivers his message to Olivia: “I’ll do my best/ To woo your lady. . . Yet, a barful strife!/ Whoe’er I woo, myself would be his wife” (Shakespeare 1.4.41-43). Viola might love Orsino, but she values the mutual trust they already possess. She disregards her personal feelings in favour of treasuring the close friendship they have.

Shakespeare uses the idea of disguise in many of his plays. It is used as an escape from the characters’ personalities and sometimes for comic effect. In As You Like it, the disguise becomes very comical as in the time it was written only men could act on stage. This could lead to much confusion and comedy in the roles of those in disguise. Disguise can give the freedom to a character to act how they like and a chance for them to show their views. It was in the 16th Century that there became an increased sense of self consciousness and identity. This led to people creating an image for themselves. If one can create a self, they can create many different versions of themselves each showing a different aspect of that person. This links in

Sir Toby finally has to point out that "‘accost' is front her, board her, woo her, assail her" all in all this makes a very confusing scene. The other two women (Viola and Olivia) are used to add comedy through mistaken identities, since Olivia believes Viola to be a man and falls in love with her. In (2.2.20-21) Viola discovers that Olivia is in love with her and exclaims: "For she did speak in starts distractedly. She loves me, sure; the cunning of her passion". While there are a great deal of comedic scenes there are also those with great sentiment in them.

Appearance vs. Reality in William Shakespeare's Hamlet In Hamlet, one of Shakespeare's greatest tragedies, there is a prevailing theme that is concurrent throughout the play. Throughout the play, all the characters appear to be one thing on the outside, yet on the inside they are completely different. The theme of appearance versus reality is prominent in Hamlet because of the fact that the characters portray themselves different from what they really are. In the play, Claudius, Hamlet's uncle, appears to be a caring, moderate man on the outside, but he is using his loving personality to mask his true traits of a selfish, mean, cold-hearted murderer.

Also, perhaps Viola is in disguise herself.  She can see through other people's disguises or flaws, that not even they are able to spot.  Some characters are deceived about their true nature.  An example of this is that Orsino sees himself becoming "one self same king" of Olivia's "sweet perfections", fulfilling her sexual desire, thought and feeling "liver, brain and heart".  He naively believes that he is in love with Olivia when he has never really conversed with her.