Shakespeare 's Theatrical Device : The Benefits Of Mistaken Identity Essay

Deceit and trickery play a huge part in the play Much Ado About Nothing by William Shakespeare. Deception is a key theme in the play, it also moves the plot along. Trickery and deception is used in the love stories of couples Hero and Claudio, and Benedick and Beatrice, with opposite results. This play demonstrates two different kinds of deceit: the kind whose only purpose is to cause trouble, and the kind that is used to form a good outcome. In the relationship of Hero and Claudio, deception nearly succeeds in breaking them apart forever, while in the case of Benedick and Beatrice, it brings them closer together.

Disguise is one of Shakespeare's favorite ploys found in varying degrees in each of the mentioned works. Through it he alters the identity of an individual (frequently female character, though not always) and uses this disguise to heighten irony, develop theme, and enhance subtle comic innuendo. In As You Like It, Shakespeare develops specific ironies where the dialogue takes on new meaning when the true identity of the speaker (or hearer) is placed over the dialogue. By having characters in disguise, Shakespeare opens the door for all kinds of comic twists from the shepherdess in love with the "shepherd" Ganymede who is really a girl (Rosalind) to Orlando sharing feelings of love to Ganymede who is really Orlando's love Rosalind in disguise. The difficulty in maintaining a disguise or hidden identity is shown in the desire to say and experience things in the one identity than can only be accomplished by the alter identity which compounds the verbal comedy in the mistaken meanings of what is being said. In Measure for Measure, the Duke uses disguise and mistaken identity to reveal the truth about Angelo's character. At the same time this disguise provides comic moments as Lucio speaks of the Duke to the Duke while unaware of the Duke's identity.

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.

One of the most argued cases in history is whether or not William Shakespeare was the one to write his own plays, or if he had someone else write them for him. There are numerous amounts of arguments agreeing that Shakespeare wrote his plays, and then there are numerous amounts disagreeing with his penmanship of “his” plays. According to some sources, Shakespeare was an impractical choice to write such famous works of art due to his lack of traveling, and his lack of education (Hechinge). These theories come into play when explaining that Shakespeare was, indeed, a fraud.

In William Shakespeare 's play 1 Henry IV, deception is a recurring theme. Main characters King Henry IV, Hotspur and Prince Hal deceived people to benefit themselves. Were these characters deceiving their subordinates to gain power or were their choices and actions political strategy geared toward gaining honor and maintaining the well-being of the nation? All three main characters deceive people to gain power which can be seen as an act of malice and disloyalty but also as a political strategy. King Henry deceives King Richard II into believing that he is on his side while he is secretly planning a rebellion, Hotspur does the same to King Henry by deceiving him into thinking that he is on his side while also secretly planning a rebellion and Prince Hal deceives the kingdom’s people into thinking he is this wild child so they will be more impressed with him when he becomes the mature prince and adequate potential leader he was expected to be all along. All of this deception brings up the question, do the characters use deception purely for their own benefit or for the benefit of the greater good? Shakespeare 's use of deception for power shows these three characters true intentions, for King Henry IV deception is used to gain power to benefit the kingdom while on the other hand, for Hotspur deception is used to gain power for his own benefit and the benefit of his family while in Prince Hal’s complicated case, deception is used both for his own benefit and ultimately the

Given the religious turmoil of the time and the horrendous executions to criminals, why did William Shakespeare choose to mostly write comedies? Did Shakespeare not understand the mood of society, or perhaps did he write exactly the type of plays that everyone needed to see? To fully understand why William Shakespeare chose to write of amusing scenarios, its important to know what society in his time was like: sorrowful, argumentative, but also enlightening. Amidst the troubles of religion and despairing sights of death, theater rose to the top of many people’s hearts.

William Shakespeare lived and wrote over 400 years ago, but his wonderful plays continue to entertain and influence the audiences of the Twenty-First Century. Despite the outdated content and language of his works, Shakespeare’s plays remain popular with modern readers and play watchers for another reason. In all of his works, including William Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet, he uses countless literary devices and techniques to affect the mood of the audience and enhance their enjoyment. He utilizes puns and juxtaposition to create a comical or light hearted mood. He also uses dramatic irony and oxymorons for a dramatic or serious mood. Although Shakespeare’s work does not include modern language or modern situations, the literary devices that he uses work to keep an audience of any time feeling involved

Can someone pretend to be another person and come back being the same person as before? In many of William Shakespeare’s plays, the change of identity has been a success for many primary characters. Most notably, in comical plays, female characters have had the intention of changing not only their identity but their gender for a temporary period. The ploy of mistaken identity is a useful plot device that Shakespeare has used because it is a good way to get the audience humoured and have them thinking about when or how will the true identity be revealed. The mode of mistaken identity is a theatrical device that has been around before the Elizabethan era but in the interest to Shakespeare, the device is more innovative and effective throughout many of his plays. In any manner, the word “identity” is a difficult word to define because there are various ways of comprehending the word when people identify one another. One person can identify themselves in different situations such as being a party animal at nightclubs on Friday nights to being super religious on Sunday mornings at church. In both cases, a person can have a hard time sticking to one identity because it may challenge them to know if they are representing a good reputation towards society. For this reasoning, pretending to be another person is somehow a great way to find out their own self because it makes them realize who they are really are after the experience of temporarily being someone else. In terms of

Throughout the English Renaissance in Elizabethan England, William Shakespeare developed a 23 year old legacy in which he wrote 37 distinct plays¹. Despite being the young age of 26 when he wrote his first play, Henry VI Part One, Shakespeare quickly became recognized as one of the greatest writers of all time. As a testament to his achievements, countless modern words and phrases are tranced to numerous Shakespearean plays and works. For instance, in the play Macbeth, the first use of the word, “assassination”, was found in Act 1 Scene 7, whilst Macbeth was contemplating the risks and consequences of his upcoming deed². Additionally, the phrase “A sorry sight” originated from Macbeth, being used while Macbeth describes the state of his hands

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The Theme of Appearance vs. Reality in William Shakespeare's Works Characters within one of William Shakespeare's greatest tragic plays,

Shakespeare has a difficult task entertaining the rowdy Elizabethan audience, especially during the exposition of the play, which sets up the entire plot. The audience needs to be engaged and invested in the play, otherwise many of the Elizabethan audience would throw food and furniture on stage or vandalize the theatre in response. Shakespeare employs a variety of techniques throughout the exposition of the play in order to do this, by creating tension between characters, introducing scandalous plots and unresolved issues right at the beginning of the play leaving the audience waiting for an answer. This essay will explore Shakespeare’s techniques and methods of engaging his Elizabethan audience.

“In roughly built playhouses and cobblestone inn yards, an extraordinary development took place in England in the 1500s.” (Yancey, 8). At that time, an opportunity combined to produce literature achievement never before witnessed in the history of drama and theater. The renaissance, helped spark this movement by inspiring scientific and artistic creativity throughout the land. Models began writing dramas that portrayed life in both realistic and imaginative ways. This created work later captured the attention of the world that changed the English drama. The many aspects of Elizabethan theater helped to shape the acting and theater world forever.

The concept of disguise has been known and used since the beginnings of drama, but this concept was most famously known for being used in plays written by the biggest playwrights of the Elizabethan era— especially for being used in William Shakespeare’s plays. What do we mean by disguise? In broad terms, it would mean pretending to be something that one is not. The concept of disguise can mean changing behavior, or hiding intentions, the most frequent form of disguise is the change of ones personal appearance, usually through the changing of clothes, to mask ones true self. Shakespeare used disguises in various ways in his plays; As You Like It, Measure for Measure, The Merchant of Venice, and Twelfth Night were all plays in which Shakespeare used the concept of disguise as a device to further the plot, it was sometimes even used for comic relief. Disguises can be used both maliciously and/ or morally, depending on its use and its influence on the characters. In both Merchant of Venice and Measure for Measure, both Portia and Duke Vincentio donned a disguise to pursue justice how they saw morally fit, but ultimately their deception was only for selfish gain; Portia disguises herself to save a friend, and Vincentio disguises himself to know the true feelings of his subjects, both manipulate the law in the name of justice while in their disguises.

love with him when of course she is not. The letter also says that to