Twelfth Night Character Analysis

Literature, is certainly the most influential playwright of the English Renaissance. Born in 1564 in Stratford-upon-Avon in rural northern England, he was the son of a middle class glove maker. Competing against such illustrious company as Christopher Marlowe and Ben Johnson, Shakespeare quickly became one of the most popular playwrights in the city of London, and a favourite of the monarch, the powerful Queen Elizabeth I. Shakespeare wrote thirty-eight plays. "Twelfth Night" was written near the middle of Shakespeare' career, around 1601, and most critics consider it as one of his greatest comedies.

Since the mentioning of his brothers in the beginning of the book is was evident that Antonio was not like his brothers. Antonio was meant to be an

The moment I have decided to write about is right after the ship wreck leading into Violas transformation. In theatre Calgary’s interpretation of “Twelfth Night”, the director took a much more comedic and modern twist on the play in the use of modern references and the elimination of most tragic scenes from the performance. The standard script was seamlessly turned into a silly classic due to the amazing designs of Old Trout Puppet Workshop, and the ability to make the simplest things comedic. A lot of their set and costumes where based off of puppetry. This became a key component in the ship wrecking scene, when you saw a tiny vessel filled with heads to resemble a ship floating across a massive painted landscape of the moving sea. The heads where incredibly large compared to the size of the ship which made it quite the comedic scene. The vessel was skillfully

Since the beginning of the play, Viola (Cesario), who is disguised as a male, has been showing how much she loves Orsino. For example, when Orsino told her that convince Olivia to marry him, Viola says, “Whoe’er I woo, myself would be his wife.” (I.iv.42). In the same way, Antonio has been showing how he cares about Sebastian by helping him around Illyria. For instance, he jumped in the sword battle against Sir Aguecheek, thinking that he was saving Sebastian from him even though he knew there would be consequences if Orsino’s men found him in Illyria.

In Hamlet: Prince of Denmark, Shakespeare uses the tragic hero to contribute to the tragic vision of the work, through the suffering brought upon other characters from Hamlet such as, Ophelia, Laertes, and Gertrude. The story takes place in Elsinore, Denmark. In the late middle ages around and in the royal palace.

What would it be like to identify as a someone else, or even as a different gender? Thrilling yet confusing, and even troublesome, Twelfth Night’s theme of identity is shown within the romantic comedy through various ways. As an essential subject establishing rich symbolism and imagery, it uses disguises, mistaken identify, and crafty characters’, which causes much confusion between the individuals of the story. It examines the gender roles in Twelfth Night relating to the history of Renaissance/Elizabethan Theatre of males playing female roles, for women were forbidden to act—a male actor would play a female character (Viola) who disguises herself as a male (Cesario). Through What You Will, the theme of identity proves that “nothing that is

Antonio’s spiritual and religious confrontations help him mature throughout the novel and helps him discover himself. Antonio learns that death is inevitable and that God cannot always answer questions about life, you must experience it and answer those questions yourself. Antonio accepts all of these lessons that come from these experiences which eventually matures him into a

There are numerous examples of same sex romantic attraction and commitment in Twelfth Night, including situations where characters believe the object of their affection is the same biological sex as their beloved. One example of this is Sebastian and Antonio’s relationship. However, Antonio is attracted to Sebastian, who is of the same sex while Sebastian does not reciprocate the same feelings. Instead, he merely views Antonio as a friend. An example of Antonio’s commitment is during the scene when Sebastian decides to leave his clingy friend behind and tells the truth about his background. Antonio states, “If you will not murder me for my love, let me be your servant” (II.1.32-33). Antonio cares about Sebastian’s well-being, considering the

Antonio is a character whom it could be argued does not receive a happy ending. It is easily identified by particularly modern audiences, that Antonio is a character who may have homosexual desires. The language used in: ‘my desire, more sharp than steel, did spur me on’ could be interpreted as rather lustful especially the words ‘sharper than steel’ which suggests sexual imagery. This circumstance of mistaken identity, when Antonio is in trouble and mistakes Cesario for Sebastian, for some audiences leans more towards tragedy than comedy because the consequences are more severe. We see how betrayed Antonio feels in the line ‘how vile an idol proves his god!’ Antonio worshipped Sebastian like an idol, and ‘relieved him with such sanctity of love’, only to discover he is the ‘beauteous evil’. The audience may feel pity towards Antonio; this is something they will want resolved. It can be argued this does happen when Sebastian returns. This may have been a good enough resolution for an Elizabethan audience, as many of them will have had no desire to see a homosexual pairing, and perhaps Sebastian’s marriage to Olivia would leave them satisfied that no homoerotic acts occur. The question to Antonio’s happiness never seems to be resolved,

The other plot, when Sebastian is influenced by his good friend Antonio, who had gained power over Milan, during the putsch against Prospero, is made by the members of aristocracy but has the same cruelty as

The play appears to suggest that Bassanio was right to caution Antonio to suspect "fair terms

Antonio and Sebastian are very intimate with one another and have become very loyal to each other. This is shown quite evidently throughout the play many times. An example of this is when Antonio wants to go with Sebastian to Illyria to make sure he is safe, he tells Sebastian, “But, come what may, I do adore thee so that danger shall seem sport, and I will go” (Act 2, Scene 1, lines 40-41). Deep down inside, Antonio feels a shrill desire to follow and help his friend on his travels. Although

It is clear from Antonio’s first scene that he has an infatuation and devotion to Sebastian, Viola’s twin brother whom the former rescued from a shipwreck, in some form or another. Though the nature of these feelings are left ambiguous, Antonio’s cares for Sebastian is apparent in how he worries about the young man and wants to travel with him in Act II scene 1. The thought of being apart from Sebastian is something Antonio does not want to imagine or see become reality, and he even goes so far as to ask “If you will not murder me for my love, let me/be your servant” (II.1, 32-33). The idea of dying by a lack of love or rejection is reflected in many of the characters throughout the play, mostly from Orsino in regards to Olivia, however Antonio reacts to this idea differently. Instead of lamenting at the rejection, or perhaps even enjoying the rejection of love, as many of the other characters do, Antonio takes action and follows after Sebastian to Orsino’s court despite the danger he will face, citing “But come what may, I do adore thee so/That danger shall seem sport, and I will go” (II.1, 43-44). This can be seen again in taking up Viola’s fight against Sir Andrew Aguecheek after he mistakes Viola, dressed as Cesario, for Sebastian in Act III. Antonio is in the court of the most powerful man in Illyria, who wants to arrest him for piracy, and is still willing to fight to protect the person he believes he loves. His love has driven him to madness, like many other

    Sebastian's presence in William Shakespeare's Twelfth Night: or What You Will is a vexation. More pointedly, it is his sudden marriage to Olivia which troubles me so. Was he written in to give a parallel storyline between Olivia and Viola? Was he a convenient way to have a double wedding, which Shakespeare seemed to prefer for his happy endings? Or, could there be some other meaning to Sebastian?

In this scene, Antonio is talk to Bassanio. He is telling Bassanio not to feel guilty for what has happened. It his own fault for putting himself in this position. He believes that he is lucky, “For herein Fortune shows herself more kind/ Than is her custom” (4.1.279-280) In this quote, Antonio is saying he got off easy. He knows that “herein Fortune” is being kind but letting him die instead of making him an unhappy man who has to live with what has happened to him. This way he does not have to live in poverty for the remainder of his life. Antonio went on to tell Bassanio to speak well of him to Portia after his death. Hoping he will tell her about what a great friendship they had. He does not want Bassanio to feel guilty for what has happened to him, but only feel sad because of the great friend h is about to lose. He also makes sure Bassanio knows that he does not regret that he paid his debt for him. He knows that if Shylock cuts deep enough, Antonio will be paying it with all of his heart instantly.