William Shakespeare 's ' The Night '

Daniel stood at his desk for a moment, watching Lucinda unfold the note she had snatched from Molly earlier. He had to say something.

Twelfth Night, a romantic piece by William Shakespeare expresses a complex love triangle in the village of Illyria. One of the primary protagonists, Viola is washed up onto the shores during violent storms that separate her and her biological twin brother Sebastian. Viola is uncertain if her brother Sebastian survived. It is a coincidence, that the tragic shipwreck carried Viola to the enemy state (Illyria). Unfortunately, this forces the character to go into disguise in order to survive on the male dominated land. Viola is perhaps the strongest character in this work, maintaining her roles and ignoring temptations. The character uses Sebastian strength in his absence. On the other hand, when in Sebastian’s presence Viola becomes weak

“It was not death or dying that frightened him, but the unexpectedness of both” (14).

As I got near, a heavy silence settled over them; thicker than the uneasy tension in the atmosphere. Unsettled eyes glanced unceremoniously around at me and others tried to avoid catching any glances.

A Midsummer Night’s Dream is a masterful piece of literature that both directly and indirectly comments on the reality of control and power in Western cultures. Shakespeare’s ability to depict human nature gives us insight into how English society functioned in his lifetime, but more importantly allows us to analyze our own perspective of ourselves and the world around us. One way Shakespeare articulates his ideas is through well constructed metaphors and similies, resulting in more powerful writing. One very significant metaphor is spoken by Theseus early on in Act 1, scene 1. Egeus has brought his daughter, Hermia, to the royal court to for Theseus’s opinion on Hermia’s marriage. Egeus has arranged for Hermia to marry Demetrius, a very worthy suitor, but Hermia is truly in love with another man, Lysander. This dilemna is explained to Theseus and he states, “To you your father should be as a god;/ One that composed your beauties, yea, and one/ To whom you are but as a form in wax/ By him imprinted and within his power/ To leave the figure or disfigure it” (I.i.51-55). In summary, Theseus is defending Egeus by saying Hermia was created by Egeus and his will determines her fate. Behind this metaphor is a simple idea that proves how a desire to control can have many unintended consequences as well as negative effects. In order to understand this concept more effectively, it is crucial to analyze how influence is structured socially. The quote demonstrates

"Well, why are you here, then? You haven't brought me tea, and I'm much too busy to chat with you, Sebastian," Ciel said impatiently.

“He readjusted his spectacles on his nose, sighed, and drew the next batch of work toward him, with the scrap of paper on top of it. He flattened it out. On it was written, in a large unformed handwriting:

The envelope contained a single piece of paper with the word invite written on top of it. Martha came closer so she could see, and the Doctor started reading out loud:

"They then briefly exchanged some addresses and admonition. As for the reflections of the men, there was a great deal of rage in them. Perchance they might be formulated thus: "If I am going to drowned – if I am going to be drowned – if I am going to be drowned, why, in the name of the seven mad gods who rule the sea, was I allowed to come this far and contemplate sand and trees? Was I brought here merely to have my nose dragged away as I was about to nibble the sacred cheese of life? It is preposterous. If this old ninny-woman, Fate, cannot do better than this, she should be deprived of the management of men's fortunes. She is an old hen who knows not her intention. If she has decided to drown me, why did she not do it in the beginning and save me all this trouble. The whole affair is absurd...But, no, she cannot mean to drown me. She dares not drown me. She cannot drown me. Not after all this work.: Afterward the man might have had an impulse to shake his fist at the clouds, "Just you drown me, now, and then hear what I call you!" (Crane 7)

In any history textbook, there will most definitely be at least one example of a royal leader overthrown by their citizens. But why is it that some royal leaders, or any very powerful leaders, have trouble controlling their power? The answer is found in the amount of power the leaders possess, and how they choose to control it. The historic leaders found in history books often lose control of their power because their amount of power is too large, so it is very difficult to use it effectively. Oberon and Puck, characters in Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream, learn this the hard way, and use their power to attempt at solving the problems of the four lovers. Oberon and Puck are the characters with the most power in the play because of their supernatural advantage, similar to how a royal leader is born into their position. They create many unnecessary problems while doing this, such as Nick Bottom and Titania 's strange love, and Helena’s supposed mockery.In Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream, a large amount of power is proved as difficult to control, and too much power in the hands of only a few characters can create more problems than there originally was, because of miscommunication and poor planning of the characters in power.

William Shakespeare’s play, Midsummer Night, portray that there are natural law and society law. These two laws symbolize a balance in the world. Without one, the world will be imbalance. However, evidence of King Oberon’s actions demonstrate to the reader that he is a dictator in the play. Based on King Oberon’s actions toward cheating on his significant other while there are couples who are willing to sacrifice themselves for love, toward the Indian boy, and toward the use of the love potion, it displays his characteristic, thus proving the theme on King Oberon.

"Love looks not with the eyes but with the mind", spoken by Helena in Act 1 Scene 1 line 234, explains that it matters not what the eyes see but what the mind thinks it sees. In the play, A Midsummer Night 's Dream, written by William Shakespeare, there are several instances where the act of seeing is being portrayed. The definition of vision is the ability to see, something you imagine or something you dream. This proves that even though one has the ability to see; the mind tends to interfere and sometimes presents a different picture. Various scenes in the play interpret this act on more than one occasion. For instance, the use of imagination plays a vital role as it depicts the powers and limitations of human vision presented in this story. The artful use of seeing which allows one to notice or become aware of someone or something, sight which helps someone or something be seen and, eyes which allow one to appreciate something seen helps the audience understand just how significant the act of seeing is in the daily love affairs of each character.

At first glance, twins may seem identical, but many would argue that they behave differently with uniquely hardwired brains. In William Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night, two main characters Viola-Cesario and Sebastian are lost in a shipwreck, but later reunite with each other and along their journey, confuse many other characters while mixing one another up. Viola-Cesario and Sebastian are twins who look very similar in appearance, but nevertheless they are actually two opposite characters with different attitudes and characteristics which shape their unique behavior. For instance, Sebastian and Viola-Cesario behave differently from each other since Sebastian is an aggressive person and Viola-Cesario is a peaceful person. However, considering

Sociology teaches that society has naturally produces standards, that people are preferred to follow. Gender, arguably is basis from which all following norms branch from. Pierre Bourdieu writes in his boot “Masculine Domination”, “The social world constructs the body as a sexually defined reality and is the depository of sexual defining principles of vision and division” (Pierre 11). These divisions produce gender roles that are based on the patriarchy. Traditionally, gender roles states that men are the leaders in society and the family, while women play submissive role in raising children and caring for the immediate needs for the family. However, William Shakespeare’s Olivia, in the Twelfth Night, and Oscar Wilde’s Gwendolen, in the comedy, The Importance of Being Earnest narrative seemingly contradict orthodox gender norms. Olivia and Gwendolen both live in a social construct based on male dominance. Yet both of them upends this norm and play dominant role in both of their relationships.

Twelfth Night channelizes the spirit of festivity and celebration associated with the ‘Feast of Epiphany’, which in Elizabethan England was marked as the finale of Christmas jubilations. In it’s own way mirroring the society and it’s indulgence in feasting, drinking and the carnal pleasures which in their own right undermined the teachings of the church. It is hard to overlook the emphasis laid on indulgence and the excess of it. Characteristically a Shakespearean comedy the plot is driven by the desires of the characters and the fulfilment of those desires. But unlike other comedies (for instance, As You like It) not all characters in Twelfth night are allowed to actualise their desires. These desires guide the characters to determine the course of the play.