In the name of Allah, the most beneficent, the most merciful.

Subject; Drama 1

Question: 1 Assignment:

Submitted To- Mam Iqra Khadim

Submitted by- Waseem Arshad

Roll No: 5005

Section: Morning

MA English (General) 2nd Semester

Department: English
  Twelfth Night
 By William Shakespeare

 Discuss Twelfth Night as a Comedy with examples from

Text;
 Brief background on the Twelfth Night Festival

So begin with some background on the actual Twelfth Night festival

why the play called Twelfth Night. Twelfth Night is traditionally festival that took
place on the twelfth on the Charismas. The twelfth night after Charismas is the
official begging of Carnival season. This is the time when everybody can celebrate
and act a little crazy and get it out of their systems before the Lenten season
which leads up to Easter.

So the Twelfth Night festival was considered a night of reversal presided

over the Lord of misrule. So this the night when everybody could do anything
people would often wear disguises and get up and kind of mischief it was a
generally pretty crazy party. So one the big idea was that people could have for at
least one night wanted they could be anybody they wanted to be. So king could
become peasants and peasants could become king. People could wear masks
which are familiar with others and pretend to be someone else for a night and
they could change their actual personality.

So, all these things put together you can see how they kind of relate to play
of Twelfth Night. A lot people wearing masks and disguises pretending to be
people they are not the idea of Lord of misrule or mischief lots mischief and plots
are hatched during the play so a very appropriate play for this Twelfth night.

 Features of Elizabethan
Comedy
 Separation and unification
First feature is separation and unification this one primarily related to
Viola and his brother Sebastian they were separated from each other
 in a shipwrecked. Both of them did not know which one is survive
both thought about each other that he or she is died. But by the end
of the play they are finally unified again and put back together. So we
are rooting for them throughout the play to finally get to be together
again.

 Mistaken identity
There are plenty of mistaken identities in terms of people mistaking
Viola as Cesario although she is intentionally pretending to be someone
else but particularly the point in the play which Olivia mistakes Sebastian
for Viola it actually marries brother rather than the sister would be an
instance of mistaken identity.
 Clever/trickster servants
Clever trickster and servants we definitely have that in the Twelfth Night.
So, Maria and Sir Toby and even Feste the jester are all kind of smarter than
their masters and Viola (Cesario) who is the servant of Orsino is also
smarter probably than Orsino she is probably the smarter person in the
play.

 Multiple , intertwining plots

We see multiple in ‘’Twelfth Night’’ if we list up there are may be
four to five plots in that play. The plot of Viola and her brother in which
they separated from each other in ship wrecked. We also have plot of
Orsino one sided love for Olivia. We have the plot of Viola cross dressing
and its consequences. Another plot in which servants play a trick on
Malvolio and made him a laughing stock.

 A mummer or fool
A mummer of fool off course we have beasties the jester who walks around
singing a song.

 A large solution/ unveiling/ Ah-hah! Moment

 A large solution unveiling or aha moment of off course last couple of
scenes in Twelfth Night. All of the mysteries are revealed everybody figures
out who everybody else is and how got into this situation.

 A happy ending for all

Finally, Elizabethan comedy supposes to have a happy ending for everybody

and we almost have that except for one character who is Malvolio. So everyone
gets right way into the sunset with their true love but Malvolio never really gets
any justice for the terrible things that happen to him.

 Themes of Twelfth Night

I. Illusion and Reality (Mistaken Identities)

Much of the action of the play depends on mistaken identities. Viola is

disguised as Cesario a throughout the play and is considered a man when is
actually a women. The love triangle is made possible because of this disguise.

II. Love

Twelfth Night various aspect of love-longing, attainment and so on. The

pain in unrequited love is clearly shown. Orsino pines for Olivia and Olivia pines
for Cesario (Viola). Ultimately characters end in a union with suitable people
except from one character Malvolio.

III. Cross dressing and Gender roles

In those times, the female roles were played by young boys. Like Portia in
the MOV disguises as the lawyer, Olivia disguise as Cesario.

Gender is a social concept while sexes are biological. Sir Andrew’s

cowardice does’t signifies he is not a man but signifies that one’s behavior. Should
be stereotyped.
The cross dressing bring together both the sexes and sets aside the difference
between them.

IV. Class and Society

There is clear distinction between the various classes in the Elizabethan

age. In the theaters, the aristocratic occupied the seats while the groundings
stood around the stage. In the Twelfth Night, the class angle is visible. Sir Toby
can rebuke Malvolio since he occupies higher strata.

“Summary of Twelfth Night”

Characters list;

 Duke Orsino
 Olivia
 Viola (cesario)
 Sebastian
 Uncle Toby
 Andrew
 Maria
 Malvolio
 Antonio (Captain)

Summary:

In the kingdom of Illyria , a nobleman named Orsino lies

around listening to music , pinning away for the love of Lay Olivia. He cannot have
her because she is in mourning for her dead brother and refuse to entertain any
perposal of marriage. Meanwhile , off the cost , a storm has caused a terrible
shipwreck. A young, aristocratic women named Viola is swept onto the Illyria
shore. Finding herself alone ina strange land, she assumes that her twin brother,
Sebastian, has been drowned in the wreck, and tries to figure out what sort of
work she can do.
 A friendly sea captain tells her about Orsino’s courtship of Olivia , and Viola
says that she wishes she could go to work in Olivia’s home. But since Lady Olivia
rfuses to talk any strangers, Viola decides that she cannot look for work with her.

Intead she decides to disguise herself as a man on captain’s advise , taking on the
name of Cesario, and goes to work in the household of Duke Orsino.

Viola (disguise as Cesario) quickly becomes a favorite of Orsino, who makes

Cesario page. Viola finds herself in love with Orsino a difficult love to pursue , as
Orsino belives to be a man. But when Orsino sends Cesario to deliver Orsino’s
message to the disdainful Olivia, Olivia herself falls for the beautiful young
Cesario, belives her to be a man. The love triangle is complete: very ironic
situation creates on that spot. Viola loves Orsino, Orsino loves Olivia, and Olivia
loves Cesario and everyone is in complete unknowing and comic situation.

Viola loves Orsino Olivia loves Cesario

Orsino loves Olivia

Meanwhile we meet another member of Olivia’s household: her rowdy

drunkard of an uncle , Sir Toby, his foolish friend , Andrew Agicheek , who is trying
inhis hopeless way to court Olivia’s witty and pretty waiting-gentlewoman , Maria
,Feste, the clever clown of the house , and Malvolio , the dour , prudish steward
of Olivia’s household. When Sir Toby and others at Malvolio constant effort to
spoil their fun, Maria engineers a practical joke to make Malvolio think that Olivia
is in love with him. She forges a letter, supposedly from Olivia, addressed to her
beloved , telling him that if he wants to earn her favor, he should dress in yellow
stockings and crossed garters , act haughtily , smile constantly , and refuse to
explain himself anyone. Malvolio finds letter, assumes that it is addressed to him,
and, filled with dreams of marrying Olivia and becoming noble himself, and
happily follows its commands. He behaves so strangely that Olivia comes to think
that he is mad.

Example from text:

‘’If this fall into my thy hand, resolve.

In my stars I am above thee, but be not afraid of greatness; some are

born great some achieve greatness and some have greatness thrust upon’em.”

Act-2, Scene-V

Meanwhile, Sebastian, who is alive after all but believes his sister viola to
be dead , arrives in Illyria along with his protector, Antonio in spite of the fact he
and Orsino are the old enemies.

Sir Andrew observes Olivia attraction to Cesario challenges Cesario to duel.

On the spot when Andrew and Cesario involving a in a clash Viola (Cesario) ran
away from the scene and Sebastian comes. Sir Andrew and Sir Tobey begin to
fight with Sebastian who looks just disguise of viola. Olivia enters and insulting
them and saved Cesario amid confusion. Encountering Sebastian and thinking he
is Cesario , she asks him to marry her. He is baffled, since he has never seen her
before more than the walling to go along with her.

Meanwhile, Antonio arrested by Orsino’s officers and begs Cesario for help
mistaking him for Sebastian. Viola denies knowing Antonio.

Malvolio supposed madness has allowed the gleeful Maria, Toby, and the
rest to lock Malvolio into a small, dark room for his treatment. Feste dresses up as
“Sir Topas”, a priest and pretend to examine Malvolio , declaring him definitely
insane in spite of his protest.

Eventually, viola and Orsino make their way to Olivia’s house, where Olivia
welcomes Cesario as her husband, thinking him to be Sebastian, whom she has
just married. Orsino is furious but when Sebastian appears on the scene and all is
revealed. The siblings are joyfully reunited, and Orsino realizes that he loves Viola
, now that he knows that she is a woman, and asks to marry him.
 We discovered that Sir Toby and Maria also married privately. Finally
someone remembers and lets him out of dark room. The reveled in full, and the
embittered Malvolio storms off, leaving the happy couples to their celebration.