Essays on Twelfth Night

Essays on Twelfth Night

This page contains the best examples of essays on Twelfth Night. Before writing your essay, you can explore essay examples - note their structure, content, writing style, etc. The process of creating an essay about Twelfth Night generally consists of the following steps: understanding the assignment, identifying the topic, collecting information, organizing the information collected, developing the main statement, writing a draft. At the editing stage of the draft, its coherence is improved, essential material is added, non-essential is omitted and a smooth transition between the individual parts of the Twelfth Night essay is ensured. Then the structure and content of the paragraphs are corrected, individual words and sentences are polished. After editing, the draft is subtracted, and spelling and punctuation errors are corrected.

Read More
We've found 223 essays on Twelfth Night

Essay examples

Essay topics

information

Consideration of the Role of Feste in Twelfth Night

Shakespeare portrays Feste as a well-drawn, wise, cunning, adaptable character. His character is used in Twelfth Night to reflect on the actions and emotions of the others by keeping himself at a distance from the other characters and not becoming emotionally involved in any of …

Essay ExamplesNightTwelfth Night
Words 1183
Pages 5
Discuss the dramatic significance of Feste in Twelfth Night

“Feste is an observer. He sees through people. Though he’s a kind of entertainer, who will only perform for money, what he chooses to sing to people is intentionally relevant. People find the truth very hard to deal with: ‘…Peace, you rogue…here comes my lady’. …

Essay ExamplesTwelfth Night
Words 2698
Pages 10
How does Shakespeare Present the Role of Feste in Twelfth Night?

In William Shakespeare’s comedy Twelfth Night the character of Feste is a solitary wit surrounded by fools. His occupation is that of Olivia’s paid fool, which she inherited from her father, ‘Feste the jester… a fool that the Lady Olivia’s father took much pleasure in. …

NightTwelfth NightWilliam Shakespeare
Words 1786
Pages 7
Haven’t found the relevant content? Hire a subject expert to help you with
Essays on Twelfth Night
$35.80 for a 2-page paper
Get custom paper
essays on topic icon
Does Malvolio deserve his fate?

Malvolio’s character and the misfortunes he encounters though out Twelfth Night provide a lot of the play’s comedy scenes. His haughty and pretentious demeanour makes him easy to dislike, yet the treatment he receives is at times a little undeserved and leads to the issue …

DeceptionHuman NatureTwelfth Night
Words 1887
Pages 7
How Does Shakespeare Present Aspects of Folly in Twelfth Night?

All or most of Shakespeare’s plays contain playfulness and foolishness and within ‘Twelfth Night’ there are many examples of this. All these examples of folly add to the overall humour of the play. Throughout ‘Twelfth Night’ the theme of foolishness links the plot, characters and …

Twelfth NightWilliam Shakespeare
Words 1181
Pages 5
Who Are the Fools In Twelfth Night?

In this essay I will be exploring Twelfth Night and focusing on the extent at which folly is used to create humour. The word folly means “a silly person” or “one who uses folly for the entertainment of others” etc. In William Shakespeare’s comedy, Feste …

Essay ExamplesTwelfth Night
Words 1891
Pages 7
Twelfth Night: How does Act one, scene 1-3, serve as an effective opening to the play?

1. How does Act one, scene 1-3, serve as an effective opening to the play? Comment especially on the way in which Shakespeare establishes the overall atmosphere, main characters, important relationships and key elements of the main plot and subplot. In Act 1, scenes 1-3, …

ActsLoveTwelfth Night
Words 4383
Pages 16
An exploration of the different types of love in Shakespeare’s Twelfth night

What does Shakespeare convey about the nature and variety of love in this play? Shakespeare explores a great variety of themes in this play, the main one being love and its many different natures. The aim of this essay is to examine the text to …

ExplorationLoveTwelfth Night
Words 965
Pages 4
Viola’s Gender Roles in Twelfth Night

The fluidity and ambiguity with which Viola presents gender is central to the drama of Twelfth Night. But to what extent are Viola’s gender roles essential to the comedy of the play? The arrivals of Viola and Sebastian in Illyria serve as the catalysts for …

Gender IdentityTwelfth Night
Words 130
Pages 1
Melancholy in Twelfth Night

Twelfth Night is the merriest of Shakespeare’s romantic comedies, it is also the saddest. The Christian associations of the title suggests the carpe diem theme which runs through the play. Epiphany, according to Christian mythology, is the time when the shepherds recognized the birth of …

Essay ExamplesTwelfth Night
Words 2477
Pages 10
Disorder of Society in Twelfth Night

Your lord does know my mind; I cannot love him; Yet I suppose him virtuous, know him noble, of great estate, of fresh and stainless youth; in voices well divulged, free, learned, and valiant; and in dimension and the shape of nature a gracious person; …

CourageDeceptionLoveSocietyTwelfth Night
Words 1937
Pages 8
How does Shakespeare manipulate and vary the mood throughout Act 2 Scene 3 of Twelfth Night?

In the opening to this scene Shakespeare creates a comic atmosphere by the use of jovial characters; Sir Toby and Sir Andrew. They are carousing in a drunken, noisy celebration and are shortly joined by Feste. However the merry atmosphere is cut short by the …

ActsTwelfth Night
Words 614
Pages 3
Fools Tell All They Know or The Wisdom of Feste in Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night

Almost all of Shakespeare’s plays have a clown character. Clowns were popular and amusing, and were simple characters that the lower class audience members could relate to, amidst all the royal people plays were populated with. But the clowns in Shakespeare’s plays served a dual …

Twelfth NightWisdom
Words 1434
Pages 6
The Theme of Secrecy in Twelfth Night

Secrecy is an important element in any plot. It creates irony and sometimes situational comedy. The way in which a character keeps or reveals a secret affects the plot and adds to the main theme of the work. Viola, a character in Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night, …

Essay ExamplesTwelfth Night
Words 1045
Pages 4
Sex and Gender in Twelfth Night

Sex and Desire The nexus of gender, desire and sexuality have long been a source of considerable interest, but no more so than in the plays of William Shakespeare. Specifically, in their original production and for some time afterwards, common practice dictated certain roles for …

GenderHegemonic MasculinityTwelfth Night
Words 1032
Pages 4
A Study of Homoeroticism in Twelfth Night

Twelfth Night is a major site for homoerotic discourse in queer studies. However, the play is largely concerned with the idea of love, like many of Shakespeare’s comedies. In order to investigate his subject further, Shakespeare periodically uses homoeroticism in order to represent various forms …

Essay ExamplesGenderHomosexualityMasculinitySexTwelfth Night
Words 2342
Pages 9
Characteristics of Orsino in Shakespeare’s Twelfth Knight

Love is desirable, everyone is in search of it, but some take it too far. Some let it control you, and reveal characteristics that ought not to be revealed. Orsino, in the twelfth knight for example let’s love control him revealing aspects of his personality …

NightTwelfth NightWilliam Shakespeare
Words 877
Pages 4
Comparison Between Twelfth Night and the Rivals

Final Paper A0981150??? Compare Twelfth Night with The Rivals, both of them are comedies evolving around several couples. The two plays contain the device of disguise and mistaken identity. In Twelfth Night, Viola disguises herself as Cesario, which attracts Orsino and Olivia; while in The …

Essay ExamplesFinanceTwelfth Night
Words 487
Pages 2
Structure of Twelfth Night

Examine the ways in which Shakespeare uses structure and language to dramatise the comparisons between different kinds of love in Twelfth Night focusing on Act 5, Scene 1 and one or two other scenes of your choice.  Twelfth Night is thought to have been written …

Essay ExamplesLoveTwelfth Night
Words 2867
Pages 11
Love Versus Lust and Desire

Love vs. Lust and Desire (The Twelfth Night) Love and lust can often be mistaken for each other by unsuspecting and naive characters. In William Shakespeare’s The Twelfth Night a majority of the characters experience learning the difference between whether lust is the same as …

DragonEssay ExamplesTwelfth Night
Words 985
Pages 4
Assessment of Malvolio in Twelfth Night

When he speaks to Cereals (aka Viola) he says “And one more thing that you never be so hardy to come here again. ” This shows us that although he strives to be as “Puritanical” as possible, there are some things that he does have …

Essay ExamplesTwelfth Night
Words 725
Pages 3
Twelfth Night Explores the Nature of Love

The play Twelfth Night explores many different types of love between it’s characters. With so much love and so many different levels and kinds, love easily appears to be the central theme of the play from the complex love triangle between Viola, Oliva and Orsino …

NatureTwelfth Night
Words 390
Pages 2
Twelfth Night by William Shakespeare

Biographical information about the author: William Shakespeare, born in 1564 in Stratford-upon-Avon, Warwickshire, England, was an English poet and playwright. Shakespeare was believed to have been educated at the King’s New School in Stratford about a quarter-mile from his home. At the age of 18, …

Twelfth NightWilliam Shakespeare
Words 71
Pages 1
Analysis of the Characters in Twelfth Night

Twelfth Night is a comedy and a marvel. This play conveys many messages that are seen by the audience, but not seen by the characters in the play. There are many points involving love, friendship, conflicts and confusion. Twelfth Night displays characters that are mad, …

Essay ExamplesTwelfth Night
Words 1118
Pages 5
Concealment in the Twelfth Night

British Literature: Concealment in Twelfth Night Throughout Twelfth Night, concealment influences each character’s life because it’s essential to portray how falsehood can be amusing or agonizing before they can discover their identity in life. Therefore, the concept of concealment not only affects the characters’ mistaken …

Essay ExamplesTwelfth Night
Words 1216
Pages 5
Twelfth Night Coursework Assignment

5. “Conceal what I am” Explore the theme of disguise and deception in “Twelfth Night” William Shakespeare’s ‘Twelfth Night’ is based around disguise in the form of deception. In ‘Twelfth Night’, disguise takes many different shapes from physical to mental disguise. One of the major …

Essay ExamplesTwelfth Night
Words 2655
Pages 10
How far do you think Twelfth Night succeeds as a comedy?

When one considers the convention of the Elizabethan romantic comedy, a light-hearted tale of love in which obstacles are overcome- often to resolve with a marriage, Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night certainly challenges the convention. Although the resolution of the joining of three couples: Orsino and Viola; …

ComedyLoveTwelfth Night
Words 1827
Pages 7
Twelfth Night: Interpretations Through the Directors Staging

Twelfth Night: Interpretations through the Directors Staging Antonio: I could not stay behind you: my desire, More sharp than filed steel, did spur me forth; And not all love to see you, though so much As might have drawn one to a longer voyage, But …

Essay ExamplesMasculinityTwelfth Night
Words 2017
Pages 8
Twelfth Night, 3.1.1-26

Michael Nodurft English 208 Mrs. Walter Twelfth Night, 3. 1. 1-26 Jan. 30 2007 True Lies Reading this conversation between Viola and Feste the clown there is definite multiple meanings to each of the words that they both say. You can tell that Viola’s wit …

ConversationEssay ExamplesTruthTwelfth Night
Words 967
Pages 4
Melissa Younan Twelfth Night

However, Olivia does not return this sentiment and has sworn off marriage while mourning the death of her dear brother. Under the orders of the Duke, Viola goes to Lady Olivia in pursuit to convince her to marry Rosin, though she herself has grown to …

Essay ExamplesLoveTwelfth Night
Words 942
Pages 4
check icon

Find extra essay topics on Essays on Twelfth Night by our writers.

Twelfth Night, or What You Will is a romantic comedy by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written around 1601–1602 as a Twelfth Night's entertainment for the close of the Christmas season. The play centres on the twins Viola and Sebastian, who are separated in a shipwreck.
Originally published

February 2, 1602

Characters

Viola, Malvolio, Duke Orsino, Olivia, Feste, Sebastian, Sir Toby Belch, Sir Andrew Aguecheek

Author

William Shakespeare

Frequently asked questions

What is the overall message of Twelfth Night?
In Twelfth Night, Shakespeare presents a comedic story of mistaken identity, love, and self-discovery. Viola, the play's protagonist, disguises herself as a man named Cesario in order to serve Duke Orsino, with whom she has fallen in love. However, Orsino is in love with the Lady Olivia, who in turn falls for Cesario. Meanwhile, Viola's twin brother Sebastian arrives in town, and the two are mistaken for each other. As the plot unfolds, the characters must grapple with their own emotions and desires, as well as with the challenges of navigating a world in which social roles and expectations are not always clear. In the end, love triumphs and all of the characters are able to find happiness.The overall message of the play is that love is powerful and can overcome any obstacle. The characters must learn to trust their own feelings and instincts, and to be open to the possibility of love in all its forms.
What is Twelfth Night about short summary?
The play is set in the festive season after Christmas and follows the story of Viola, who is shipwrecked on the coast of Illyria and believes her twin brother Sebastian has drowned. Dressed as a man, she enters the service of Duke Orsino and falls in love with him, while he pines for the beautiful Olivia. When Olivia falls in love with Viola, thinking she is a man, all sorts of comic confusion ensues. In the end, Viola is reunited with Sebastian, Olivia marries Orsino, and the foolish Malvolio is punished for his arrogance.
What is one of the major themes of Twelfth Night?
One of the major themes of Twelfth Night is love. The play is full of love triangles and mistaken identities, and love is a central motivator for many of the characters. Viola falls in love with Orsino, who is in love with Olivia, who falls in love with Viola (thinking she is a man). This tangled web of love is further complicated by the arrival of Sebastian, Viola's twin brother, who is also mistaken for Viola by Olivia. As the play progresses, the characters sort out their feelings and pair off with the person they are truly in love with. In the end, love triumphs and everyone lives happily ever after.
What were three 3 main conflicts in Twelfth Night?
1) Viola's inner conflict between her true identity and the disguise she must assume in order to survive and find her lost brother.2) The conflict between Olivia and Viola (or Cesario") over the affections of Duke Orsino.3) The conflict between Malvolio and the other characters, who conspire to trick and humiliate him."

Save time and let our verified experts help you.

Hire writer