Essay about Mistaken Identity for Twelfth Night - 786 Words

Mistaken Identity William Shakespeare, in his well-known comedy Twelfth Night, creates a plot that revolves around mistaken identity and deception. Mistaken identity, along with disguises, rules the play and affects the lives of several of the characters. Shakespeares techniques involve mistaken identity to bring humor, mystery, and complication to the play. Many characters in Twelfth Night assume disguises, beginning with Viola who is disguised as a eunuch, Maria who writes a letter to Malvolio as Olivia, and then the mix-up between Sebastian and Viola are revealed. The instances of mistaken identity are related to many disguises in the play. Viola, who puts on male attire, begins to have everyone believe that she is a man. By†¦show more content†¦Maria and the conspirators decide to mislead Malvolio into thinking that Olivia is in love with him. Maria decides to lead him on by writing a letter, but means to be from Olivia. This love letter is meant to instruct Malvolio to do actions that Olivia despises. Maria is able to mislead Malvolio because she has the same print and seal as Olivia. Shakespeare is able to trick the characters and create many portrayals of them. The mistaken identity in this play is related to the prevalence of disguises in the play as Violas male clothing leads to her being mistaken for her brother Sebastian. Sebastian is mistaken for Viola (or rather, Cesario) by Sir Andrew and Sir Toby, and then by Olivia, who quickly marries him. Meanwhile, Antonio mistakes Viola for Sebastian and thinks that his friend has betrayed him when Viola claims not to know him. While Viola is in a sword fight against Sir Andrew, Antonio is trying to be a loyal friend by taking the place of Viola, who he thinks is Sebastian. Antonio is not liked by Orsinos court, so he is then arrested and taken away. While this is happening, Antonio asks Viola for his purse back, which he gives to Sebastian. Viola becomes extremely confused and claimed not having h is purse and being a close friend of his. Antonio takes this as deception and thinks that Sebastian, who is really Viola, is a coward. These cases of mistaken identity, common inShow MoreRelatedTwelfth night- mistaken identity1169 Words   |  5 Pagesï » ¿Coursework- The comedy in ‘Twelfth Night’ is largely generated by episodes involving mistaken identity. How far do you agree? William Shakespeare, in his well-known comic play, Twelfth Night, creates a plot that revolves around mistaken identity and deception. Mistaken identity, along with disguises, affects the lives of several of the characters. Shakespeare s techniques involve mistaken identity to bring comedy, mystery, and complication to the play. 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