mistaken identities and misunderstanding within twelfth night

‘Comedy relies on familiar sources of misunderstanding’. To what extent are mistaken identities and misunderstanding central to the comedy of ‘Twelfth Night’? Much of the Shakespeare’s ‘Twelfth Night’ focuses on misconceptions and the way disguises cause the root of misunderstandings in which mistaken identities arise, a fortuitous device for complicating action. Critic John Hollander described the play to be a ‘ritualized Twelfth Night festivity in itself’ . The comedic aspect is all due to the privileged position that the audience hold, consuming more understanding of the true situation than the characters themselves. It also manages to expose the habits and pretences people in the modern world take for granted, thus linking to†¦show more content†¦Cesario soliloquizes and rhetorically questions ‘I left no ring with her; what means this lady?’. By inserting a caesura the effect of it portrays and emphasises ‘his’ change in tone, juxtaposing with the image portrayed of a romantic relationship, the passage also being formed of a natural and conversational style. Notably, the gift of the ring shows similarity to the commemoration of the coming of the Three Magi bearing gifts. Epiphany, a Christian feast held on Jan 6th, blessed the revelation of God the Son as a human being . Significantly, gender identity and deceptions cause the romantic complications that are presented. There is a plot parallel between Shakespeare’s play and the Italian ‘Gl’Ingannati’, dated 1531, as the main theme for both is the mistaken identity largely prevalent. Folly and bawdy humour are generated from the sub characters. With Sebastian introduced, the issues of mistaken identity end culminating in sudden marriage. Similarly, Fabrizio returns and everything is rushed in his infatuated based relationship and engagement with Isabella. Through the visual human pun of twins used by Shakespeare in both ‘Twelfth Night’ and ‘Menaechmi’, alongside the Italian ‘Gl’Ingannati’, the siblings manage to tap into an innately human fascination. Shakespeare incorporates a feminine twist to the action presented from Act 3 Scene 1, later generating Helmuth Plessner’s belief that comedy comes from desensitization of a character. ThisShow MoreRelatedThe Limitations Of Frye s Green World 1729 Words   |  7 PagesWhat are the limitations of Frye’s ‘Green World’ model as applied to ‘Twelfth Night’ by William Shakespeare? Twelfth Night was thought to be written in 1600-1. The play – known for adhering to a genre of romantic comedy by utilising pathos combined with humour – is listed under comedies in the First Folio of 1623 with another of Shakespeare’s works As You Like It. Twelfth Night adheres to Frye’s theory to some extent. 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