Theme Of Deception In Twelfth Night

Throughout Hamlet, the characters consistently deceive each other to disguise their true intentions and actions. The first line of the play reads “Who’s there?” (Shakespeare, 7); these words foreshadow the multi-faceted aspects of the actors throughout the development of Shakespeare’s work. The characters deceive one another in order to achieve a specific longing for themselves. The motif of deception can be found throughout the play in the actions of Hamlet, Guildenstern, and Claudius.

Furthermore Maria cannot handle being embarrassed in front of Sir Toby so she gets aggravated, this illustrates her lack of poise. Sir Toby and Sir Andrew are up late drinking again, when Maria comes down to warn them of Malvolio coming, then Malvolio comes and says to Maria, “ Mistress Mary, if you prized my lady’s favour at anything more than contempt, you would not give means for this unveil rule. She shall know of it, by this hand” (2.3.114-117). Maria is trying to get Sir Toby to like her. When Malvolio talks down to Maria, it discourages Sir Toby to like her because she is not standing up for herself.

In the tragedy of Romeo and Juliet, I deduce that the male characters have made the most dramatic influence to its readers, thus far, in Acts I and II. In my perspective, the men bestow their standpoints profoundly and they are the initiators of numerous quarrels, which impacts the plot by amplifying suspense. To begin, Romeo commences conflict overall, by having the audacity to love the daughter of his sole enemy. "My name, dear saint, is hateful to myself, Because it is an enemy to thee. Had I it written, I would tear the word"(1024).

Shakespeare wrote very famous literature in the 1500’s that influenced our language and never ceases to amaze our culture, yet the stories are still timeless. His characters and personalities used in his stories so long ago are still relevant and can be applied to times today, nearly five hundred and sixteen years later. One of Shakespeare’s most famous tragedies is Romeo and Juliet, and he clearly demonstrates the relevant human fault of impulsiveness through his character the Friar Laurence and two very differing sides of Romeo Montague. Friar Laurence is a very impulsive character throughout his play, in situations such as the bond of marriage and his plan towards Juliet Capulet.

Malvoilo, one of Olivia’s stewards, is constantly belittling everyone around him thinking he is destined for greatness and will be known as “Count Malvolio”(2.5.32) in the future. Maria grows old with his constant chastising and comes up with a malicious plan, convincing Malvolio that Olivia is in love with him. She plots to write a letter saying, “I can write a very like my lady, your naive; on a forgotten matter we can hardly make distinction of our hands”(2.3.147-149). Maria knows how sneaky and deceiving this letter will be, and ultimately wants to mortify Malvolio to everyone. Sir Toby even calls Maria “Penthesila”(2.3.162), comparing her to an Amazonian warrior.

Play Analysis – Essay 1 “Much Ado About Nothing “ Submitted by Noor Ul Ain Shaikh (BSMS 2A) What seems to be a comedy play for an audience who enjoys a theatre with good humor and romance, “Much Ado About Nothing” contains much more than just entertainment. If we dig in deep, William Shakespeare’s play has much more than a tragic story with happy ending; even that is debatable. The theme of this play revolves around deception, plotting against your own, personal gains and rejection.

Don John, the villainous half-brother of Don Pedro, provides the perfect example of this when he hatches a plot to “misuse the Prince, to vex Claudio, to undo Hero, and to kill Leonato” (2.2.27-28). He does so, driven by jealous discontent and the vow to “make all use of it,” (1.3.36). At first it appears that his slander of Hero has ruined everyone’s plans and left the girl so “death is the fairest cover for her shame” (4.1.114). Yet the pattern of the play suggests that this kind of deception is ultimately fruitless; all of the characters who engage in it are found out, quickly caught, or foiled in their attempts to escape the consequences. Thus, it could even be argued that this sort of deception only hurts those who perpetrate it, in the

Alan Rudolph, film director, once said, “ It’s part of the general global hypnotism to accept lies as the new truth.” In the play, Twelfth Night by William Shakespeare demonstrates how characters tend to lie to benefit each other or for love. In many events, people are always lying for many reasons which can affect each individual. For example, in the play, Maria said, “ I will drop in his way some obscure epistles of love; wherein, by the colour of his beard, the shape of his leg, the manner of his gait, the expressure of his eye, forehead, and complexion, he shall find himself most feelingly personated.

In the tragic story of Othello, William Shakespeare the author suggests that when illusions become entangled in the lives of individuals, they often vulnerably become influenced, which conclusively lead to the destruction of oneself and their relationships. Iago uses this to his advantage and now puts into action of

Shakespeare’s use of honesty within this particular scene highlights how deception can be used as a justifiable means to an end, if it is eventually revealed.

William Shakespeare’s “My Mistress’ Eyes Are Nothing Like the Sun” shows that ulterior motives for love can also refer to personality and non physical features of a person. Flannery O’Connor’s “Good Country People” and William Shakespeare’s “My Mistress’ Eyes Are Nothing Like the Sun”, show that love can be influenced by an ulterior motive, through the use of specific word choice and storyline

In Act III of William Shakespeare’s Hamlet, King Claudius confesses to the murder of his brother. Riddled with rhetorical devices, the soliloquy follows Claudius’ emotional journey through intense guilt, internal conflict and urgent prayer. All of these devices imply and highlight his moral confusion as he attempts to achieve salvation. Whether it is through an allusion, rhetorical question, metaphor, simile, synecdoche, or imagery, Shakespeare utilizes rhetorical devices to underscore Claudius’ hesitancy and cowardice. Through a biblical allusion and an antithetical metaphor, Shakespeare characterizes Claudius’ confession as dramatic and regretful, but also reveals the king’s hope for an unburdened conscience.

In his play, Twelfth Night, William Shakespeare has his characters participate in the practice of deception and dishonesty of others - after all, the foundation of Shakespeare’s play resides within a lie. One of the major deceptions in the play is executed by the Illyrian countess, Olivia, as she repeatedly claims to need solitude to mourn her brother’s death in order to avoid Duke Orsino and his obsession towards her. This deception contributes to the meaning of the work as a whole by adding the thematic message, deception and dishonesty is sometimes the better option when it comes to love.     From the beginning of the play, Olivia is introduced as the grieving countess that has recently lost a brother.

Shakespeare’s renowned play Twelfth Night centers around love, both in platonic and romantic instances. Characters display elements of self, brotherly, amorous, and friendly love towards one another; however, of the relationships portrayed, the strongest ones are those between men. In contrast, relationships between men and women lack depth and sincerity due to the lapse of communication between the opposing genders. Men are able to express their feelings to one another more freely, which gives their bonds strength that heterosexual relationships fail to display.

In the play Twelfth Night, through the depiction of Orsino’s and Viola’s desires for romantic love, Shakespeare portrays how adjustable and self-delusional human romantic attraction can be, especially when blinded by wants and needs. Viola, who puts on the appearance of a man, makes everybody think she is a male. Her disguise becomes a sexual confusion throughout the play for several characters, creating an odd love triangle where Viola loves Duke Orsino, who loves Oliva, which then on the other hand loves Viola, in disguise as Cesario. On the other hand, Malvolio dreams of marrying his beloved Olivia, and gaining authority over his superiors, like Sir Toby. Shakespeare uses disguise in the play to show several confusions and internal conflicts between the characters, proving how malleable and deluded some human attractions can be.