The Comic Journey of Twelfth Night Is Usually from the Darkness of Ignorance to the Light of Self Knowledge. Discuss This Journey in Twelfth Night free essay sample

Discuss this journey in Twelfth Night. The play, Twelfth Night, was written as a comedy, however, one can clearly see that it served many purposes such as criticizing the society of the time and as a result posed difficult questions on a society which in itself was ignorant on many issues in the society. Many characters undergo a change from ignorance to being enlightened by self knowledge. The characters start a journey from being uninformed or lacking knowledge to an instance where the mental states of the character and thus their beliefs, desires or sensations have been affected. In Twelfth night thus we look at the comedy and significance of this transition from where the characters are uninformed of certain events to where they are enlightened and either the character or world is transformed. Ignorance first arises at the start of the play. This occurs when Viola decides to dress as a man and serve count Orsino, â€Å" I’ll serve this duke; Thou shalt present me as an eunuch to him- ( 1, 2, 55-56)†. We will write a custom essay sample on The Comic Journey of Twelfth Night Is Usually from the Darkness of Ignorance to the Light of Self Knowledge. Discuss This Journey in Twelfth Night or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page This creates humor as she will appear to Orsino as a eunuch: someone who is employed in a role of secrecy, but she herself keeps her gender a secret. She does this as she is ignorant as to what her position is within Illyria and hides herself in order to deduce her role in this new and strange world. She then achieves self knowledge as she realizes that she is in love with Orsino and wants to marry him, â€Å" I’ll do my best To woo your lady. Yet, a barful strife! Whoe’er I woo, myself would be his wife ( 1, 4, 41-43)†. A comic instance is thus expressed as her means of survival in the society becomes the desire of her love. This shows she has reached self knowledge as she has fallen in love and thus her desires change her world . This is not possible at first as she herself, being a woman, cannot confirm her status and as a result she continues to conceal her true identity until she finds Sebastian. At this point she is able to show her true identity and thus her self knowledge becomes her reality as she is able to reveal her true self and profess her love to the count, â€Å" And all those sayings will I over-swear, And all those swearing keep as true in soul†¦ ( 5, 1, 260-261)†. The simile â€Å" keep as true† stresses the fact that she confirms the true nature of her love to Orsino. The fact that she conceals herself past the point where she has realized her desires is the sole reason for all further events to downplay. This allows the world to be transformed as only with the presence of Sebastian can she herself show her true appearance in gender as well as in status and can be accepted as Orsino’s lover. This in effect is Shakespeare showing social commentary due to the fact that Viola is unable to show her true identity and be accepted in the society until man confirms this. This comic instance shows the stupidity of gender inequality as Viola and Sebastian are of the same status but only with her male counterpart can she reveal a disguise which has caused much chaos and confusion throughout the play. In the case of Orsino we may observe a typical scenario where a man falls in love with a beautiful woman and is ignorant to the truth that she does not love him, â€Å"How she will love, when the rich golden shaft Hath kill’d the flock of all affections else ( 1, 1, 35-36)†. This shows us Orsino believes she will love him even though she blatantly states she is not interested in such a relationship with the count as the shaft symbolizes cupids arrow which would make her fall in love. This is humorous as he believes her rejection only shows her large capacity for love as he feels she only rejects his affections as she is in excess of mourning and this intices him to feel more strongly towards her rather than to believe the truth. This comic nature of his love is stereotypical of a man and his infatuations with a woman. The humor is then expressed to the audience as dramatic irony as his servant becomes the object of Olivia’s affections. The situation is then further complicated as his own feelings of friendship immediately turn to romance when he is enlightened that his servant is a woman and he moves to self knowledge in the fact that his own sensations and desires are changed, â€Å" Here is my hand; you shall from this time be your master’s mistress ( 5, 1, 313-314)†. This instance is where Orsino confirms his love for Viola and the alliteration in the m sound at the end of his line stresses the contradiction and importance in the occurrence. This enlightenment is comic in the fact that Viola is fired from Orsino’s service only for her to be accepted as a servant of love to the count as lovers may be seen to be servants to their spousal partners. His love of Viola, therefore, allows him to accept that Olivia will never love him and has in fact chosen another suitor and has married Sebastian. This is also a point of self knowledge for the count as he accepts the situation and his feelings of romantic love towards Olivia changes to sibling love, â€Å"To think me as well a sister as a wife ( 5, 1, 305)†. Orsino accepts this statement made by Olivia and this adds comedy to the play as it hints at jest towards incest. At the time incest was not considered noble, however, did occur and in the case of Olivia and Orsino it is true. Since Olivia unknowingly marries both Cessario and Sebastian and Orsino decides Viola will be his mistress, as a result the become romantically linked as well as becoming brother and sister in law. Shakespeare uses Orsino’s love for Olivia to criticize the fact that men often lust after woman rather than showing true love for them. He thus also shows the audience the fact that he feels love is rather through friendship and interaction rather than infatuation towards ones love. In the end we can clearly see that there is ignorance throughout the play due to the themes of appearance vs. reality such as the disguise of Viola and the social system of the time for example that woman were perceived as less important than men ( Viola needing a man to confirm she is of nobility). Self enlightenment is thus only reached when these barriers are broken and truths can be revealed. This brings realities and self knowledge to characters and as a result they change the world around them. The journey this takes in Twelfth Night becomes comic as chaos and confusion created as a result of ignorance invokes misconception in the characters and creates an atmosphere of dramatic irony and humor to downplay. Through the use of comedy Shakespeare thus poses hidden messages and questions upon the society and as a result effectively shows the faults of the society and its people.