The Brilliant Comedy of Shakespeares Twelfth Night Essay

School House Rock teaches that â€Å"three is a magic number.† We see threes all over the place: id, ego, superego; mother, father, child; father, son, holy ghost; reading, writing, ‘rithmatic. One place where the magic of three does not fit is in romance. Sex (conventionally and biologically) only has room for twos: sperm and egg; man and wife; big spoon and little spoon. Groups of three in the world of love create tension for the characters and audience, and the discomfort with the situation and sense of powerlessness leads to comedy. Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night has central love triangle between Cesario/Viola, Orsino, and Olivia; the excesses and complications within the triangle causes disorder for the characters and audience, and†¦show more content†¦Instead of processing this much information, Viola resigns herself to the conclusion, â€Å"It is too hard a knot for me to untie† (2.2.39). Her plight is an unsolvable riddle, and Viola reli es on time and fate to solve her problem. Since she is not in control of the situation, she is powerless to do anything but observe. Since we cannot jump onstage and de-mask Viola, we, as audience members, are also powerless observers. The lack of control strikes us as funny because all we can do is enjoy the clever ride the play is taking us on. Furthermore, when such plot complications arise, the audience finds several layers of humor. Together, we laugh with Viola at the comedy of Olivia falling in love with someone who is incapable of loving her back. Viola explains, â€Å"My master loves her dearly,/ And I, poor monster, fond as much on him,/ And she, mistaken, seems to dote on me† (2.2.31-33). Viola acknowledges the absurdity, of the triangle, and we are all on one page. Then, she goes on to say, â€Å"As I am a woman now, alas the day,/What thriftless sighs shall poor Olivia breathe!† (2.2.36-37). We not only laugh at Olivia’s stupidity of â€Å"falling† (both in love and for the disguise) for Cesario/Viola, but now find humor in the pain of Viola’s conundrum. She feels she is a â€Å"monster,† a freak of nature, which is incapable of finding happiness. She feels bad for herself, asShow MoreRelatedCritique Of Twelfth Night1746 Words   |  7 PagesEmma Rice revamp s Shakespeare’s comedy Twelfth Night into a dazzling musical production, full of modern twists and references that encompass the original core of the play. In this eccentric production, comedy and music take center stage, supported by technical factors such as set, lighting, and sound, but brought to life by brilliant costuming, wondrous music, and the superb acting and singing abilities of the cast. Rice takes several liberties with the original structure and text of the play, manipulatingRead MoreStar Of The Sea By Joseph O Connor Essay1478 Words   |  6 Pagesyeomanry. Lastly, the lower class which were your laborers and beggars. It is also famously known as the Golden Age of English history, as English literature and theater reached its peak during this period (Queen Elizabethan I Era). Shakespeare’s comedy, Twelfth Night, or What You Will was written in this time so this idea of social class plays a part of this piece of literature. Researchers believe that Shakespeare challenges the norm of social rank and class at this time. He achieves this by theRead MoreWilliam Shakespeare1735 Words   |  7 Pagesnot a rose by any other name smell as sweet?† William Shakespeare, a name we have all heard at some point, but who is he? William Shakespeare, the man who has influenced our culture through his various literary works. What is the truth behind the brilliant man whom penned the renowned words filling the pages of the ever significant Romeo and Juliet, Much Ado About Nothing, or The Tempest? William Shakespeare was born William Shakspere. Aside from contemporary and popular belief, it is a common misconceptionRead MoreEssay on Biography of William Shakespeare2736 Words   |  11 Pageshis fathers shop so that he could be taught everything his father knew and soon take over the business. But instead he was the apprentice to a butcher because of the trouble in his fathers financial situation. Just what happened to alter John Shakespeares financial and social position after the mid 1570s is not clear. Shakespeare was still allowed a lot of free time when he was young. This was suggested by historians that his plays show more ideas of hunting and hawking than do those of other play