Duality Themes In Twelfth Night By William Shakespeare

â€Å"An apple cleft in two is not more twin / Than these two creatures† (5.1.218-219). Abundant in parallels, William Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night is a comedy of disguise and confusion. Before it even begins, the theme of doubles emerges in the title, as the play also has the subtitle What You Will. However, this theme reaches beyond clever naming. Shakespeare uses pairs to comment on the similar experiences shared between people despite differences in the total journey. An illustration of the duality theme is between Olivia and Viola. Even without knowing the story, these two ladies seem to be connected as their names are almost anagrams for each other. Although, the true parallel between them is initially revealed in the second scene of Act†¦show more content†¦(3.1.156-159) This rejection of love is doubled between Olivia and Orsino. The duke sends messengers to Olivia to declare his love to her and refuses to give up. She has clearly grown tired of this, and when Viola (Cesario) first arrives, she tells her steward to say she is â€Å"sick, or not at home† (1.5.104). To complicate matters more, both of the ladies suffer from unrequited love. As described previously, Olivia is denied love from Viola. Similarly, Viola herself is denied love from Orsino. In these ways, the parallels between Olivia and Viola’s relationships highlight that being rejected of love and rejecting love are both universal occurrences in the lives of human beings. Besides depicting the theme of doubles with Olivia, Viola is used as the counterpart of her twin, Sebastian. Of course, on the surface, the fact that these two are twins is an example of Shakespeare using doubles. Yet, the purpose of using them as such is revealed in the experiences they face. After the shi pwreck, Viola and Sebastian were separated. However, their stories are almost identical in many ways. For example, the first time they each appear in the play, they are accompanied by a sea captain, both of whom are detained within the timeframe of the story. Antonio’s arrest is a prevalent part of the play,Show MoreRelated A Comparison of Romantic Love in A Midsummer Nights Dream, The Tempest, and Twelfth Night1505 Words   |  7 PagesDream, The Tempest, and Twelfth Night In all of Shakespeares plays, there is a definitive style present, a style he perfected. From his very first play (The Comedy of Errors) to his very last (The Tempest), he uses unique symbolism and descriptive poetry to express and explain the actions and events he writes about. Twelfth Night, The Tempest and A Midsummer Nights Dream are all tragicomedies that epitomise the best use of the themes and ideology that Shakespeare puts forth. NaturallyRead MoreWilliam Shakespeare s A Midsummer Night s Dream And Fool1401 Words   |  6 PagesThe Shakespearean fool is a recurring character type in the works of William Shakespeare. While their individual personalities and functions differ from play to play, the reoccurrence of the Shakespearean fool suggests that fools serve as an important institution of the Shakespearean stage. But what is the role of the Shakespeare’s fools in his works? And how do particular characteristics about these fools help them achieve this purpose? Through an in-depth analysis of Shakespeare’s arguably two