Thursday, October 23, 2008

Purpose of Disguise and Mistaken Identity in 12th Night

Through the cross dressing, mistaken identities, and multiple characters masquerading in disguise in Twelfth Night, Shakespeare sends his audience an important message. Shakespeare uses and plays upon the seemingly obvious fact that people are seen and defined by others according to what they do and wear. In representing the characters as different from who they truly are, through actions and disguises, Shakespeare challenges the social script and accepted societal roles of his time. Aspects of meta-theater can be seen in this idea that he communicates through all the role playing, cross dressing. It seems as if Shakespeare is thinking philosophically about what it means to be a man, to be a woman, to have any certain role in society.