William Shakespeares Twelfth Night as a Feminist Play Essay

William Shakespeares Twelfth Night as a Feminist Play The play Twelfth Night was written in the Elizabethan days, near the end of the ruling of Queen Elizabeth I. It was also during The Renaissance, which is also the rebirth of learning, which this play was born. It was a period of change, questioning and vitality. People no longer believed everything they were told, but tried to find things out for themselves. As to whether Twelfth Night is a feminist play, would have several differing points to show against or for it. As it was the ‘period of change’, this play could have been written to change people’s ideas of females and males in general. Since the olden days, women have always been viewed†¦show more content†¦In Twelfth Night, the protagonist of the story, Viola, is displayed as a rational, sacrificial, sincere, strong, witty woman, who disguises herself as a man, to become a faithful attendant of Orsino. Viola is one with sacrificial and patient love, willingly loving Orsino, and attending to his every need. Orsino, on the other hand, is shown as an emotional man, who has superficial and transient love for Olivia. This love is very abruptly shifted to Viola at the end of the play, when Viola reveals her true identity. Through this contrast of these two individuals, we can see that Shakespeare makes a distinct different between genders, and allows to draw a contrast between characters to think deeper into their characters and purpose in the story, beyond their surface appearances. From the difference in character and personality between Viola and Orsino, we can see that Viola is displayed as a rational, witty, yet manipulative woman, who loves deeply and sincerely. This is shown from, â€Å"If I did love you in my master’s flame/With such a suff’ring/such a deadly life†, as it implies that Viola’s love towards Orsino, is true, and has depth, and other-centred. This is in comparison to Orsino’s love towards Olivia, displayed in his portrayal of love towards her. This can be seen from, â€Å"With adorations, fertile tears/WithShow MoreRelatedEssay about William Shakespeares Twelfth Night as a Feminist Play1775 Words   |  8 PagesWilliam Shakespeares Twelfth Night as a Feminist Play I agree to a certain extent that twelfth night is a feminist play. What exactly is feminism? It simply means subversion of traditional ideas of gender. This means that men are supposed to be active, rational, wise, perceptive, loyal and trustworthy. On the other hand, Women are supposed to be passive, emotional, shallow, vain, deceptive and fickle. 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