Shakespeares Twelfth Night Essays -- Literature William Shakespeare E

Shakespeares Twelfth NightA study of William Shakespeares Twelfth Night, showing how Shakespeares choice of form, organise and language shape meaningWit, andt be thy will, put me into good fooling Those wits that think they have thee do very oft prove fools and I that am sure I lack thee may pass for a wise man. For what says Quinapalus? Better a witty fool than a foolish wit. Shakespeares plays were written to be performed to an audition from different social classes and of varying levels of intellect. Thus they contain down-to-earth characters who appeal to the working classes, side-by-side with complexities of plot which would satisfy the appetites of the aristocrats among the audience. His contemporary status is different, and Shakespeares plays have fit a symbol of culture and education, being widely used as a subject for academic study and literary criticism. A close life-sustaining analysis of Twelfth Night can reveal how Shakespeare manipulates the form, structure, and language to contribute to the meaning of his plays. FormThrough the form of dialogue Shakespeare conveys the relationship between characters. For example, the acquaintance and understanding between Olivia, and her servant Feste, the clown, is shown in their dialogue in Act 1, Scene 5. In this scene Shakespeare shows that both characters are intellectuals by constructing their colloquy in prose. Characterising Feste, Shakespeare gives him the aphorism,Better a witty fool than a foolish wit. Feste. Act 1, scene 5This line illustrates the clowns acumen and is a delightful example of the way in which he uses language, as well as form to manifest Festes character. Far from being a fool, the clown is erudite and sagely ... ...been made a fool of by all of them, and also signifies his isolation from the rest of the cast and how he has become a loose end of the play, as everybody else has found love or companionship with another person in the play. After analysing the way in which Shakesp eare uses form, structure and language to shape meaning I have come to the completion that we are not consciously aware of these techniques when we are the audience. Directors and actors may take these factors into consideration when performing a play, to assist in conveying meaning to the audience. opposite directors may interpret the text in different ways, but the play should be performed in such a way that subtle clues help the audience receive messages and understand the complexity of the developing plot, so that we are not obliged to be continually struggling to interpret the text for ourselves.