Narcissism in Twelfth Night A Freudian study of Twelfth Night
An essential element of William Shakespeare 's comedy Twelfth Night is the theme of self-love i.e. vanity and narcissism. Shakespeare likely set Twelfth Night 's action to occur January 5 and 6, the Eve of Epiphany and the day of Epiphany. During the course of these two days, all of the most important characters experience epiphanies, revelatory moments in which they recognize truths concerning themselves, their vanities and narcissism. Using Sigmund Freud 's work on narcissism, the true nature if the characters of Twelfth Night could be well explored by analyzing the moments of epiphanies.
To begin, in Twelfth Night, characters suffer from vanity, a kind of misdirected love. That is, this love is directed toward self rather than toward others. In this manner, vanity deters the process of love. However, love vanquishes vanity. Illyria 's Duke Orsino and Countess Olivia are vain, that is, empty, till epiphanies prepare them to love someone beyond themselves. In this manner, epiphanies resolve Twelfth Night characters ' barriers to the altar, enabling them to recognize, experience, and respond to outwardly directed love.
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Vanity, one of Twelfth Night 's major concerns, is displayed throughout the play by characters who are plagued with emotional conditions which prevent them from loving others. The lives of Illyria 's Duke Orsino and Countess Olivia, for example, remain circumscribed by vanity and narcissism. Similarly, Olivia 's steward, Malvolio, remains encumbered by vanity and narcissism, while Olivia 's Uncle Toby shows himself to be selfish, and his drinking partner, Sir Andrew, stands as a caricature of vanity. In contrast, Viola, an outsider shipwrecked upon Illyria 's shore, suffers solely from grief for her sea-drowned twin brother. In further contrast, Olivia 's lady-in-waiting, Maria, displays none of these characteristics, but instead operates as the play
When forced with the eminent forbidden marriage, everyone has to take sides no matter what the consequences may be. When people are put into a rough situation, it brings out the true characteristics of themselves. Notably, Romeo and Juliet are blind to everyone except for each other. You never know someone’s personality until it’s too late. In Act III of Romeo and Juliet, three foils predominantly stand out from the rest.
The use of personification here exaggerates Orsino 's devotion to Olivia which she apparently doesn 't appreciate. He implies his existence expelled a constant love for her that came out with ease due to its surplus, however, Olivia failed to be grateful for such. This idea is further exemplified by his repetitive rhetorical questions reflecting his disbelief. The start of the scene is structured in a stichomythia format which indicates the build up of Orsino 's loss of patience. Shakespeare encorporates this to build momentum as Orsino 's emotions toward Olivia transition into resentment.
Even though the love in this play might not work out in the end, the characters seem to be content in the present. True feelings that one has for another person can make them act a certain way. In Twelfth Night, the pattern of extreme behaviors shows that Andrew, Malvolio, and Antonio are willing to do anything for the one that they love.
The play has certain characters who are portrayed as impulsive, two of them include Tybalt and Romeo. Tybalt-Juliet’s cousin- is an aggressive, rude and arrogant individual of the Capulet
The play therapeutically elucidates the mischief that may theoretically derive from a life of solemnity and thoughtlessness. The play appears to be a simplistic comedy, and indeed it may be, featuring the typical characters and conventions expected. Moreover, Twelfth Night follows the traditional structure and form of a comedy with its pleasant resolution. In contrast, Malvolio assures the audience that the complexity of the play is much greater then what first meets the eye. It promises spectators that the theme of hierarchy is purposefully intertwined in the plot to elevate knowledge of the disturbing reminder of
Twelfth Night coursework- Draft 1 Question: ' ' Plato argued that comedy blends pain with pleasure. How far do you agree with the view that Shakespeare has crafted 'Twelfth Night ' so that the audience feels both emotions? ' ' Shakespeare’s play ‘Twelfth Night’ was a dramatic comedy written at the beginning of the 17th century, towards the middle of his career. The title, ‘Twelfth Night’ is a reference to a celebration called epiphany, which occurred on the twelfth night of Christmas in Shakespearean times.
When Olivia is first entertained by the Fool, she recognizes that “[Malvolio] [is] sick of self-love,” revealing Malvolio’s arrogance (Twelfth Night 1.5, 89-92). This arrogance is linked to his Christian self-righteousness when Maria describes him as “a puritan...an affectioned ass…[that] persuaded of himself,...that it is his grounds of faith that all that look on him love him, (TN 2.3, 145-150). Thus, Maria identifies that Malvolio’s self-love is tied up in his piousness, and that he uses his moral superiority as justification for his high opinion of himself. Malvolio takes this pride and sense of superiority further by desiring to be “Count Malvolio,” and imagining Sir Toby “curts[ying]” to him, indicating not only his desire for prestige and power, but his belief that Sir Toby is physically lower than himself because of his “drunkenness,”(TN 2.5, 34, 60-73). Malvolio thus uses his Puritanism as fuel for his actions and desires, imagining himself to be morally superior to Sir Toby and therefore more entitled to a higher social position.
There is nothing good nor bad but thought makes it so, these are the thoughts that makes Twelfth Night bad, at least compared to Romeo and
There are many people who have a strong ego. Egotism is when someone thinks excessively about themself. The characters that Shakespeare gave strong egos to helped shape the story, by giving it depth. In the book “Twelfth Night”, Shakespeare presents a few characters with a strong ego. Egotism can have many forms and are shown through people in a very full of themselves kind of way.
Introduction: From time immemorial a lot of ink has been spilled on the concept of traumatic psychology developed in men. People have long proclaimed, “What doesn’t kill you makes you stronger.” (www.childtrauma.com). Psychological wound brings experiences and help people to grow more strong. Sometimes traumatic growth doesn’t happen naturally, it also can be hereditary.
What would one expect the personality of a man whose father was murdered by his uncle, who becomes his step-father? The personality in question points to Hamlet, the Prince of Denmark—who William Shakespeare depicts in his play “Hamlet.” A character analysis of Hamlet reveals that through his internal dialogue, his interpretation of his father 's murder, and his actions, his traits—bitterness, depression, and anger—emerge. Scholars have studied Hamlet for decades, and most have concluded that Hamlet 's personality indicated insanity. However, after observing Hamlet 's actions, his actions throughout the play do not resemble those of an insane person.
Shadow theory is the understanding and analyzation of characteristics that the subject is unaware of: weaknesses, repressed ideas, desires, instincts, and shortcomings. The side of a any given personality which is not consciously displayed in public may have positive or negative qualities, and this is the Shadow self. When the Shadow remains unconscious, it causes problems for the person that holds that Shadow and the people that interact with them. Baker believes, “The Shadow self also embodies many darker aspects of the main character’s personality as well as deeply repressed impulses that aren’t always conspicuous to the reader” (1). When reading Hamlet, readers may not pick up on Hamlet’s Shadow.
Despite popular opinion, love at first sight does not exist. The idea of “love” is widely misinterpreted as a mere attraction between two individuals. However, many do not understand that love goes much further than this, and what follows is a common misconception between love and lust. Shakespeare in his 17th century play Twelfth Night delves deeper into this idea of love. He presents the character Duke Orsino who appear to be infatuated and love-sick for the Countess Olivia, a woman with which he knows little about.
In Twelfth Night, Viola and Olivia are the central characters to the play’s plot. Each are young women that take approaches to dealing with the people around them, which are mainly men. There is much trickery that goes on in Twelfth Night, but the ending is for the most part happy. Viola marries Orsino and Olivia marries Sebastian, but the events leading up to this are more or less chaotic. Ultimately, I argue that while Olivia uses her higher social status in order to maintain control of herself and others, Viola resorts to trickery in order to bring about her desires.
In the play Twelfth Night, through the depiction of Orsino’s and Viola’s desires for romantic love, Shakespeare portrays how adjustable and self-delusional human romantic attraction can be, especially when blinded by wants and needs. Viola, who puts on the appearance of a man, makes everybody think she is a male. Her disguise becomes a sexual confusion throughout the play for several characters, creating an odd love triangle where Viola loves Duke Orsino, who loves Oliva, which then on the other hand loves Viola, in disguise as Cesario. On the other hand, Malvolio dreams of marrying his beloved Olivia, and gaining authority over his superiors, like Sir Toby. Shakespeare uses disguise in the play to show several confusions and internal conflicts between the characters, proving how malleable and deluded some human attractions can be.