Twelfth Night Comedy by Shakespeare and Its Effect on...

Twelfth Night Comedy by Shakespeare and Its Effect on Other Writings While Great Expectations and Gulliver’s Travels were not written as comedy, humor is seen in them. The comedy in Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night can be related to the comedy in those writings, although Shakespeare used a variety of comedic techniques, not used in either Great Expectations or Gulliver’s Travels. The comedy in Twelfth Night varies greatly from the comedy in Great Expectations and Gulliver’s Travels at times. Irony is a common comedic element seen in all three works. Jonathan Swift’s Gulliver’s Travels is commonly known as a satire, therefore it uses improbable irony as a tool. The misfortune, ridiculousness and contradict of Gulliver’s adventures is funny.†¦show more content†¦Although there are many opinions about the play’s nature, it is commonly seen as an influential comedy. In the play, two twins are shipwrecked on the coast of an ideal country, like Disneyland, called Illyria. They are separated, neither knowing the other is alive. The female, Viola, pretends to be a male page and works for the duke Orsino. Her job is to woo the lady he likes, Olivia. Viola is wooing for Orsino, pretending to be Cesario, and Olivia falls in love with her! Meanwhile, a man called Antonio is helping her twin, Sebastian. In the end Viola and Sebastian meet, the Duke marries Viola, and Sebastian marries Olivia. There are many comedic aspects of this play, one is Maria’s letter. Maria, a helper of Olivia, writes a letter to trick Malvolio into making a fool of himself by making him think Olivia likes him. Maria’s letter says: â€Å"If this fall into thy hand, revolve. In my stars I am above thee, but be not afraid of greatness. Some are born great, some achieve greatness, and some have greatness thrust upon ‘em. Thy Fates open their hands. Let thy blood and spirit embrace them. And, to inure thyself to what thou art like to be, cast thy humble slough and appear fresh. Be opposite with a kinsman, surly with servants. Let thy tongue tang arguments of state. Put thyself into they trick of singularity. She thus advises thee that sighs for thee. Remember who commanded thy yellow stockings and wished to see thee everShow 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 MoreTwelfth Night2039 Words   |  9 PagesTwelfth Night Twelfth Night is a comedy of light and shade. 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