Twelfth Night | Language and Communication

In the first excerpt, Ralph Berry contends that the action in Twelfth Night centers on acts of communication—formal messages being sent and received. Most of these, in the critic's view, are not "true" communication. Elizabeth Yearling, in contrast, contends that in Twelfth Night, language communicates truth, despite the play's deliberate deceptions and wordplay.

Ralph Berry
[Berry contends that the action in Twelfth Night centers on acts of communication—formal messages being sent and received. Most of these, in the critic's view, are not "true" communication: Olivia's message to Orsino in the first act, for example, is really an announcement to herself of her intention to continue mourning her brother. The letter that fools Malvolio is another instance of a message that fails to convey truth. In contrast, the critic describes Malvolio's message to Olivia from his confinement as the single act of true communication in...

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