Jul 26, 2008

Twelfth Night | Present Me As An Eunuch: Female Identity in Twelfth Night

A discussion of how Shakespeare examines patterns of love and courtship in Twelfth Night through a repositioning of traditional Elizabethan gender roles.

Throughout Twelfth Night Shakespeare examines patterns of love and courtship through a repositioning of traditional Elizabethan gender roles. The familiar comic formula of identical twins creating confusion is employed with an added twist so that identical twins of opposite gender provide the foundation for the comic confusion. Viola, the protagonist, is stranded on the shores of a foreign land by a shipwreck. She adopts the identity of her brother, Sebastian, so that she can live in safety without a male protector. Shakespeare uses the comedy behind Viola's gender transformation to...