Metaphors In Twelfth Night

In his play, Twelfth Night, William Shakespeare uses the metaphor of a knot to show how decisions one makes can lead to an almost impossible knot to untie. As soon as Viola realizes the predicament she has gotten into, she addresses time saying, “O Time, thou must untangle this, not I” (2.2.40-41). Viola created this knot, whether she knew it or not, but she decided to leave it up to time to untangle the knot. Removing herself from the consequences that will follow, Viola allows time and fate to control how the situation plays out. Viola elaborates on the metaphor, “It is too hard a knot for me t’ untie” (2.2.40-41). Viola accepted defeat because she understood that she created this mess and did not want to put forth effort to attempt to fix