Parallel Images In Twelfth Night Essay

To what extent are parallel images the key convention used for comedic effect in Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night?

In Twelfth Night the fundamental plot line of Viola arriving in Illyria, as a result of the shipwreck, and is the catalyst of some of the main comic events within the play. This is achieved through the visual, parallel image of Viola dressed up as her twin brother Sebastian. Her disguise creates hilarious moments of farce such as patterns of ludicrous suits for marriage and a comedic slapstick ‘play within a play’. However Shakespeare also uses parallel imagery within his structure and setting, disassociated from Viola’s disguise, to create comedy.

When Viola arrives on the island she becomes the persona of Cesario for her own
protection, ‘conceal me what I am…” the sea captain helps her to be seen as a eunuch, man servant, willing to serve the Duke Orsino. The powers of clothes transcend their physical function, allowing Viola to remain safe on the strange island. This concept would have immediately initiated laughter within Shakespearean audiences as only men where allowed to act. Therefore a young boy would be dressed as a woman, who would then dress as a man, which would have been deemed ridiculous and amusing. Furthermore when Sebastian arrives on the island in Act Two the plot line is heightened and the audience is aware that confusion will inevitably follow through the visual parallel image of the twins. This leads to the hilarious ‘duel’ between Andrew, and Sebastian/Cesario later on. These conventions of disguise, hidden identity, separation and reunion, are all part of the Roman conventions of comedy and so are not unfamiliar methods used by Shakespeare. Viola is unaware of Sebastian’s arrival and so continues to encompass Cesario who gets tangled in a hilarious love triangle with the noble persons of Illyria.

The entertaining love triangle between Olivia, Cesario and Orsino, is brought about through Viola’s hidden identity, and is intensified on the arrival of the parallel image that is Sebastian. Olivia makes a fool of her self by openly declaring her love to Cesario; comedy is fuelled by dramatic irony, as the audience knows, just as Viola does that the love can never be. Olivia mistakes Viola’s anguish: at having to woo Olivia on behalf of the man she loves herself, for guilt of love for Olivia. Olivia describes this as ‘murderous guilt shows not itself more soon’, this aside to the audience uses dark language suggesting a lustful, passionate love, that Cesario has for Olivia in Olivia’s opinion. Olivia then contrasts with feminine language to describe the way she feels for Cesario. ‘By, the roses of the truth, by maidhood, honour…I love the so’ the irony of the language proposes an opposite parallel image that both the women are vowing on their maidenhood. Viola is doing all she can to protect hers and Olivia is doing all she can to give hers away to Cesario. Furthermore, I feel the way Olivia’s name is an anagram of Viola’s noticeably shows Shakespeare’s intent to create parallel characters. Olivia’s language is poetic and pretentious, written in blank verse, (as is Viola’s), giving her higher status, and the fact both women are speaking in rhyming couplets illustrates the importance of this part of the plot.

There is a sense of homoerotism running through the love triangle, as it is not only Olivia who is in love with the same sex. There is the comedic effect of the visual love Viola feels for Orsino, but as she dressed as man she can do little more than drop hints ‘where I a women, I should your lordship’. Orsino is however too wrapped up in his infatuation over Olivia and he is either oblivious or ignorant to his feelings for Cesario. He does compare Cesario’s lips, as ‘Diana’s lip is not more smooth and rubious’. He is describing Cesario’s lips like a virgin goddess’s, smooth and ruby red. This scene occurs in Act One, and we can imagine his passionate description of Ceasrio would have created a sexual tension only Cesario and the audience would understand, hence creating laughter within the audience at Orsino’s oblivion. The love triangle is clearly the centre point of the action, however it coincides with other subplots to create additional comic moments.

Sir Toby tricks the idiotic Andrew Agucheek, and Cesario into duelling each other. “Challenge me the count’s youth to fight with him”, by duelling with Cesario, Andrew believes his valance will be proven to Olivia. His dim-witted character us juxtaposed with Toby’s description of him as “bloody as the hunter”. This simile used to describe Andrew makes him seem blood thirsty and cunning, which is the opposite of his true character, which creates comedy in that Andrew’s naïve and stupid character is being set up to fight, and surely to fail as he cannot think for himself, moreover the audience are aware of Cesario’s true gender. Cesario is therefore tricked into feeling extremely threatened. The two descend into a hilarious visual attempt at a duel, but the concept of a physical fight is so alien to both characters they cannot strike one another. Often the convention of slapstick is used to exploit the characters fighting incompetence. Then later in Act 4 Scene One, he ridiculing of Andrew is extended. Inevitably he believes Sebastian is and strikes him. Sebastian retaliates “why there’s for thee, and there and there’, I think it is funny how Sebastian’s language comes across sounding childish which is a contrast to his masculinity. Andrew and Toby’s cowardly response to Sebastian is entertaining as the sudden development of his duelling skills is a terrifying shock. It is evident that the use of parallel imagery surrounding Viola is key in creating much of the comic material in the play, however there are other uses of it separate from her that are comic.

Shakespeare uses parallel imagery within the structure of the plot and the setting to create comedy. He contrasts scenes within the play to show analogous characters. In Scene One, Act One, Orsino is introduced as the Duke of Illyria, which would usually require him to be masculine and strong as a character, however here, Orsino commands his musicians to "play on" because music nourishes his ‘love’ for Olivia. But, he never lets the musicians finish as he interrupts by proclaiming, "Enough; no more; 'Tis not so sweet now as it was before." Orsino seems to be contradicting himself and the way Shakespeare has rhymed ‘no more’ with ‘before’ shows the fickleness and weakness to his character. It is immediately obvious that he is behaving parallel to the way a Duke should, but the image is mirrored in the way Olivia acts when we first meet her in Scene Five. Her first line of the play is ‘take the fool away’; the command shows she is decisive, unlike Orsino. This contrast is comic as it usurps conventional society, and as Susan Snyder comments in The Genres Of Shakespeare’s Plays, the “Shakespeare’s ‘women on top’ specialty has its own relevance to the comic mode”. This brings me onto the point that Shakespeare’s chosen setting of Illyria is a world of misrule and is an environmental embodiment of inversion theory.

In Act Two, Scene Three Toby suggests they ‘rouse the night owl’ which shows the subversion of night to day.
This adds to Malvolios’s irritation with Toby later on. Equally there is subversion of status within mirrored suits for marriage, one of which is Olivia usurping her rank by declaring her love for Cesario, supposed manservant. This suit for marriage is echoed when Olivia’s manservant Malvolio imagines being able “to ask for my kinsman Toby” if Olivia where is mistress. Malvolio’s humble place in society contrasts with his exalted aspirations. This corresponds with the concept of the ‘green world’, which in this case is Illyria, and is the space created for the confusion to take place. Shakespeare often sets his comedies in far off lands so that the audience has faith in the likelihood of the disorder. John W. Draper writes that ‘in Illyria, as in the Forest of Arden [As You Like It], anything may happen’. The placement of Illyria in the heart of the Mediterranean is a parallel climate to that of known by the English audience. Characters feel woozy and romantic and there feelings are externalized throughout the setting, the humid climate clouds their judgments, making them act foolishly and behave in a way to create dramatic comedy for the
audience.

I believe that the arrival of Viola and the parallel situations she creates, are made possible due to the setting of the parallel world of Illyria. The two aspects correspond to create comedy within the play. The choice of title, “Twelfth Night’ encapsulates the disorder that is to follow in light of festivity. The Twelfth Night Festival could date back to the Roman Saturnalia Feast of Fools, in which there was a temporary exchange of roles between slaves and their masters. So it seems to have been a festival dedicated to parallel roles in society. The play is also of the Ĵaniform genre and is literally a two faced play. The play is full of farce, human endeavor and usurpation of belief, all leading to its comic value.