TWELFTH NIGHT:POPULAR ROMANTIC COMEDY OF SHAKESPEARE
Shakespeare's Twelfth Night is a romantic comedy written almost in the some style as Two Gentle Man Of Verona and The Comedy Of Errors. All of them are fundamentally a poetic and imaginative approach to human quest for happiness in life. The characters seem to be the voyagers in pursuit of happiness,joy,mirth,gaity, fun and humour. So the scenes and characters are all of conceived in the glow of strange and beautiful fancy.
Shakespeare's romantic comedy is fundamentally different from the classical comedy of manners and a realistic comedy aims at exposing and expected and social morality the comedy of humour and the comedy of manners aim at holding up to contempt and ridicule the oddities of individual or of a social institution. Similarly the romantic comedy aims a removing man's romantic illusions woven round the socials concepts of love war, marriage, patriotism duty morality etc. All the varieties of comedy are satirical in tone and reformative in purpose. But a romantic comedy is essentially poetic and imaginative.It stresses a romantic treatment of themes and characters. The setting is all imaginative.It is either unhistorical. France or the forest of Arden of Illyria not wholly unrelated to real life.So,there is strange union of fantasy and realism.The scenes are such as make a romantic of the things of life and realistic of the imaginative and improbable events and situations. Besides the wit and humour, mirth and gaity predominate in a romantic drama. The humour is born of a union of intellect and emotion eradicates both the scenes and characters.
Among the themes of romantic comedy or Shakespearean comedy love is more particularly love, at first sight is the main theme. It occupies a central position and provides the main dramatic interest As H.B .Charlaton says.
"It is not worthy that some of his great comedies are even more exclusively the plays of lovers and their wooers."
Another important aspect of Shakespearean romantic comedy is that the heroines surpass the heroes. Unlike his tragedy in which hests predominate in his comedy,the heroines play aleading role.So,John Ruskin Bond says,"Shakespeare has no hero but heroine." This is true of all his great comedies like,
"As You Like It","Twelfth Night","The Merchant Of Venice".All the comedies have a galaxyof the queens of beauty ,intellect,wit and wisdom.They love sharp intellect,a more penetrating wit and imagination and maturer than the heroes. It is perhaps, because Shakespeare found sensitive to intuition and responsible to emotion.Clearly,romantic comedy is more prominently a comedy of love.
Disguise or mistaken eternity is another important element in the plot construction of a romantic comedy and produces,a great deal of mirth and gaity, fun and humour.
It is now desirable to examine Twelfth Night in the light of alone discussion for the sake of example.
Viola and Sebastian set out on a voyage and level unhistorical city of Illyria.
Viola, the heroine of the drama disguises herself as a boy and appear before Orsino,The Duke of Illyria for his scenes and livelihood. While serving Orsino, she falls in love with him. Orsino loves Olivia and Olivia loves Viola who is in disguise of a boy named Cesario, Orsino's love of Viola who is narrating of fancy and and sentimental love.Olivia has a certain and austere temper.
But Viola has a balance of heavenly wit and sensibility.According to F.S. Boas,"She has due softner of hero and Olivia combined with the resolute will and ready tongue of Portia and Rosalind.
In contrast with the sentimental love of Orsino and silent love of Viola and Viola's love for Orsino is carried through mistaken identity of Viola who disguises herself as a boy Olivia also mistaken Viola's brother Sebastion for Viola and marries him hastily,early love and disguise are the main themes and provides the main dramatic interest as well as the fun and gaity in the drama.The fun and gaity is further provides by the loose sallies of the witty Fabian and Festle,the fools and clowns in the drama.The pair of Maria and Sir Toby Belch also adds to the fun and gaity in the drama.There is of
course an unhappy world of Malvolio, where love for Olivia ends in his frustration.But it is a small episode of a subplot in the drama,and its purpose is to expose the hypocritical vice of puritanism.Puritanism may be a virtue but when it becomes a guise for concealing selfish desire,it becomes hypocricy and a vice.There is a slight abstain in the character of Malvolio. So,Charles is of opinion that Malvolio's character is not essentially ludicrous .
Thus a close analysis of the plot and theme of Twelfth Night makes it clear that it is a romantic comedy. Speaking about the theme of love in this drama,F S.Boas observes-
"The relation between Twelfth Night and Two Gentle Men Of Varona is of a more intimate kindfor in both plays the dramatist is chiefly occupied with the same fundamental themes of love in its varied manifestation."
Clearly, the treatment of the theme of love and the role of disguise provides the main romantic setting.Besides,it has an unhistorical setting and an imaginary situation.There is a happy world and love,joy,fun and gaity throughout the drama.So J.C Maxwell observes;
" . . . Twelfth Night is justly praised as a masterpiece of stagecraft and is perhaps the most popular work of Shakespearean comedy."
JEETENDRA MISHRA
a
Shakespeare's Twelfth Night is a romantic comedy written almost in the some style as Two Gentle Man Of Verona and The Comedy Of Errors. All of them are fundamentally a poetic and imaginative approach to human quest for happiness in life. The characters seem to be the voyagers in pursuit of happiness,joy,mirth,gaity, fun and humour. So the scenes and characters are all of conceived in the glow of strange and beautiful fancy.
Shakespeare's romantic comedy is fundamentally different from the classical comedy of manners and a realistic comedy aims at exposing and expected and social morality the comedy of humour and the comedy of manners aim at holding up to contempt and ridicule the oddities of individual or of a social institution. Similarly the romantic comedy aims a removing man's romantic illusions woven round the socials concepts of love war, marriage, patriotism duty morality etc. All the varieties of comedy are satirical in tone and reformative in purpose. But a romantic comedy is essentially poetic and imaginative.It stresses a romantic treatment of themes and characters. The setting is all imaginative.It is either unhistorical. France or the forest of Arden of Illyria not wholly unrelated to real life.So,there is strange union of fantasy and realism.The scenes are such as make a romantic of the things of life and realistic of the imaginative and improbable events and situations. Besides the wit and humour, mirth and gaity predominate in a romantic drama. The humour is born of a union of intellect and emotion eradicates both the scenes and characters.
Among the themes of romantic comedy or Shakespearean comedy love is more particularly love, at first sight is the main theme. It occupies a central position and provides the main dramatic interest As H.B .Charlaton says.
"It is not worthy that some of his great comedies are even more exclusively the plays of lovers and their wooers."
Another important aspect of Shakespearean romantic comedy is that the heroines surpass the heroes. Unlike his tragedy in which hests predominate in his comedy,the heroines play aleading role.So,John Ruskin Bond says,"Shakespeare has no hero but heroine." This is true of all his great comedies like,
"As You Like It","Twelfth Night","The Merchant Of Venice".All the comedies have a galaxyof the queens of beauty ,intellect,wit and wisdom.They love sharp intellect,a more penetrating wit and imagination and maturer than the heroes. It is perhaps, because Shakespeare found sensitive to intuition and responsible to emotion.Clearly,romantic comedy is more prominently a comedy of love.
Disguise or mistaken eternity is another important element in the plot construction of a romantic comedy and produces,a great deal of mirth and gaity, fun and humour.
It is now desirable to examine Twelfth Night in the light of alone discussion for the sake of example.
Viola and Sebastian set out on a voyage and level unhistorical city of Illyria.
Viola, the heroine of the drama disguises herself as a boy and appear before Orsino,The Duke of Illyria for his scenes and livelihood. While serving Orsino, she falls in love with him. Orsino loves Olivia and Olivia loves Viola who is in disguise of a boy named Cesario, Orsino's love of Viola who is narrating of fancy and and sentimental love.Olivia has a certain and austere temper.
But Viola has a balance of heavenly wit and sensibility.According to F.S. Boas,"She has due softner of hero and Olivia combined with the resolute will and ready tongue of Portia and Rosalind.
In contrast with the sentimental love of Orsino and silent love of Viola and Viola's love for Orsino is carried through mistaken identity of Viola who disguises herself as a boy Olivia also mistaken Viola's brother Sebastion for Viola and marries him hastily,early love and disguise are the main themes and provides the main dramatic interest as well as the fun and gaity in the drama.The fun and gaity is further provides by the loose sallies of the witty Fabian and Festle,the fools and clowns in the drama.The pair of Maria and Sir Toby Belch also adds to the fun and gaity in the drama.There is of
Thus a close analysis of the plot and theme of Twelfth Night makes it clear that it is a romantic comedy. Speaking about the theme of love in this drama,F S.Boas observes-
"The relation between Twelfth Night and Two Gentle Men Of Varona is of a more intimate kindfor in both plays the dramatist is chiefly occupied with the same fundamental themes of love in its varied manifestation."
Clearly, the treatment of the theme of love and the role of disguise provides the main romantic setting.Besides,it has an unhistorical setting and an imaginary situation.There is a happy world and love,joy,fun and gaity throughout the drama.So J.C Maxwell observes;
" . . . Twelfth Night is justly praised as a masterpiece of stagecraft and is perhaps the most popular work of Shakespearean comedy."
JEETENDRA MISHRA
a
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