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Mistaken Identity in Twelfth Night by Shakespeare - Paper

Mistaken Identity in Twelfth Night by Shakespeare

Mistaken Identity

William Shakespeare, in his well-known comedy Twelfth Night, creates a plot that revolves around mistaken identity and deception. Mistaken identity, along with disguises, rules the play and affects the lives of several of the characters. Shakespeare's techniques involve mistaken identity to bring humor, mystery, and complication to the play. Many characters in Twelfth Night assume disguises, beginning with Viola who is disguised as a eunuch, Maria who writes a letter to Malvolio as Olivia, and then the mix-up between Sebastian and Viola are revealed.

The instances of mistaken identity are related to many disguises in the play. Viola, who puts on male attire, begins ...

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to try to be a servant for Duke Orsino which is the reason for disguising herself as a eunuch. In talking with the captain, he says to her, "Be you his eunuch, and your mute I'll be. When my tongue blabs, then let mine eyes not see" (Shakespeare 13). Through Viola's change in identity, this situation creates a conflict through the characters. Viola falls in love with Orsino but cannot tell him because he thinks she is a man. While the love of Orsion, Olivia, falls madly in love with Viola. Olivia is now in love with a woman, and Orsino often remarks on Cesario's beauty, suggesting that he is attracted to Viola even before her male disguise is removed.

Olivia's head servant Malvolio, a narcisstic character thinks that Olivia is in love with him. His self obsession leads him to these conclusions along with the misleading from Maria and other servants. The conspirators know of Malvolio and his self love and are not fond of him because of their past experiences. Maria and the ...

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Mistaken Identity in Twelfth Night by Shakespeare. (2017, November 9). Retrieved January 11, 2026, from http://www.essayworld.com/essays/Mistaken-Identity-in-Twelfth-Night-Shakespeare/106527

"Mistaken Identity in Twelfth Night by Shakespeare." Essayworld.com. Essayworld.com, 9 Nov. 2017. Web. 11 Jan. 2026. <http://www.essayworld.com/essays/Mistaken-Identity-in-Twelfth-Night-Shakespeare/106527>

"Mistaken Identity in Twelfth Night by Shakespeare." Essayworld.com. November 9, 2017. Accessed January 11, 2026. http://www.essayworld.com/essays/Mistaken-Identity-in-Twelfth-Night-Shakespeare/106527.

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PAPER DETAILS

Added: 11/9/2017 01:38:43 PM
Submitted By: amna
Category: Shakespeare
Type: Premium Paper
Words: 776
Pages: 3

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