In Twelfth Night, characters wrestle with appearances—how others view their identities based on their bodies, social station, or attire. Choose one character from the play and discuss the rewards and dangers that the character faces when his/her external self does not reflect his/her real identity. Then relate this issue with appearances and identity to a main theme and the resolution of the play. Support your argument using ample quotations from the primary sources (the play) and one secondary resource (an article you locate on our library database). Keep in mind that you must read, understand, and apply what you have learned from the secondary source to your analysis. Simply dropping in a quote from an outside sources will not be enough.
All papers must be word-processed. Double space and use a 12-point standard font. Margins should be 1 inch all the way around the page.
You will use MLA-style documentation in all papers. Every paper will have a Works Cited and will use parenthetical, in-text citations. You must document all secondary sources as well as primary sources. Your textbook contains information about MLA style; or, you can ask me or the librarians for assistance.
See the Writing Guides for step-by-step instructions on development of the essay.
Answer preview
The play Twelfth Night shows how characters wrestle with appearances to fit in the context based on their situations. Viola wrestles with her identity when she makes the people around her believe she is a man. After landing is a strange land, Illyria and realizing that she has lost her brother, the only way she thinks of surviving is securing a job, which she does at Duke Orsino’s court. Shakespeare’s play conveys the theme of disguise, which brings confusion among the characters. In the Twelfth Night, Viola struggles with her identity as Cesario to support Shakespeare’s idea that disguise creates internal conflicts when an individual is in love.
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