Twelfth Night Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Twelfth Night - Essay Example Thesis statement: The analysis based on the two versions of the play Twelfth Night (the play Twelfth Night by William Shakespeare and the movie She’s the Man by Andy Fickman) proves that Shakespeare’s play revolves around the central character named as Viola, but Fickman provides ample importance to the play’s theme and presents the same in a different way. Analysis This section is broadly divided into four, namely: setting, character, theme, and literary/dramatic trope/irony. Setting In the play, Shakespeare makes use of the romantic atmosphere of Illyria to unveil the mistaken identity of the heroine/hero. Besides, the playwright utilizes the atmosphere of real Illyria to stimulate the imagination of the audience. During Shakespeare’s time, less was known about Illyria because the same was a distant area from England. Robert Owen Scott states that, â€Å"Shakespeare’s Illyria is a fairy-tale land populated with dukes, ladies, knights, and jesters † (21). To be specific, the playwright introduces an imaginary setting to the Elizabethan audience. This initiative is important because the aspiration to know more about distant lands was an important characteristic of the audience during Shakespeare’s time. One can see that Shakespeare was aware of the fact that less knowledge about a place can stimulate imagination. So, the land of Illyria is symbolic of the playwright’s attempt to entertain the viewers. Besides, romance is interconnected with imagination and an imaginary atmosphere is suitable to tell a romantic tale. Frederic Kolman states that, â€Å"This is a play about love, placed in a festive atmosphere in which three couples are brought together happily† (18). Shakespeare aims to provide a pleasant mood to the play because the same suits the romantic setting of the same. On the other side, Shakespeare makes use of the story of shipwreck to connect the twins (say, Viola and Sebastian) with the dr amatic atmosphere of Illyria. This is important because shipwreck can happen anywhere and there is high possibility for anyone to be entrapped in a distant land. So Shakespeare amalgamated imagination and reality by choosing a dramatic atmosphere as the setting of his play, i.e. Illyria. On the other side, the movie based on the play provides less importance to an imaginative land because director does not try to choose a distant land as the setting. One can easily identify the fact that choosing a distant land can reduce the scope of box-office success of a film because distance is not considered as important in the modern world. So, the director amalgamated the setting into the film’s plot, i.e. the rivalry between Cornwall School and Illyria School. In addition, rivalry related to sports is an important element of the setting and plot in the film. Still, the director exploits the scope of the setting because victory in soccer match is important for the players and those wh o support them. To be specific, the dramatic atmosphere of the setting in the play is not utilized in the film. Instead, the director makes use of the setting as a background to support the development of the film’s plot. Character In the play, Shakespeare makes use of the character Viola as the backbone of the plot. For instance, the whole play develops through the development of the character Viola from a castaway to the duchess of Illyria. Peter Grube makes clear that, â€Å"The social reality of the Elizabethan Age was obviously marked