Journey of English Drama in late 18th century: From Emotional, Sentimental and Moralistic to Reality


Introduction:

English drama in the late 18th century underwent a significant shift, moving away from its traditional focus on emotionalism, sentimentality, and morality towards a more realistic depiction of life. This shift was due to a number of factors, including the rise of the novel, the influence of the French Revolution, and the growing interest in science and philosophy.

Popular Genre in the early 18th Century:

The novel, which had emerged as a popular genre in the early 18th century, offered a more realistic and complex view of human nature than traditional drama. Novels such as Samuel Richardson's Pamela (1740) and Henry Fielding's Tom Jones (1749) showed that people were not always motivated by reason and virtue, but could also be driven by passion and self-interest. This new realism had also a profound impact on drama, leading playwrights to abandon the traditional happy endings and moralistic messages of their plays.

The French Revolution:

The French Revolution also had a significant impact on English drama. The revolution's ideals of liberty, equality, and fraternity challenged the traditional social order and hierarchy, and playwrights began to explore these ideas in their work. Thomas Paine's Common Sense (1776), which argued for the American Revolution, was also influential in England, and its ideas about democracy and individual rights were reflected in many plays of the period.

Science and Philosophy:

The growing interest in science and philosophy also contributed to the shift towards realism in drama. Enlightenment thinkers such as John Locke and David Hume challenged traditional beliefs about religion and morality, and their ideas led playwrights to explore new and more complex themes in their work.

The Time of Satire

Johnson's friend Oliver Goldsmith was a curious mixture of the old and the new. His novel The Vicar of Wakefield (1766) begins with dry humor but passes quickly into tearful calamity. His poem The Deserted Village (1770) is in form reminiscent of Pope, but in the tenderness of its sympathy for the lower classes it foreshadows the romantic age. In such plays as She Stoops to Conquer (1773) Goldsmith, like the younger Richard Sheridan in his School for Scandal (1777), demonstrated an older tradition of satirical quality and artistic adroitness that was to be anathema to a younger generation-a play about gossip, hypocrisy, and false sentimentality. 
In England, after Richard Brinsley Sheridan (1751-1816), the drama remained at a low level of production. English playwrights were few and their work was uninteresting. When, in 1843, the theatre became open to public enterprise, this, instead of making for higher quality, rather confirmed it in its insignificance by turning it, mainly, into nothing better than a coarse form of popular entertainment. All serious matter it studiously avoided, contenting itself with heavy punning, laborious jesting, and vulgar intrigues that generally involved ridiculous pairs of lovers. Side by side with these farcical plays, there existed melodramas of the worst type, historical and others. The influence of the French post-revolution plays and romantic dramas was no doubt, partly responsible. This genre was long in dying out, and still flourished between the years 1880 and 1890 and even afterwards, when the Surrey-side continued to offer to opprobrium the wicked lord and the vampire-lady. During the whole of that time, very few serious writers turned to the theatre. The dignified form of fiction was the novel. The only plays reduced, worthy of any notice, were those of Robertson, who, by choice of characters, scenic details, and even seriousness of purpose, aimed at creating the illusion of life on the stage. 

A Realistic Current in English Literature

There had always been a realistic current in English literature, and with Robertson and with the cup and saucer comedy of the seventies, this realism coloured the drama. Thanks to it, the stage was purged from some of its theatricality, stage-production showed definite improvement, and dramatic literature began to gain in verisimilitude and humanity. The influence of Robertson was not entirely lost; it was to show some years later, even in the plays of Pinero and of Henry Arthur Tones. But the works of his immediate followers lacked vigour and literary quality, the incites given soon exhausted itself, and Robertson’s own attempt at mild realism did not compete very successfully Nevertheless, Robertson and Henry Irving were already unmistakable signs that the drama would soon begin to recover from the low condition into which it had fallen. And there were others too, more and more apparent as time went on, besides the newly born taste for reality and for Shakespeare. 

The Reasons such offshoot: 

One of the reasons for this low level of taste was, besides laziness of mind, a form of religious complex, which made it repellent to many, to see serious questions thrashed out in as frivolous a place as theater; this puritanical attitude was perpetuated by the censorship which, originally created to deal with political attacks against Walpole, had come to exercise on literature as a whole. 

Conclusion

As a result of these factors, English drama in the late 18th century became more realistic, complex, and challenging. Playwrights such as Oliver Goldsmith, Richard Brinsley Sheridan, and William Shakespeare explored the darker side of human nature and the complexities of social relationships. They also challenged traditional moral values and explored new ideas about the individual and society. Throughout the centuries, dramatists made conscious decisions to break with earlier traditions. A tendency toward realism and the depiction of situations and characters with whom audiences could identify accelerated over the course of the coming 19th century.

This shift towards realism had a lasting impact on English drama, and it paved the way for the great works of the 19th century, such as those of Henrik Ibsen, Anton Chekhov, and George Bernard Shaw.


References:

A History Of English Drama 1660 1900 : Allardyce Nicoll : Free Download, Borrow, and Streaming : Internet Archive. (n.d.). Internet Archive. https://archive.org/details/in.ernet.dli.2015.58964

Augustan “Mock-epic”: Form and Style Burlesquing the Serious Epic


Mock-epic – a work which employs manner, the high and serious tone and the supernatural machinery of epic to treat a trivial subject and theme in such a way as to make both subject and theme ridiculous – almost a case of breaking a butterfly upon a wheel. It is a type of epic derived from the serious epic, which satirizes contemporary ideas or conditions in a form and style burlesquing the serious epic.  By extension the epic mode is also mocked but this is a secondary consideration. Noted mock epics include The Rape of the Lock (1712) by the English poet Alexander Pope.

The mock-epic typically uses the following elements of the epic poem:

  • A grand style and elevated language
  • A long and complex plot
  • A cast of heroic characters
  • Supernatural elements
  • Battles and other heroic events
However, the mock-epic uses these elements in a way that is humorous or ironic. For example, the characters in a mock-epic may be petty or ridiculous, and the plot may be trivial or inconsequential. The supernatural elements may be used for comic effect, and the battles may be described in a way that is exaggerated or absurd.

The mock-epic was a popular form of satire in the Augustan period (1688-1750), a time of great social and political change in England. The poets of this period used the mock-epic to satirize the manners and customs of the upper class, as well as the political and religious establishment.
The acknowledged masterpiece in this genre is Pope’s The Rape of the Lock (1712, 1714), which he himself describes as a heroic-comical poem. His subject is the estrangement between two families resulting from Lord Petre’s snipping off a lock of Miss Arabella Fermor’s hair. With faultless skill Pope minifies the epic in proportion to the triviality of his theme:
  What dire Offence from am’rous Causes springs,
What mighty Contests rise from trivial Things
I sing – This Verse to Caryll, Musel is due;
This, ev’n Belinda may vouchasafe to view:
   Slight is the subject; but not so the Praise,
 If She inspire, and He approve my Lays.
  Say what strange Motive, Goddessl cou’d compel
   A well-bred Lord t’assault a gentle Belle?

Pope had precedents in the Homeric Batrachomyomachia, or The Battle of the Frogs and the mice (translated by Thomas Parnell as a contemporary satire in 1717); Alessandro Tassoni’s Ln Secchia Rapita (The Rape of the Bucket) 1622 Boileau’s Le Lutrin (1674-83); Dryden’s Mac Flecknoe (1682); and Samual Garth’s The Dispensary (1699).
        The mock-epic tone of Dryden’s opening lines differs from Pope’s:
                       All human things are subject to decay,
                       And, when Fate summous, Monarchs must obey:
                       This Fleckno found, who, like Augusts, young
                       Was call’d Empire, and had govern’d long;
                        In prose and Verse, was own’d, without dispute
                        Through all the Realms of non-sense, absolute.

Mac Flecknoe gave Pope the basic idea for The Dunciad (1728-43); also a mock-epic but more powerful, in a denunciatory manner; and more elaborate than The Rape of the Lock.

More about the form and style of Augustan mock-epic:

  • The use of high style and elevated language: The mock-epic typically uses the high style and elevated language of the epic poem. This can create a sense of irony, as the trivial or mundane subject matter is treated with such seriousness.
  • The use of a long and complex plot: The mock-epic often has a long and complex plot that is full of twists and turns. This can make the poem more humorous, as the reader is led to expect a serious and heroic story, but is instead presented with something more ridiculous or absurd.
  • The use of a cast of heroic characters: The mock-epic often features a cast of heroic characters who are typically petty or ridiculous. This can create a sense of satire, as the reader is invited to laugh at the characters' pretensions to greatness.

Elements of Shakespearean Comedies: A Cinderella of the Muses


“All I need to make a comedy is a park, a policeman and a pretty girl.”- 
 Charlie Chaplin (1889 - 1977)
 British actor and director
 My Autobiography

Comedy, a universal form of expression and a major dramatic genre that is intended to amuse, has always been considered inferior to tragedy. She has remained a Cinderella of the Muses, as Gordon says. There has been an awakening of interest in comedy in the recent times. Meredith was of the view that comedy (High Comedy) appeals to the intelligence – “aims not at our ribs or armpits but at our heads”.

 In comedy, the victim is attacked impersonally and without heat. The laughter of heart and mind are inextricably interfused in Shakespearean comedy. His is the Imbued with a playful spirit; comic entertainment frequently exposes incongruous, ridiculous, or grotesque aspects of human nature. Meredith says: ‘Shakespeare is a well – spring of characters which are saturated with the comic spirit; with more of what we well call blood – life than is to be found anywhere out of Shakespeare; and they are of this world, but they are of this world enlarged to our thought by imagination, and by great people imagination”. Comedy has a mission and lashes at the foibles of society. It should use the whip, and must have the courage to be cruel. The purpose of laughter is corrective. It deals with familiar surroundings and with society.

Shakespeare does not neglect the work of comedy, but he is good – natured, and kind. He attacks egotism, sentimentalism, pedantry and self – importance. These foibles do not make men and women criminals. These people are bad citizens and bad neighbours, and unsociable. In Shakespearean comedy every excess of egotism or sentiment is treated as an illness. Yet, even behind the ornate and elevated language of Shakespeare lay a densely ironic, and sometimes obscene, wordplay.

 Shakespeare’s world of comedy is a world which is dominated by the women. There are two groups of people in this world. One group of the young men and women live in a world of dreams and laughter. The other group consists of workaday people – farmers, maids along with rogues, jokers and odd fellows. Love – story forms the plot of these comedies: “We are in the Utopia of lovers, where there is much despair; but no broken.” A common characteristic of all the comedies is the use of disguise. Disguise enabled Shakespeare symbolize one of his favourite themes – the contrast between appearance and reality.


Ref: 

A history of English literature : Compton-Rickett, Arthur, 1869-1937 : Free Download, Borrow, and Streaming : Internet Archive. (n.d.). Internet Archive. https://archive.org/details/historyofenglish00comprich

A short history of English literature : Saintsbury, George, 1845-1933 : Free Download, Borrow, and Streaming : Internet Archive. (n.d.). Internet Archive. https://archive.org/details/shorthistoryofen00sain

Studies in the History of the Renaissance. (n.d.). Studies in the History of the Renaissance - Walter Pater - Oxford University Press. https://global.oup.com/academic/product/studies-in-the-history-of-the-renaissance-9780199535071

Legouis & Cazamian’s : History of English Literature - in 5 Vols. (n.d.). Legouis & Cazamian&Rsquo;S : History of English Literature - in 5 Vols. https://www.shreepublishers.com/index.php?route=product/product&product_id=1190

William Shakespeare’s Audience: “The Poets Lived to Please and They Must Please to Live.”



It was Jonson who said that the poets lived to please and they must please to live. There is no truer truism than this epigram. A dramatist particularly must either please or perish. He cannot wait like the novelist or other sorts of artists for the verdict of posterity. The present is his immediate concern and he must for his sheer survival as a playwright make his peace with the popular tastes and habits. Shakespeare was undoubtedly a popular playwright and a great entertainer of his spectators on whose patronage he and his company depended for their fortune and prosperity. 

What was the nature of that audience which Shakespeare lives to please? Opinions are no doubt divided. The puritan moralists describe them as a vulgar crowd with coarse tastes and noisy nature. Some of the playwrights themselves refer to them rather condescendingly as the “groundlings” or the “hydra – headed” multitude with “serpent – tongues and contagious breath”. Shakespeare himself at least in his early dramatic career felt rather humiliated in the company of actors and vulgar spectators – the profession at least appeared to him somewhat undignified. However, he got over it with the resources at him command and became ultimately satisfied with the conditions of his profession which he did much to ennoble in a single life time, that still remains a wonder to his successors in trade. Read More William Shakespeare

Whatever the apparent crudeness of the Elizabethan audience, they do not certainly deserve the curse of Carlyle and others of debasing the art and artifice of Shakespeare. First, the Shakespearean art is not at all vulgar and secondly all drama is a matter of intense co – operation between the author, the actor and the spectator. The audience of Shakespeare indeed cooperated marvelously for reproducing on the stage the many – splendored panorama that is life. Drama in Shakespeare’s time had become already a national institution comprising the cross – sections of the English people at large. “Apprentices and criminals came to his plays, but so did sober citizens and their wives, so did the flower of Elizabethan gentry and nobility”. University students, members of the inns of courts and royal personages visited the playhouses where the pit was again full of the hated (?) groundlings. Read More William Shakespeare

William Shakespeare
The composite nature of his playgoing crowd has been stressed by many including the poet – critic T. S. Eliot, who is of the opinion that the Elizabethan drama presented a fair for every level of understanding. Robert Bridges echoes the very same feeling when he says that “Shakespeare should not be put into the hands of the young without the warning that the foolish things in the plays are for the foolish, the filthy for the filthy, and the brutal for the brutal”. However, Bridges’ classification is rather too rigid and fails to reflect the reality full. In fact, the cultured were not always refined and the so – called vulgar were not all unrefined. The Elizabethan audience generally had a sense of poetry. Lovers as they were of the spoken word. They were also a rather temperamental lot responding quickly to anger, tears or laughter. In an essentially romantic and emotive age basking in the glorious sunshine of the Invincible Armada, people were prone to swift changes of behavior caring little for nice decorum and propriety. A Philips Sidney could suddenly stab his father’s faithful secretary on the merest suspicion while the Queen herself struck her favourite Essex across the face in the Council Chamber, Essex again would burst into the room of the Queen after the unfortunate campaign only to see the Queen standing half – dressed before him.

This is the composition of Shakespeare’s audience, differing in tastes and coming from different walks of life but united in tastes and united in a certain general outlook. They were all romantic, hot – blooded men and women having a zest for life and living. They loved songs and lyrics and ballads but above all they pined for action songs and lyric and ballads but above all they pined for action both in life and on the stage. So Shakespeare had to pack his plays with action, serious or comic. The comic heroes were as popular as the tragic – Tarleten and Kempe as much wanted as were Alleyn and Burbage. The fool and the clown were very much in demand. A people addicted to bear – baiting, bull – fighting and street – brawls naturally delighted in bloody shows, sword plays and the clash of arms and armies on the stage. Shakespeare catered to all these demands of his public in his plays and in doing so he also moulded their testes to a great extent so that when he left the stage, it was quite different from what he found it in the beginning. Read More William Shakespeare

Considering the work of Shakespeare as a totality we might very well conclude that breadth and variety uttered in an unrivaled poetry excellency is in a great measure the contribution of the play – going public of the age. G. M. Trevelyan, the great modern social historian, has summed up the position best in his English Social History as follows: “He could not have written as he did, if the men and women among whom his days were passed had been other than they were, in habits of thought, life and speech, or if the London theatres in the years just after the Armada had not reached a certain stage of development ready to his shaping hand”. The master only came at the right moment.

Additional Reading List:

Social Diversity in the Audience:

Shakespeare's audience was remarkably diverse, consisting of people from various social classes. The Globe Theatre, where many of his plays were performed, attracted both the aristocracy and the common folk. The plays had to appeal to a wide spectrum of society, reflecting the universality of Shakespeare's themes. Read More William Shakespeare

Reference: Greenblatt, Stephen. "Will in the World: How Shakespeare Became Shakespeare." Norton, 2004. https://archive.org/details/willinworldhowsh0000gree_t3w4

Patronage and Financial Dependency:
Poets, including Shakespeare, often relied on the patronage of influential figures for financial support. The dynamic between poets and patrons influenced the content and style of the works, as poets sought to align with the tastes and preferences of those who held economic power.

Reference: Windy, Greenhill. "Shakespeare: A Life." Oxford University Press, 1999. https://archive.org/details/shakespearelife0000gree_w0v9

Theatrical Experience as a Social Event:
The theatre in Shakespearean England was not merely a place for passive entertainment; it was a social event. The audience actively engaged with the performances, expressing their reactions vocally. The plays had to capture and retain the audience's attention amidst the vibrant and sometimes rowdy atmosphere. Read More William Shakespeare

Reference: Gurr, Andrew. "The Shakespearean Stage 1574–1642." Cambridge University Press, 1992. https://archive.org/details/shakespeareansta0000gurr

Political and Social Commentary:
Shakespeare's plays often contained subtle or explicit commentary on the political and social issues of his time. The audience was attuned to these reflections of contemporary events and societal norms, adding layers of meaning to the theatrical experience. Read More William Shakespeare

Reference: Dollimore, Jonathan, and Alan Sinfield. "Political Shakespeare: Essays in Cultural Materialism." Manchester University Press, 1985. https://archive.org/details/politicalshakesp00doll

Adaptation to Popular Taste:
The success of a playwright depended on their ability to adapt to the evolving tastes of the audience. Shakespeare, known for his versatility, was able to navigate the changing preferences of his audience, moving from histories to comedies to tragedies, thereby maintaining his popularity. Read More William Shakespeare

Reference: Dobson, Michael, and Stanley Wells, editors. "The Oxford Companion to Shakespeare." Oxford University Press, 2001. https://archive.org/details/oxfordcompaniont0000unse_p1d4

Literacy Levels and Oral Tradition:
In an era where not everyone was literate, the oral tradition played a significant role. Many in the audience experienced Shakespeare's works through performance rather than reading. The plays were crafted with a keen understanding of how language would resonate when spoken aloud, enhancing accessibility. Read More William Shakespeare

Reference: McDonald, Russ. "Shakespeare's Late Style." Cambridge University Press, 2006.


References:

the influence of the audience on shakespeare’s drama : robert bridges : Free Download, Borrow, and Streaming : Internet Archive. (1966). Internet Archive. https://archive.org/details/influenceofaudie0000robe

Lives of the Poets, Volume 1 : Johnson, Samuel, 1709-1784 : Free Download, Borrow, and Streaming : Internet Archive. Internet Archive. https://archive.org/details/livesofthepoetsv09823gut

English Social History : G M Trevelyan : Free Download, Borrow, and Streaming : Internet Archive. (1945). Internet Archive. https://archive.org/details/in.ernet.dli.2015.219828

Corcoran, N. (2010, July 6). That man’s scope: Eliot’s Shakespeare criticism. Cambridge University Press eBooks. https://doi.org/10.1017/cbo9780511750694.004

A history of English literature : Compton-Rickett, Arthur, 1869-1937 : Free Download, Borrow, and Streaming : Internet Archive. (n.d.). Internet Archive. https://archive.org/details/historyofenglish00comprich

A short history of English literature : Saintsbury, George, 1845-1933 : Free Download, Borrow, and Streaming : Internet Archive. (n.d.). Internet Archive. https://archive.org/details/shorthistoryofen00sain

Studies in the History of the Renaissance. (n.d.). Studies in the History of the Renaissance - Walter Pater - Oxford University Press. https://global.oup.com/academic/product/studies-in-the-history-of-the-renaissance-9780199535071

Legouis & Cazamian’s : History of English Literature - in 5 Vols. (n.d.). Legouis & Cazamian&Rsquo;S : History of English Literature - in 5 Vols. https://www.shreepublishers.com/index.php?route=product/product&product_id=1190

William Shakespeare - Chronology of Shakespeare’s plays. (n.d.). Encyclopedia Britannica. https://www.britannica.com/biography/William-Shakespeare

Shakespeare Attempts to Master the Problem of Time in His Sonnets ( Sonnet Sequence)


William Shakespeare confronted Time, which he called all – devouring with some trepidation as we all mortals do. Time is a great healer and it is a greater destroyer for it takes all in its eternal sway. The question is when the great bard of Avon faced his moment of truth, how did he think of tackling Time? Shakespeare’s first weapon in the battle against Time was the biological perpetuation through marriage as evidenced in the first 17 sonnets addressed to the fair friend. Read More William Shakespeare   His second was love of a transcendental variety and the third weapon consisted of his verse that was to be immortal and related to the running theme of compensation.

Elements of Shakespearean Tragedies: Greatest Achievements of Dramatic Artistry



"I hope you agree that, in studying a Shakespearian drama, we must...do our best to understand, exactly what Shakespeare's dramatic purposes are, before we even begin to explore how the play came to be constructed."-
Dover Wilson (1881 - 1969)
 
The Hero though they introduce a long list of dramatic personae, Shakespeare’s tragedies are ultimately concerned with only one character – the hero – whose fortunes are its real theme. Shakespeare’s heroes are among the most powerful studies of human nature in all literature and appropriately stand as the greatest achievements of his dramatic artistry. The other characters, though sufficiently interesting in themselves, serve only to provide the links in the story of his fate. 

William Shakespeare
It is not without significance that all the four chief tragedies are named after the principal figure. In the love – tragedies, Romeo and Juliet and Antony and Cleopatra, a pair of lovers – the hero and the heroine – dominate the action, and appropriately give their names to the play. None of the four tragedies we have chosen has love for its theme. Their theme is, rather, hatred and revenge, jealousy and suspicion, envy and ingratitude, ambition and intrigue. Most of the Heroes, Shakespeare’s tragic hero is not an ordinary mortal. He is not a superman, like the hero in a play of Marlowe’s but his rank of gifts raise him above the characters, and what happens to him is of public importance. Hamlet is the Prince of Denmark, Lear is King of Britain, and Macbeth and Othello, when we first meet them, are distinguished soldiers. 

Shakespeare’s tragic hero is a man of many noble qualities with one flaw that causes his ruin. Hamlet has ‘the courtier’s soldier’s scholar’s eye, tongue, sword,’ but he suffers from an indecision that is in the end disastrous. Othello is a ‘noble and valiant general’, whom the ‘full senate of Venice call all-in-all sufficient’, but he is a slave to jealousy. Macbeth is ‘a peerless kinsman’, ‘too full of the milk of human kindness’, but he is possessed of ‘black and deep desires’ that lead him to destruction. Lear is ‘every inch a king’; it is his violent temper and lack of judgment that prove his undoing. It is true that Macbeth was egged on to his crimes by his wife, and that Iago worked upon Othello, but the fatal in their characters was there in the first place. 

Highlights--Shakespearean tragedies represent some of the greatest achievements in dramatic artistry. Key elements that contribute to their enduring significance include:

👀Complex Characters: Shakespeare crafts multi-dimensional characters like Hamlet and Macbeth, whose inner conflicts and flaws drive the tragic narrative, making them relatable and unforgettable.
👀Universal Themes: His tragedies grapple with timeless themes like ambition, jealousy, and the consequences of unchecked power, resonating with audiences across centuries.
👀Masterful Language: Shakespeare's poetic language and soliloquies elevate the emotional impact, enriching the audience's understanding of characters' inner turmoil.
👀Catharsis: These tragedies offer a cathartic experience, stirring deep emotions and prompting introspection, leaving a lasting mark on the world of dramatic literature.

A Companion to Shakespeare Studies : H et al Granville-Barker : Free Download, Borrow, and Streaming : Internet Archive. (n.d.). Internet Archive. https://archive.org/details/companiontoshake0000heta

The Norton Shakespeare. (n.d.). The Norton Shakespeare | Stephen Greenblatt, Walter Cohen, Suzanne Gossett, Jean E Howard, Katharine Eisaman Maus, Gordon McMullan | W. W. Norton & Company. https://wwnorton.com/books/9780393264029

Shakespeare’s dramatic art. : History and character of Shakespeare’s plays : Ulrici, Hermann, 1806-1884 : Free Download, Borrow, and Streaming : Internet Archive. (n.d.). Internet Archive. https://archive.org/details/shakespearesdram01ulri

Self knowledge in William Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night




Self knowledge is perhaps the most significant theme in so-called joyous comedy (begins with music and ends with a song) of William Shakespeare, Twelfth Night. At the start of the play only Feste, a singing fool and Viola, disguised as a page, for her master, the Duke Orsino have a reasonable degree of Self knowledge. Orsino believes that he is in love with Olivia, but the falsity of this belief is shown by the fact that when they finally do meet they are arguing within a few seconds. 

Orsino never goes to meet Olivia, but sends messages to her through others, and it is the idea of being in love that attracts him. His lack of Self knowledge means that he cannot come to a realistic appreciation of anyone else's characters. It takes most of the play for him to realize that he is really in love with Viola. Olivia believes her desire to withdraw from the world is a result of grief at the loss of her father and brother, whilst in reality it is fear of a cruel world and a desire to lock her away from danger that prompts her. She does not realize this about herself, and so is defenseless against the first person (Viola) who dares to challenge her and present her with a slice of the real world. It is a subsidiary theme of the play that those who do best in life are those who face it and live it to the full, not those who try to hide away. In a tragedy Olivia’s lack of judgment would lead to her death; as it is, she was to suffer, but is allowed to fall in love where that love can be met by someone who will prove a true husband to her.

Malvolio lacks Self knowledge, and hence knowledge of other. He cannot see that he is only a steward, and thus can deceive himself into thinking that Olivia really is in love with him. It is not so much a question of Malvolio being duped and trapped by Sir Toby and Maria; rather, it is his own vanity that stops him from perceiving the truth, until it is cruelly but comically forced upon him by his enemies.

 image: wiki Act V, Scene i
(William Hamilton, c. 1797).
Viola knows herself, but chooses to adopt a disguise and thus covers her real nature from the world. Understandable as this is, it is still help to be a fault in a play which demands complete honesty about oneself. As a result of her self – imposed disguise Viola is forced to agonies about the apparent impossibility of her love for Orsino ever being recognized, and is forced by her loyalty into the unenviable position of acting as marriage broker and go – between for the man she loves. Olivia’s falling in love with her is merely another added complication, but one which reinforces the message that honesty about oneself is the only sure way to avoid the problems of relationships.

Feste has a shrewd insight into his own nature and that of other, but is condemned to be the fool, whilst he is probably the most perceptive character in the play. He knows himself, but it is open to argument whether or not he can control himself over his hatred for Malvolio. When viola says ‘Disguise, thou art wickedness / Wherein the pregnant enemy can do much’ she is pointing to the central issue of Twelfth Night: people who disguise themselves – from themselves, or from other people – are courting disaster. Self knowledge and honesty are the oil which causes the whets of society to run smoothly, and which allow people to live in harmony with each other.

The theme of self-knowledge is subtly explored through various characters and situations:

👀Disguise and Deception: Characters like Viola, who disguises herself as Cesario, and Malvolio, who is fooled by a fake letter, highlight the theme of self-deception. They must confront their own mistaken perceptions to achieve self-awareness.
👀Identity Confusion: The play's comedic elements arise from the confusion of identities. This confusion ultimately leads characters to question their own feelings, desires, and self-identities.
👀Reflection and Discovery: Through mistaken identities and love triangles, characters reflect on their own emotions, biases, and attractions. This introspection prompts personal growth and self-discovery.
👀Resolution and Acceptance: By the play's end, characters like Orsino and Olivia come to terms with their true feelings and find self-acceptance, underscoring the theme that self-knowledge is a path to genuine happiness and fulfillment.


Ref: 

G. B. Harrison {ed. Shakespeare: The Complete Works. New York: Harcourt, 1952

The Norton Shakespeare. (n.d.). The Norton Shakespeare | Stephen Greenblatt, Walter Cohen, Suzanne Gossett, Jean E Howard, Katharine Eisaman Maus, Gordon McMullan | W. W. Norton & Company. https://wwnorton.com/books/9780393264029

Shakespeare’s dramatic art. : History and character of Shakespeare’s plays : Ulrici, Hermann, 1806-1884 : Free Download, Borrow, and Streaming : Internet Archive. (n.d.). Internet Archive. https://archive.org/details/shakespearesdram01ulri

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