VIOLA - TWELFTH NIGHT - #BLOGCHATTERA2ZCHALLENGE2022
VIOLA
- TWELFTH NIGHT
Viola in Twelfth Night is one of Shakespeare’s strongest
heroines, who plays a pivotal role in the play. Her actions propel the actions
of the play as well. At the beginning, we hear of Viola being shipwrecked off
the shores of Illyria. Her twin brother, Sebastian, was also in the ship, but
there is no sign of him, and she has no idea if he has survived or not. The
captain of the ship informs her that Illyria is being ruled by Count Orsino,
and that of late, he has been pining in the love of Lady Olivia.
Viola Has nowhere to go. She decided to dress up like a
man and serve the duke. She calls herself Cesario and gets enrolled as a page
in the duke’s household. Favourably impressed by the winning manner of his new
page, Orsino sends Cesario (Viola) as an envoy to Olivia to declare his love
for her.
The comedy of errors begins when Viola herself falls in
love with Orsino. Meanwhile, Lady Olivia finds Cesario attractive and thinks
that she is in love with him, little realising that she is a woman in disguise.
When she sends her ring to Cesario, professing her love, Viola is drawn into
the love triangle without knowing how to resolve it.
It is at this moment that Sebastian, Viola’s twin
brother, lands up to add to the confusion. Olivia sees him and forces him to
marry her, thinking that he is Cesario. Sebastian is only too happy to oblige
as she is a beautiful and wealthy lady. He cannot believe his luck.
The absurd love triangle continues, with Orsino getting
incensed when he assumes that Olivia has married his page. However, the
mistaken identity plot, which is a common motif in many of the Bard’s plays,
builds up in momentum till Cesario and Sebastian come face to face and
recognise each other, much to their joy.
While Olivia is red-faced at having fallen in love with a
woman, she conveniently transfers her affections to Sebastian. Orsino falls out
of love with Olivia and suddenly realises that Viola is actually a woman who
has been talking about her love for him. He promptly decides to marry her and
all’s well that ends well.
Viola is, thus, the most impressive character in the
whole play. Her strength of character and her perseverance make her one of
Shakespeare’s most popular women characters. Despite being shipwrecked at the
start with no place to go to, she plays her cards well and manages to steal the
show. She joins the other female characters of Shakespeare like Portia and Rosalind
who dress in male garb to achieve their aims.
Twelfth Night was first adapted as a silent film in 1910.
This was followed by the Orson Welles version in 1933. In 1996, director Trevor
Nunn brought out his adaptation of the play starring Ben Kingsley, Imogen
Stubbs and Helena Bonham Carter as Orsino, Viola and Olivia.
‘She’s the Man’ was a modern adaptation of Twelfth Night on the sets of an American high school. The language was also modern, and the film was directed by Andy Fickman , starring Amanda Bynes and Channing Tatum.
I am participating in the #Blogchatter A to Z Challenge! Happy Reading and Writing! :)
Ooh, I quite liked 'She's the Man'. I wasn't aware that it's an adaptation of The Twelfth Man
ReplyDeleteInteresting titbits of Shakespear's popular play which I must confess I haven't tried reading till now! Ouch ... I'm feeling better after having gotten that off my chest!!!
ReplyDeleteMaybe I'll try out She's the Man before the book?