Abstract
The paper discusses Viola's presentation of gender in "Twelfth Night", which implicitly challenges the strict binary gender system that prescribes different and opposite behaviors for the two genders. The paper shows how the character of Viola stands in stark contradiction to long-standing prejudices about the weaknesses and frailty of women. The paper also points out, however, Viola remains a victim of the prejudices of her society, in that from her own perspective, she continues to see women as frail.

From the Paper
"In Twelfth Night, Viola and Sebastian are twins, but they are separated in a storm at sea. Viola adopts male garb, and the name Cesario, as a survival strategy - to enable herself to get a job working for the Duke Orsino. Thus, Violet is not explicitly making a statement about gender when she begins passing as a male - rather, she is simply making a statement about wanting to survive. However, the necessity for her to adopt this strategy does of course arise from the strict sex-based segregation of the times. Despite the fact that Viola does not intend to buck the binary-gender system in any way, she certainly seems to enjoy "being a man," and moreover, the fact that she adopts a male persona inevitably leads to gender-based complications. For example, the Countess Olivia falls in love with her, while "Cesario" falls in love with Duke Orsino, and "Cesario" is challenged to a duel by the jealous Sir Andrew. Viola's gender switch thus lays the foundation for much of the plot. However, despite being a plot device, it also makes it possible for Viola to present an alternative representation of gender."

Tags:Cesario, masculine, feminine, Orsino, Olivia, prejudices, women, frailty

Abstract
The paper notes that the 2006 film "She's the Man" clearly pays homage to Shakespeare's comedy "Twelfth Night" in the names of its main characters and the bare-bones outline of its cross-dressing plot, however, the paper points out many differences. The paper discusses how in Shakespeare's "Twelfth Night", his Viola disguises herself as a boy because of grief, not out of a love of sports, and, Shakespeare's comedy is more fundamentally based upon emotion, character, and even social class than physical difference. The paper continues by noting that Shakespeare's Viola is both a sadder and more vulnerable character throughout "Twelfth Night", in contrast to the more tomboyish Viola in the modern film who can fend for herself. Finally, the paper relates that the very sinister 'madness plot' and the characters of Toby and Andrew in "Twelfth Night" are toned down in "She's the Man".

From the Paper
"The main character, Viola Hastings, is abandoned by her brother Sebastian when the young man leaves for a music career in London, dropping out of the second prep school he has been forced to attend by their parents. Viola leaves Cornwall Prep and pretends to be a boy so she can play soccer disguised as Sebastian at Illyria Prep. However, in Shakespeare's play Twelfth Night, his Viola disguises herself as a boy because of grief, not out of a love of sports. Viola finds herself unwillingly rather than willingly in the land of Illyria after a shipwreck. She mistakenly fears that her brother Sebastian has died."

Tags:Viola, Sebastian, Cornwall, Prep, gender, identity

Abstract
In this paper, the use of disguise in Twelfth Night and King Lear are similar in their usage of various behaviors, costumes, and gender roles that are exchanged to discover the real truth through hidden identity. The paper discusses The Earl of Kent's use of disguise of Caius; contrasting with elements of disguise in Twelfth Night that offer a comedic gender role reversal for the men and women involved in love intrigue.

From the Paper
"In this drama study one can compare and contrast the various uses of disguise that arise within Shakespeare's Twelfth Night and King Lear. By realizing the depth and scope of romantic love within the comedic Twelfth Night, Shakespeare intertwines various aspects of relationships that are disguised through gender roles. In contrast to Shakespeare's comedies, King Lear offers a tragic point of view through disguise, which involves the role of power and leadership, which drives King Lear to madness. In essence, by comparing and contrasting the theme of disguise in both tragedy and comedy, one can evaluate how Shakespeare enacts these crucial factors within a textual analysis."

Tags:lear, night, comedy

Abstract
In this article, the writer examines the subject of gender as portrayed by the character Viola in the play "Twelfth Night' by William Shakespeare. The writer discusses that Viola dresses like a man and use a male name in order to survive. The writer discusses that the necessity for her to adopt this strategy does of course arise from the strict sex-based segregation of the times. The writer maintains that despite the fact that Viola does not intend to buck the binary-gender system in any way, she certainly seems to enjoy "being a man," and moreover, the fact that she adopts a male persona inevitably leads to gender-based complications.

From the Paper
"In Twelfth Night, Viola and Sebastian are twins, but they are separated in a storm at sea. Viola adopts male garb, and the name Cesario, as a survival strategy - to enable herself to get a job working for the Duke Orsino. Thus, Violet is not explicitly making a statement about gender when she begins passing as a male - rather, she is simply making a statement about wanting to survive. However, the ..."

Tags:Shakespeare, viola, gender

Abstract
The paper discusses how Viola's speech in Act II defines the gender, verbal manipulation, and patriarchal aspects of the theme of disguise in William Shakespeare's "Twelfth Night". The paper shows how by understanding the gender roles allocated to men, she then begins to realize how she can manipulate her adversary verbally in her speech and how strong the power of being a man is in a patriarchal society.

Tags:shakespeare, twelfth, violet

Abstract
This paper examines how William Shakespeare's play "Twelfth Night" can be seen as comedic social commentary on love and marriage amidst the backdrop of a renaissance ducal court, such as those that predominated in northern Italy. It discusses how the play, about a young woman who disguises herself as her brother in order to gain favor with the court results in confusion and how by using Viola as a plot device, Shakespeare calls into question traditional conceptualizations of romance, as well as gender relations and the significance of titles. It shows how Shakespeare has a lot of fun playing with this mixed-identity, gender-bending premise. It outline the plot of the play and provides an analysis of the main characters.

From the Paper
"Malvolio is self-involved; full of "self-love," as Olivia noted in Act I; he believes himself to be irresistible to a young woman like Olivia, despite the fact that he is an old servant. Maria, Olivia's servant, decides to play a trick on him by forging a mock-love letter from Olivia. Before he reads the letter, he entertains a fantasy about being married to Olivia, and getting to strut around Sir Toby and Sir Andrew, due to his imagined rise in station. Malvolio's thinking out loud gets him in trouble; the party decide that Malvolio is being a perfect "turkeycock," which is a good image to describe Malvolio's pride. Maria and Feste, the canny court fool of Olivia, continue to torment Malvolio through the play, as the old servant is somewhat of a running joke who is unable to match wits with Feste."

Tags:gender, court, olivia

Abstract
This paper discusses the many forms of deception that appear in Shakespeare's play "Twelfth Night." The writer explains how Shakespeare's use of language, disguise, and the self deception of his characters all contribute to the energy and subtlety of the play. The writer gives a summary of the play, showing how deception is woven into the plot and how his characters unfold as they deceive others and are themselves deceived. The paper concludes that at the end of the play, by admitting their lies and dropping their masks, all the characters except Malvolio seem to have solved their problems.

From the Paper
"The seeds of deception planted by Viola in the beginning of the play begin to truly bloom when Olivia's admiration of Cesario becomes a public spectacle. Sir Andrew Aguecheek, Olivia's resident courtier, becomes enraged when he witnesses a display of the lady's desperate love of Cesario. A victim of deception and self-delusion, Sir Andrew has been presented to all by Sir Toby as the brilliant, young, and extremely eligible bachelor he believes himself to be, when in reality he is a bumbling moron. Sir Andrew and Sir Toby are the only characters in the story who bear the title, "Sir," implying knighthood. They also happen to be the two most disreputable and foolish of the cast. The irony of the misnomers is a form of deception in and of itself."

Tags:mischief, revenge, tension, gender, comedic, transformation, self-delusion

Abstract
"The Twelfth Night" is an example of how a play can function both as theatrical performance, and as literature. The Twelfth Night is a play based on gender impersonation and openly mocks the assumptions about feminine and masculine behavior or expectation. This paper focuses on Viola, and Olivia, as they are so clearly designed to complement and contradict (even through the names, which are different arrangements of the same letters.) As Viola impersonates the young man with whom Olivia has fallen in love, the differences in how Viola manages to speak as a man are as varied as Olivia's relations for speaking as a woman in relation to men.

Abstract
The paper explores Shakespeare's gender disguise that distorted female identity and investigates early modern constructions of gender as distinct from sexual difference. The paper examines the play "Twelfth Night" in order to show how it was Shakespeare's intention to challenge gender taboos of the Elizabethan age.

From the Paper
"Considered by critics as Shakespeare's best achievement in the comic genre, the play Twelfth Night or, What You Will affords an elaborate exploration of love and power relationships, gender roles and taboos. Identity poses highly confounding problems, as there are numerous layers to the characters' gender roles and their maze-like relationships and (homo) erotic affinities. Through a range of female characters and the implications of (wo)man disguises, Shakespeare exposes gender issues. Several heroines of the comedies appear in disguise on the Renaissance stage, which represents the cultural context of the play."

Tags:androgyny, disguise, men, women, masculine, feminine

Abstract
This essay will argue that Shakespeare's use of this device in "Twelfth Night" is much more complex and significant than in "Comedy of Errors", as it is central to the theme of blurring gender roles in the play. As will be seen, Viola's transvestite impersonation of the male Cesario creates a site of gender confusion that challenges our understanding of the major characters and, in a broader sense, subverts the audience's certainty as to the nature of love and the permeability of gender lines.