Essay Gender in as You Like It and Twelfth Night - 1438 Words

Gender Roles in Twelfth Night and As you Like It Much of the comedy in Twelfth Night and As you Like It emerges from Shakespeare’s distortion of traditional gender roles, as both plays contain strong female leads who disguise themselves as males. Though both Viola and Rosalind help their less-than-ideal beloveds woo their own objects of desire, and both disguises emerge party from the loss of a male familial figure, the women inhabit their male facades in drastically different ways. In both plays, though, Shakespeare provides constant reminders of Viola and Rosalind’s femininity, never straying too far from established gender tropes. One of the clearest similarities between Rosalind and Viola lies in that they disguise themselves as a†¦show more content†¦Likewise, his kind treatment of the elderly Adam proves him to be upstanding and kind as he does everything in his power to assure that the older man remain comfortable during their time in the woods. However, he clearly lacks a certain maturity and wit that Rosalind readily possesses. Even Rosalind must admit that his love poems lack originality and talent: â€Å"Oh most gentle Jupiter, what tedious homily of love have you wearied your parishioners withal, and never cried, ‘Have patience, good people! . . . Ay, but the feet were lame, and could not bear themselves without the verse, and therefore stood lamely in the verse† (As You Like It, Act III scene ii, lines 154-171). Moreover, though Duke Senior and Jacque show no signs of aggression, Orlando allows his youthful impetuousness to guide him and approaches their banquet in a hostile manner. Duke Orsino of Twelfth Night, or What You Will leaves much to be desired as well. The play begins with the Duke love-sick over Olivia: If music be the food of love, play on, Give me excess of it, that surfeiting, The appetite may sicken, and so die . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . O spirit of love, how quick and fresh art thou, That notwithstanding they capacity Receiveth as the sea, nought enters there, Of what validity and pitch soe’er, But falls into abatement and low price Even in a minute. So full of shapes is fancy That it alone is highShow MoreRelatedtwelfth night Essay952 Words   |  4 Pages Twelfth Night Essay While many will agree that Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night is critically acclaimed to be one of the most entertaining and well-liked pieces that he has written, there tends to be a discrepancy over how the characters in the play are portrayed when it comes to the importance of gender roles. 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