How Far Do You Agree That the Comedy of Twelfth Night Depends Upon Viola’s Deception?

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How far do you agree that the comedy of Twelfth Night depends upon Viola’s deception? Aristotle, a Greek philosopher, theorised much in his lifetime about the arts of comedy, and he defined comedy as having common elements, some of which apply to Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night: that the main character is a woman; that impediments exist to attain true love; and that the play ends with marriage. Twelfth Night’s protagonist, Viola, manages to in some form or another apply to each of these elements. She is a woman, and her deception creates very sticky obstacles in matters of love. The uncovering of Viola’s true identity, in addition, leads to a number of marriages at the conclusion of the play. In this sense, Viola’s deception is very key in achieving a successful comedy. She and her disguise arguably drive the entire play into a comical chain of events from the start: her deception leads to her arrival at Orsino’s court, which leads to her encounter with Orsino, which then leads to her encounter with Olivia, and so the humorous ‘love triangle’ is formed. It is this love triangle in which much of the comedy of Twelfth Night originates. For example, in the impossible love between Orsino and ‘Cesario’, Viola’s rather chancy silence creates a number of comical moments, such as mid-way through the play where, when asked what kind of woman Cesario loves, Viola almost lets slip her true feelings “Of your complexion”, “About your years”. Olivia’s love for ‘Cesario’, equally as impossible, also creates humour, in the absurdity that Viola is “the man” which Olivia is in love with! If Viola had not masked herself as Cesario, no love triangle would have arisen: the plot would merely revolve around an unrequited and inoperative love between Orsino and Olivia, and there would be nothing too amusing about that. Therefore, regarding the witty love triangle that is so pivotal in

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