Shedding Light on Twelfth Night

‘Carpe Diem’—seize the day!   Were the characters of Twelfth Night in it for the party?  Did they seize the moment to cause havoc?

 Twelfth Night is historically known in Christianity as the culmination of the Twelve Days of Christmas.  Twelfth Night is the night before the twelfth day. The night is considered to be an epiphany.  The night is meant to be a night of revelation of truth and light. Obviously relates to the ending of the play , the “epiphany”, of all the true identities discussed in my previous post.  This holiday was celebrated as a festival in which everything was turned upside down.  Likewise, everything is relatively inverted in the play. Malvolio thinks he could become a nobleman.

Olivia, as a woman, is in charge of the household.  Viola dresses up as a man.  Feste the fool should actually be called wise. These examples illustrate how Twelfth Night like the holiday is emphasizing similar themes or a topsy turvy situation.  The festive nature of the play draws upon the carefree attitude of the alternative title of “Or What you Will”.  People around holidays are supposed to be happy-go-lucky and roll along with happenings.  The “Or What You Will” highlights the lighthearted nature of the characters.  Except for Malvolio, the rest of the characters seem to go along untroubled with whatever happens in the play.  For instance, Olivia is rather complacent about accepting Sebastain is not Cesario. She goes moves forward with the prerogative (as you said) “Let It Be”.  Shakespeare uses the carefree nature of the characters as a parable for the audience.  A parable is a story, which illustrates a lesson, usually used in Biblical terms by Jesus (once again pointing back to the reference of the Twelfth Night).  Shakespeare is teaching a lesson of not to take life so seriously for no matter what happens one can take a “whatever” attitude toward the happenings and move on.  The play’s title may be based on the Epiphany or revelation of light, but Feste points out how life is not always filled with “light”.  Feste sings, “For the rain, it raineth every day.”  Life often has times of rain and seemingly “darkness”.  Feste expounds on the reality of life. Life is tulmultuous, confusing, people wear disguises (masks), and full of absolute nonsense.  Twelfth Night as a play taught me to see the lighter side of life maybe life should be a party from time to time.  Focusing on the darkness would leave me dressed in bright yellow tights and cross belts sulking.  In the spirit of Twelfth Night, let's instead:  “Laugh as much as you breathe and love as long as you live.”  

Additionally, the theme of lightness and darkness as you mentioned will be used in the Othello.  Shakespeare’s use of common themes throughout his works can illustrate how the lessons of life correlate.