Hessey 1
Rahley Hessey
Jody Ragsdale
English 261
30 November 2016
Twelfth Night: The Role of Comedy and Tragedy
Twelfth Night is one of William Shakespeare’s most renowned works. Twelfth Night is a
comedic play that follows many of the characters’ efforts to find love. The story starts off with a
young lady, Viola, who has arrived with a group of sailors on the shore of Illyria. Viola and the
sailors has just survived a shipwreck during a stormy night at sea. Sebastian, Viola’s twin
brother, is one character that met their fate during the shipwreck. In mourning, Viola decides to
dress as a boy to get work as a servant or right-hand to Duke Orsino. Orsino, the Duke of Illyria,
seeks the love of his neighbor, the Countess Olivia. In similarity to Viola, she is also in mourning
over the recent death of her brother. Olivia has sworn to avoid the company of men for seven
years while she mourns the death of her brother, so she rejects Orsino. This is the main love
triangle in the story and is one of numerous examples of one-sided love. Also, the play is filled
with many comedic scenes, affection, and even tragedy. Many examples of comedy and tragedy
are shown throughout the play, and it is evident that these roles become the main theme of this
story.
Twelfth Night is a romantic comedy, and love is the play’s main focus. The features that
make the play a comedic story are things that range from happiness to gender confusion. In a
Shakespearean comedy, there is a main conflict between two opposite social groups such as
rulers and subjects or wealthy and poor. In Twelfth Night, this conflict is occupied by Orsino and
Olivia (rulers) and Viola and Sebastian (subjects). After many acts of pursing each other’s love,
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the final act usually ends in a wedding or celebration (Immerwahr 1). The characters of Sir Toby
Belch and Sir Andrew Aguecheek generate a humor for the audience by their drunkenness,
vulgar language, and the pranks they conjure up. The theme of happiness is met in the end. The
play follows the characteristics of a Shakespearean comedy when over half of the story’s
characters marry their lovers in the last act (“Aspects of Comedy: Text Overview – Twelfth
Night” 1-2). All the marriage creates a happy vibe in the story. Overall this play is a comedy
because it ends in happiness for most of the characters. It also presents social group conflict and
the drunk characters to give the audience something to laugh at.
One key part to the comedy of Twelfth Night, is the confusion of genders by the
characters. Gender confusion drives the play’s comedy. Viola expresses this confusion when she
takes on the disguise of a boy, Cesario, to get closer to Orsino. While just intending to be a
