Topic Choice: Shakespeare, Twelfth Night, ca. 1601 (drama)
I chose ‘Twelfth Night’ because I’ve read many works of Shakespeare, but hadn’t yet read any of his comedies. At first read, it was a bit dull and not really as comedic as I’d hoped, though I fully understand that Shakespeare wasn’t meant to be read, it was meant to be performed. I was intrigued by the storyline and the many subplots going on behind the initial love triangle. When I read the work again, I caught a lot more of the humor and a lot more of Shakespeare’s intent. It was funny and showed a massive disdain for political figures. The two drunken men claimed to be politicians, and then throughout the entire play displayed crude behavior and unintelligent conversation. I think that’s what was most interesting to me, those two drunkards, Toby Belch and Andrew Aguecheek. They kept me entertained, and I loved scenes where they were in involved. I never knew exactly what they were going to do, but it was usually comical. I’m fascinated by the fact that they claimed to be politicians early on, and then immediately proved themselves to be not very bright. I’m getting the strong impression that politicians weren’t Shakespeare’s favorite type of people, because he used them so blatantly as the comic relief of the play. I also wonder about how many love triangles he has going on. It makes me wonder if he experienced something similar and wrote it into his work.
‘Twelfth Night’ was written in England in 1601. It was the beginning of the 17th century, which was the late Renaissance period. This was a period of wars that covered the entire globe. England defeated Irish forces and ended the Gaelic clan system. There were famines in Russia that killed one-third of the population there.
In England, particularly in the 17th century, the population exploded. England became richer and was controlling the trade and commerce of the time. Rich landowners became the political powerhouse of...