William Shakespeare's Twelfth Night

Have You Ever Worn a Mask Before?

Many people wear masks to disguise their feelings, either emotionally or physically, and in William Shakespeare's Twelfth Night, the characters do the same. One of Shakespeare's sparks of genius was in his use of disguises and masks. Masks can make people feel like something that they are normally not, and can help them obtain things that they cannot reach on their own. The masks are used for imagery, so one can discover who a person is on the inside of the mask. Masks are used throughout Shakespeare's Twelfth Night to reveal a character's true self, to expose the power of overlooked beauty, and to raise questions about the nature of gender and sexual identity. Shakespeare uses the disguises on many of his characters in the play, but mainly two: Feste and Viola. Ultimately, Shakespeare raises questions about human identity and if classifications like gender and class status can be changed with a simple disguise.

The perfect example of the use of a mask can be seen through Feste. When he acts as a Wiseman, and not the fool, Feste shows the real development of the imagery a mask gives. Feste tries to hide who he really is because he knows that if people really knew he was the Wiseman; he would not be picked to sing his songs. The people also would not come to him for advice he gives them in his songs and speeches. This is a strong example of masking imagery because it shows that individuals have to change who they really are, just to please the people around them. Feste shows his many personalities throughout Twelfth Night. He shows the 'devil man' in himself when he is talking to Malvolio, because he is not only being a Wiseman and a fool, but he is also being a cruel and devious person (4.2). Feste's different masks tend to not only be well developed, but they also show people what they want to see. By using the masks, it allows Feste to be well-liked and more valuable to people. Through the use of the masks, Shakespeare is allowing the readers to see that disguises can just as easily be taken off as they were put on. Shakespeare reiterates this sentiment through other characters in the play as well.

In the beginning of the play, when Viola adopts her male identity, she creates another self. She decides to take on this identity as a man because she would gain more freedom in society while wearing her Cesario mask. This is evident when she is accepted by Orsinio, while in her female identity she would not have been. Because females were viewed as inferior, to disguise herself as a man and become a servant for Orsino was a novel idea. The mask turns from getting a job, to helping Orsino fall in love, to helping Orsino realize what love is really like. The mask, growing on Viola, continues to show its importance throughout the play. "Love sought is good, but given unsought is better," Viola's love for Orsino is very real but having to hide it, causes false identity (Act iii, Scene 1). Shakespeare uses Viola's disguise and attitude to portray to the audience the importance and dominance of men at the time. At this time, a woman's "femininity was partially defined by physical differences," and nothing else (Hodgdon 182). Women were supposed to "act like a lady," and become what society believed