Twelfth Night

             In Twelfth Night by William Shakespeare, there is a great deal of comedic scenes. A great amount of these are to the credit of the character of Viola. The audience often finds themselves laughing at the predicament that she has involved herself. In short, she is trying to set up the man she loves with a woman that is not her, who ends up falling in love with her dressed up as a man. There is the obvious irony that she is her love's confidante, without him knowing that he is really a she not a he and that she really loves him. Even though Viola is obviously miserable by the position she is in, one can't help but find humor in it. Not malicious by any means is the spirit in which this laughter is born, but thoughtful. In other words, it is not foolery, or silliness, or malarkey that causes one to laugh at Viola; but the hopeless situation that she has placed herself.
             Anyone can create a hilarious scene consisting of clumsy stunts and limericks. However, creating a situation which is entirely beyond its character's control is the sign of a true art. Shakespeare manages to convey seriousness and sincerity for Viola's love of the duke. The situation itself, is purely comical. The fact that it is purely coincidental that the man whom Viola ends up serving, is the man whom she ends up loving. She is also in another bind, for if she reveals to him her true nature and her feelings, he can call her fraud and liar for deceiving him in so many ways. The course that Viola is forced to take is one in which she must tiptoe among her own lies. She must declare the duke's love for Olivia and hide her own for him. Of course, the irony of her convincing delivery of the duke's feelings is made all the more absurd by Olivia falling in love with Cesario, really Viola in her male guise. These dilemmas are all of a serious substance, yet are all found to be rather comical due to their ironic nature.