Since Act Four is such a tiny slip of an act, I'll only give you one question to respond to...
Q1: At the end of Scene 1, Olivia, mistaking Sebastian for Cesario, tells him, "O, say so, and so be!" Why might this be the motto of the entire Act (if not the play)? How do characters change identities and fortunes merely by the act of speech? Discuss how someone in this act uses language to change themselves or are changed by someone else's language. Why does this work in the world of Shakespeare's play, and is this true outside of the play? Are we really constructions of our and other's language?
Answer to Q1) Basically, Olivia thinks Sebastian has just agreed to be hers. In other words, she hopes he means what she thinks he means. The reason why she is excited, is because she thinks he’s Cesario. We can see this as a motto throughout the whole play and Act, because there are so many confusions among the characters. Each time one opens his/her mouth to converse with someone, what they got out of the conversation is completely different from what the person meant. Characters change who they are through speech, but the pitch of their voice. When Viola is Cesario, she has to make sure her voice is deeper. Ironically enough, in this time, it would have been a teenage boy playing a woman, pretending to be a teenage boy. For the guy to play as the girl, the pitch would have to be higher. Olivia is so used to hearing Cesario’s voice, that for some reason, she gets Sebastian and Cesario mixed up. She thinks she finally has a chance. That poor girl has been confused and blindsided this whole time. There are many times in Shakespeare plays where there are characters pretending to be someone they are not. The pitch and tone of their voice helps a lot with that. We can also see this happening outside of the plays, and into today. Depending on who we are around, depends on our language. We don’t speak to our parents the same way we speak to our friends, dogs, significant others, etc. We have many different “languages” we use when talking with many different people in our life. I think Shakespeare is kind of highlighting that by using the different characters as different people. In his plays, each person has a different “language” depending on who they are talking to. The servants speak differently to each other than their bosses, and so on. Languages are constructed based on who we are around, and who we are talking to. Believe it or not, the more we are around the people, the more we pick up from them.
ReplyDeleteLanguage is such an important thing in communication, and not just the words that we speak. We change our voices all the time for different reasons. My voice is higher and sweeter when I'm dealing with a waiter or someone who is helping me in a store. We change our voices when we are around our families versus our friends. At work. I control my voice and keep it calm and deeper, to be more professional. Obviously Cesario is a girl (in the play) and is pretending to be a boy, so she must talk and sound like a man instead of a girl. Everyone in the play speaks differently depending on who they are talking to. They speak in prose when they are comfortable and intimate. The servants who are not as close to Olivia speak to her differently than the ones who are close to her.
ReplyDeleteKelci Smith
Q1: At the end of Scene 1, Olivia, mistaking Sebastian for Cesario, tells him, "O, say so, and so be!" Why might this be the motto of the entire Act (if not the play)? How do characters change identities and fortunes merely by the act of speech? Discuss how someone in this act uses language to change themselves or are changed by someone else's language. Why does this work in the world of Shakespeare's play, and is this true outside of the play? Are we really constructions of our and other's language?
ReplyDeleteCOMMUNICATION IS KEY!!!!! Whenever you are texting someone and come off as rude when you mean to be joking like, that can steer a conversation wrong. Olivia thinks that Sebastian agreed to be her man, but that’s not what happened. Olivia has hopes and dreams, but those will come crashing down. We see miscommunication not only in Twelfth Night, but in EVERY. OTHER. SHAKESPEARE. PLAY. For a guy to play as a girl, his voice would have to high pitch, and for a girl to play a guy, her voice would have to be deeper. Olivia confused (go figure Shakespeare) Cesario’s voice with Sebastian's to which she thinks she has a chance now. But this poor girl, this poor naive girl, someone hold her and tell her she’s cute. She needs a glass of wine and a pity party. This girl’s heart is being pulled through the dirt and stomped on for nothing. Language and tone can change an entire conversation. For example if you have a monotoned voice saying “congratulations” people may believe you are not being sincere. Choose your words wisely.