FREE ESSAY ON MASKS IN THE TWELFTH NIGHT

MASKS IN THE TWELFTH NIGHT

In Irene, Voltaire wrote, "Shakespeare is a savage with sparks of genius which shine in
dreadful darkness of night." One of Shakespeare's sparks of genius was in his use of
masks. These masks put characters in a sort of "darkness of night," allowing them to
become someone else. They are used for imagery, so one can discover who a person is-the
inside of the mask. Masks are used throughout Shakespeare's Twelfth Night to reveal
character's true emotions, to carry the story and explain things to the reader, and to
express the power of raw beauty. Shakespeare uses this imagery of a mask in many of his
characters in the play, but mostly in two: Viola and Feste. Throughout the play the masks
help the plot along. At the end, all masks are discarded for a great finale. 
The perfect example of the use of masking imagery can be seen in Feste the jester. In the
play, Feste shows his many personalities in the disguise of masks. Acting as a wise man
contrary to his role of the fool, Feste develops one mask. He tries to "conceal [himself]
for what [he] is" (I.ii.52) because he knows that if the people realize his intelligence,
he will not be called upon to work. These songs Feste sings serve as symbols of a
well-formed conscience. People would stop coming to him for this sound advice he gives.
Feste demonstrates a strong example of masking imagery because he shows what the play
might be without masks. Later, the "devil man" (IV.ii.122) in him surfaces when talking
to Malvolio. This is a mask because not only is Feste intelligent, not only is he a fool,
he is also conniving. These masks appear all over the play, developing from scene to
scene. Feste plays the role of a chameleon; changing masks to become what the necessary
character for the given situation. Feste acts as "an ass" (V.i.16) for his acquaintances.
This pleases the people and allows Shakespeare to say outrageous but true things that no
other character would say. Although characters wear masks, their true identities are
always revealed. Feste says, "Eyes show [the] days"(II.iii.94). He demonstrates that one
can remove a mask just as easily as one can put a mask on. Shakespeare develops all these
different masks. Some are used only once or twice; others are used for nearly the
duration of the play. 
Near the opening of the play, when Viola adopts her male identity, she creates another
self, like two masks. She may decide to wear one or the other while swinging between the
two identities in emotion and in character. She decides to take on this identity because
she has more freedom in society in her Cesario mask, which is evident when Orsino accepts
her, whereas, in her female identity she would not be. The mask of Cesario develops
throughout the play. Viola's mask pulls the comedy together. First, Viola's mask serves
her in getting a job to get back on her feet after nearly drowning. This mask helps other
people too. The mask gets Olivia back on her feet. She escapes the mourning of her dead
brother. Olivia realizes she has something to live for after seeing Cesario's mask.
Falling in love with the male version of Viola works out well. The mask turns out to be a
replica of something that does exist. Sebastian is there, married to Olivia, when all
masks are removed. The mask, growing on Viola, shows importance all over the play. It
continues to develop, and this leaves the reader an even more omniscient point of view.
While Olivia, Sir Toby, and Sir Andrew are clueless as to what is going on, we know about
the masks. Shakespeare wanted his readers to stand by and laugh. Viola plays the right
person at every point in the story to make a happy ending. She removes her mask at the
perfect moment. Being both a "maid" (V.i.267) and a "gentleman" (V.i.269) makes this plot
what it is. She carries out the functions of both genders, and she is judged from both.
The masks deceive. Thinking that Viola is a man, even her brother Sebastian is confused
about Viola's true identity. She makes her brother think he doesn't "know [her] by voice
or any other feature."(III.IV.325) This shows that she can fool even the closest of kin
thorough the mask. At the end of the play, when all tricks and treacheries are revealed
and all masks are lifted, Orsino falls in love with Viola. He first forgives her of her
duty to him then says that she shall be her master's mistress as soon as she completely
reverts to her female form. 
The imagery of masks in this play proves to be very well developed in both Feste and
Viola. Developing the imagery created by the mask helps to make the whole play more
understandable to the reader. Each mask is well developed and has a definite meaning to
the reader. Masks are used to conform to one's own needs or to the needs of others, just
as in real life. In the book, masks are used to hide something. Everyone eventually came
out from that hiding. With masks removed, quality of life improved in the end and
everyone became happy. Masks added a lot to Twelfth Night, but Shakespeare was trying to
show his readers how much better the world could be if people took off masks.