Disguise And Mistaken Identity In Shakespeare's Twelfth Night

Introduction
I chose the topic disguise and mistaken identities, I chose this topic because I found it interesting how Shakespeare made connections with the Victorian culture of disguises and mistaken identities in his work, it is also interesting to see how disguise was used centuries ago. I found some interesting connections to Shakespearean plays, for example, women would often disguise themselves as men to be able to work under certain circumstances as we can see in the comedy “Twelfth night”. I also found examples of disguises in the Victorian Era such as masquerade parties, and some mentions of disguises in Shakespearean times in other cultures, as well as how the use of disguise in literature was portrayed in theatre.

Shakespearian plays and disguises

Twelfth Night gives an interesting idea of disguise when it comes to gender. It also shows the slight presence of homoerotism in the play, Olivia with flirting with Viola while she is in her male disguise, confusion between Viola disguised as Cesario and her brother Sebastian, as well as chemistry between Orsino and Cesario ( Viola in disguise ) even before she was revealed to be a woman. In the play “As You Like It” there is mention of a young woman Rosalind cross dressing as a beautiful boy Ganymede and there is some sexual tension between him/her and Rosalind's lover Orlando even when Rosalind is cross dressing as a man, which is an interesting spin on Shakespearian plots. A very famous mention of disguise in Shakespeare's work is in “Romeo and Juliet”, in which Romeo uses a mask to sneak in a party to be unseen by the Capulet family members, it is then that he meets Juliet and falls in love with