THE ARTISTIC INTEGRITY OF SHAKESPEARE'S "TWELFTH NIGHT"

ALDEN JEROME REIMONENQ, Purdue University

Abstract

The dissertation demonstrates the artistic integrity of Twelfth Night through an examination of several poetic strategies used by Shakespeare. The basis for this kind of analysis is that in order to come to know Shakespeare's meaning, readers must first come to terms with the poet's method. This method can be explained through a discussion of poetic strategies the playwright used. The introduction discusses the value of the kind of study presented here. The explanation of poetic strategies used in Twelfth Night is important because these strategies can be identified in other Shakespeare plays. Therefore, the method described in the introduction is given as a way to perceive any Shakespeare play. Chapter One sets forth a principle of organization for the whole play. The strategy of the impasse is related to the structure and dramatic movement. There are, in Twelfth Night, identifiable impasses in the action at the end of each of the first four acts which are then followed by a way out of each dramatic cul de sac. The demonstration of how this poetic strategy operates argues for the primacy of the five-act structure in this particular play. Chapter Two studies the strategy of the confrontation in connection with the function of Feste, the Clown. At one time or another, the Clown confronts all of the major characters. His confrontations are often choric, and his last confrontation (as singer of the epilogue) is with the audience. Although Feste remains outside the action of the play, his function is central and crucial. Chapter Three studies the poetic strategy of replacement in relation to the function of Malvolio. Twelfth Night is a play that moves toward its conclusion by character and scene replacement. Malvolio is not accommodated by the world of the play when re-creation occurs at the end; he is replaced by Sebastian. Malvolio will never become the head of Olivia's house because he represents the sins of Illyria before the effective forces of love have replaced him. Shakespeare emphasizes the need for such replacement as shown through an explanation of the replacement scene. Shakespeare uses the pattern of a scene shown earlier with a significant difference. By recognizing the difference in the two scenes, the reader can discern meaning. Chapter Four investigates Act V of Twelfth Night, the final movement of the play. The method used to explain Shakespeare's construction of the last scene is "recapitulation. It is remarkable that the dramatic movement of the last Act is the same as that of the whole play. Shakespeare has re-presented the play, showing the various impasses and their solutions, in preparation for the revelation of Sebastian. Act V, then, can be seen as a kind of spectacle of epiphany in which Shakespeare recreates the family once absent in Illyria. Through the recapitulative mode, the play becomes a cohesive artistic unit. Through an appreciation of Shakespeare's art, readers can enrich their lives.

Degree

Ph.D.

Subject Area

British and Irish literature

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