Works of literature are developed around certain concepts, which facilitate the creation and relaying of the author’s message. The concepts contained in literature are attributed to various literary elements including themes, characterization, symbolism, as well as setting. Differ authors develop similar concepts in their works, which can be analyzed to show similarities between how each author develops the concept in their work of literature. For instance, the two plays, Twelfth Night and Othello have a similarity with regards to how each develops the concept of masculinity. The aim of this assignment, therefore, is to discuss how the two plays similarly develop the concept of masculinity. In Othello, Shakespeare develops the concept of masculinity on the basis of the play’s setting. The play is set during the Elizabethan era, which was typically characterized by the male superiority and women being considered inferior to men. Throughout the play, women are depicted as the ‘weaker’ sex. As a result elements of a patriarchal society are evident with the prominence of the theme of masculinity or male superiority. The concept of masculinity in Shakespeare’s Othello is developed around the relationships between the characters. For instance, the relationship between Brabantio and Desdemona is a clear depiction of the Elizabethan viewpoint, which is based on dominance, as well as absolute control over members of the female gender such as wives and daughters. Shakespeare demonstrates the elements of masculinity as being able to exert control and domination over one’s wife or daughter, which is why Brabantio is angered when Othello steals his daughter. Similarly, in Twelfth Night, the concept of masculinity is also developed around the play’s setting. The play’s setting is based on the Renaissance era in England as well as on the Aristotelian tradition, whereby women were seen as inferior to men as they had long been opposed in comparison to their male counterparts. During the Renaissance period in England, the concept of masculinity was depicted through a character that was wearing a hat and having a sword that is meant to be shown off at the particular hour of glory. The play depicts members of the female gender as ‘weaker vessel’ owing to the sinfulness of the first woman, Eve. This is similar to Shakespeare’s Othello because, in the play, the concept of masculinity is also developed around a certain element that depicts male superiority in the form of dominance and control of members of the female gender. Throughout Shakespeare’s play Twelfth Night, the idea of male superiority is depicted, which is seen in the manner characters act and behave in an effort to associate with the concept of masculinity. In Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night, one had to do a particular thing, such as The Renaissance Beard, or have certain attributes in order to be considered masculine, which was also the case in the play Othello. In a similar way, the play also depicts the development of the concept of masculinity through the relationships between the play’s characters. For instance, the Duke of Illyria is in love with Olivia, a lady described as beautiful, which is an instance in which the concept of masculinity is shown as undergoing some sort of transformation. The relationship between Count Orsino and Olivia is on in which the female character is under the mercy or control of the male character as it is the case in the relationship between characters in the play Othello. This is because Orsino is terminally ill and his disease is contagious, yet he still intends on being with Olivia despite the possibility of infecting her. This goes to show that masculinity at the time was characterized by satisfying one's needs as a show of control and male superiority, thus similarity in the development of the concept of masculinity as in Othello.
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