Julie Tagg| Think and Write for CSEC English A and B

In Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night, foreshadowing is not used in a conventional way, and significant events are not overtly predicted in the early parts of the play. Instead, Shakespeare uses wordplay and imagery to amplify later scenes, allowing them to reverberate in retrospect. This technique is evident in the play’s themes and plot points, which are foreshadowed through various devices.

One of the central themes of Twelfth Night is desire and the many forms it can take. Shakespeare introduces this theme in the very first lines spoken by Duke Orsino in Act I, scene i when he talks about the role of love. He says, “Oh spirit of love! How quick and fresh art thou, /…So full of shapes is fancy, / that it alone is high fantastical.” (I.i.). This quote introduces the outsized role of love in the play, and the mention of ‘fancy,’ which here means love, as full of shapes sets up the prospect of love and Eros assuming unrecognizable forms. This soliloquy prepares the audience for the entrance of Viola, whose disguise as Cesario introduces an unexpected love triangle. We understand that some characters will function less as autonomous, free-willed agents and more as participants, buffeted by a power outside of their control.

The play also explores the contrast between patient love and fickle love. Orsino’s drastic swings in affection are foreshadowed throughout the first acts. In Act II scene iv, Orsino first declares that men are fickle and unreliable: “Our fancies are more giddy and unfirm, / More longing, wavering, sooner lost and worn, than women’s are.” Later in the same scene, he contradicts himself, saying the love of women is less intense than men’s because their hearts “lack retention.” This scene foreshadows the two kinds of desire present in Twelfth Night: a constant, “patient” love (much like Viola’s) and a fickle one that darts about from place to place, like Orsino’s.

Another important motif that enhances conflict in the play is mistaken identity. After Sebastian arrives in Illyria, he and his twin sister Viola (disguised as Cesario) are often mistaken for one another, creating many complications and tricky scenarios. This mechanism is craftily set up in the early sections of the play. When Viola is first introduced in Act I, scene ii, the Captain shares his belief that Sebastian might still be alive, because he saw him swimming away, “holding acquaintance with the waves.” This note of doubt regarding Sebastian’s death foreshadows his later arrival. Sure enough, once Sebastian appears in Act II, scene i, he too fears that his sister has drowned. Since the audience now knows that both Viola and Sebastian are alive and well, and since both are presently on the Illyrian mainland, chances are the two will reunite later in the story. Their reunion functions as the climax of the play, and triggers the resolution. Once Sebastian admits that Viola “much resembles” him (II.ii.), the audience is prepared for the antics that result from mistaken identities.

Overall, Twelfth Night is a play that uses various literary devices to create a rich tapestry of themes and plot points. The use of foreshadowing through wordplay and imagery, as well as mistaken identity, enhances conflict and creates anticipation for the audience. The play’s exploration of desire and the many forms it can take ultimately leads to a satisfying conclusion, where the various plot threads are tied up in a neat resolution.