Twinship and Occult References in Twelfth Night

Authors

  • Kent Cartwright

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.15845/emco.v8i1.3711

Keywords:

androgyny, comedy, denouement, doubles, ending, genius, ghosts, magic, mystery, multiplicity, renaissance, occult, plato

Abstract

We think of Renaissance dramatic comedies as ending when facts and reason dispel misconceptions, such that a rational and coherent picture of the narrative whole emerges.  Yet in Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night certain elements in the denouement—involving nature, androgyny, and spiritual genius and related to magic and occultism—emphasize a multiplicity or surplus of meaning that resists rationalization and closure.  With such devices, Shakespeare imbues comedy with intellectual depth, memorability, and affective power, even joy.

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Published

2022-06-23

How to Cite

Cartwright, Kent. “Twinship and Occult References in Twelfth Night”. Early Modern Culture Online, vol. 8, no. 1, June 2022, pp. 39-57, doi:10.15845/emco.v8i1.3711.

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Articles