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An Imitation of Ignorance

The play Twelfth Night encapsulates what it meant to be a man and women throughout
the 16th century. The roles of each gender were set in stone, and one could not
publicly cross over under any circumstances. During Shakespearean times women were
not even allowed to portray themselves on stage, men played their roles instead. In
my opinion Shakespeare uses the play to show the hypocrisy of the status quo that
held people from expressing their true identity. Twelfth Night demonstrates that
professions should not be given on a gender basis, skill should be the only
consideration. During the play one sees that only through imitation of another
gender can a person reverse the roles, which they are bonded to. In Twelfth Night
imitation of another gender is done both out of necessity, and for revenge. In
Twelfth Night one's sexual preference was not a reason for gender reversal.
Viola/Cesario who has just lost her brother in a shipwreck......

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Approximate Word Count: 1378
Approximate Pages: 6 (250 words per double-spaced page)

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