Twelfth Night: About Nomenclature

Hareshwar Roy,


Twelfth Night: About Nomenclature

William Shakespeare has entitled his tragedies after the names of the hero or the heroine or both but in the case of comedies he has not followed this rule. He has given them very charming and suggestive titles like The Merchant of Venice, Much Ado About Nothing, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, As You Like It, The Taming of the Shrew and Twelfth Night. In all these cases titles give a peep into the soul of the play.
The Twelfth Night has two titles and both of them are very suggestive. The first title the Twelfth Night suggests a light and comic nature. It is because the day on which this comedy was to be performed was associated with the day of merry-making. During Elizabethan period sixth January was celebrated as an important festival with a great enthusiasm. This day was the twelfth day after Christmas. This day was originally celebrated as the arrival day of the Magi in England as pilgrims. On this day dramas were performed. William Shakespeare perhaps composed the Twelfth Night to be performed on this very day. The title, therefore, reflects the association of the play with a particular festival.
Moreover on that day, a peculiar custom was followed. With a bean and a pea a large cake was prepared. It was called Twelfth Cake. This cake was divided among assembled ladies and gentlemen by lot. The lady and gentleman who used to obtain the pieces of the pea and the bean respectively were accepted as the Queen and the King for the day. It is fate that plays a very important role in the selection of husbands and wives in the Twelfth Night. It seems that the title of this play is based on this ancient custom. Hence this title the Twelfth Night is very appropriate.
The sub-title of the play is What You Will. It is more charming than the first one. It is suggestive of many ideas. It seems that the playwright shows his indifference towards the title of this play. It appears that Shakespeare wants to say that I have composed a play for a special occasion. You may call it what you will.
Location: B-37, City Homes Colony, Jawahar Nagar Satna, Madhya Pradesh, India
Currently Dr. Roy is working as Professor of English at Govt. P.G. College Satna, Madhya Pradesh. He is the author of the following books: (1) Diasporic Articulation in the Novels of M.G. Vassanji (2) A Study of M.G. Vassanji 's Novels (3) Varieties of Indianity in the Works of M.G. Vassanji & Rohinton Mistry (4)Diaspora & Indian Diaspora: A Brief Study (5) Short Notes of English Literature - I (6) Short Notes of English Literature - II (7) हमार पहचान ह भोजपुरी - भोजपुरी कविता संकलन (8) हमरा प्यार हो गइल - भोजपुरी गज़ल संकलन (9) भोजपुरी कविताएँ

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular Posts

National Education- Mahatma Gandhi by M.K. Gandhi: Multiple Choice Questions with Answers

Hareshwar Roy,
Q.01. Gandhi wanted that all schools of India should teach the technique of cloth production as: (a) It will pay for the education of our students (b) It will teach them an occupation on which they can fall back in after-life (c) It will make them self-reliant (d) All the above Ans: (d) All the above Q.02. Gandhi condemns the textbooks for: (a) Text books do not teach students what is right and what is wrong in the home life (b) Text books do not teach students to have any pride of their surroundings. (c) At the end of education students become estranged from their surroundings. (d) All the above Ans: (d) All the above Q.03. According to Gandhi, our children should be taught to: (a) Despise labour (b) Dignity of labour (c) Look upon manual labour with disfavor (d) Look with contempt to manual labour Ans: (b) Dignity of labour Q.04. Which Universal labour Gandhi wanted to promote? (a) Agriculture (b) Hand spinning (c) Hand weaving (d) All the above Ans: (d) All the above Q.05. Accor
Read more

The Sundara Kanda: An Introduction

Hareshwar Roy,
Introduction: In Sanskrit literature Maharshi Valmiki is celebrated as the poet harbinger. His reputation as the father of Indian poetry seems to have been legendary. It is he who composed The Ramayana, an ancient Sanskrit epic. It forms an important part of the Hindu canon (Smriti). It deals with divine Lord Ram and his journey of life. It tells the story of Ram, an incarnation of the Hindu preserver-god Vishnu. Thematically, the epic explores the tenets of human existence and the concept of dharma. It is one of the two great epics of India, the other being the Mahabharata. It portrays ideal characters like the ideal servant, the ideal brother, the ideal wife and the ideal king. Valmiki’s Ramayana is one of the world's most remarkable classics and excels all in its moral appeal. It is full of lessons for all and deserves to be read with interest and profit by all lovers of healthy literature. It is noted for its poetic excellence. It stands equal in rank to the Vedas. It contai
Read more