Oliver and Celia Essay Example

Oliver and Celia Essay Example Oliver and Celia Essay Oliver and Celia Essay We must not forget that other characters than Rosalind use disguise; Touchstone also disguises himself. He does not disguise himself physically, but he disguises his true intentions of marriage with Audrey: sex. Touchstone is a very humorous character in the play, often joking or making puns. He is probably used by Shakespeare to contrast the different types of love and marriage: Touchstone is marrying Audrey for sex, and Audrey is marrying him so she can become a respected woman. This contrasts against Orlando and Rosalinds relationship, that was love at first sight, the like as Oliver and Celia.In this scene, we also see that Celia uses disguise. Originally her motive to disguise herself was for protection. However, she uses her disguise as a helpless weak maiden to get food and shelter, in Act II Scene 4. Also, in Act IV Scene 3, she does not tell Oliver who she really is. If she had told him she was the Dukes daughter, he might not have fallen in love with her, or pushed his feelings aside to bring her back to the court. However, she keeps her disguise until the very end of the play, when all the couples get married.Finally, in the end of the play, Rosalind brings all the couples together to be married, in a triumphant denouement. In the epilogue, she also adds humour through disguise, although she is no longer acting the part of Ganymede. The epilogue is humorous, since she says If I were a woman, which reminds the audience that she is in fact a cross-dressing man, or would have been when it was first performed. Nowadays that is not true, and it is one of the only lines written by Shakespeare that does not transcend time. This is because Rosalind is now played by an actress, as acting is a very reputable profession. However, in 1599, the year the play was written, women were not allowed to become actresses.This inspires thoughts about the way women were and are treated, and how society has changed through time. In Shakespeares time, women were supposed to be gentle, subservient, passive, etc. They were expected to marry, bear children, and raise them. They were constrained by societys rigid rules, especially women at court, like Celia and Rosalind, and had little freedom. Men had much more freedom, and could show their wit, intelligence and humour when they liked. However, it was seen as unfit for females to do the same.Even today, in modern countries in the western world, the two sexes are treated differently, but less so than in other countries such as Islamic ones. Women have more rights nowadays, and laws to protect those rights than in the 1600s.I think that Shakespeare has used the device of disguise very successfully, since he has not only added humour to the written play, but also through cross-dressing added humour. I think that I would have thought this play funny if I had the same sense of humour as people did then, and understood more of the puns and subtle jokes, that are typical of the Elizabethan times but are not found comical now.