ASSIGNMENT 2: TWELFTH NIGHT OR THE WINTER’S TALE
TWELFTH NIGHT
In her article, ‘Diffraction Patterns of Homoeroticism and Mimesis between Twelfth Night and
She’s the Man’, Xavia Publius writes the following:
“In literary criticism, what constitutes homoerotic energy in a piece has a specific history
braided using three strands—psychoanalysis, the lesbian continuum, and queer coding—all
of which analyze the suppression of queer content as (respectively) taboo, his-torically
unimportant, and subversively immoral. Because of this suppression, queer possibilities were
relegated to the subtext, and in order to locate these queer subtexts, audiences had to know
what to look for…” (2020:57).
Discuss how William Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night activates gender as performance, thereby
dissolving the distinction between homoerotic and heterosexual acts of love and fellowship. Your
answer should be cognizant of the distinction between gender performance and gender identity, and
the way in which Shakespeare uses the subtext of the play to comment on gender queerness as
taboo.
Make detailed refence to the play in your answer, and consult at least two articles.
OR
THE WINTER’S TALE
Peter B. Erickson (1982) remarks that while Hermione “changes from art object to particularized
human being” at the end of The Winter’s Tale, “she remains an icon.”
One might interpret Leontes’ “idealization” of Hermione as a means by which he neutralizes the
threat she poses to his patriarchal power: an icon, unlike a flesh-and-blood woman, has no desire
or agency. On the basis of such a reading, the ending of the play appears less redemptive than it
is often thought to be.
Write an essay in which you examine whether and in what ways patriarchal attitudes and social
structures are transformed over the course of the play. Discuss whether you think that the play
may be considered redemptive with respect to women’s position in the society depicted. Your
essay should make close reference to the text and you should critically analyse relevant passages
from the play to develop and support your answer. Your essay should refer to at least two articles
TWELFTH NIGHT
In her article, ‘Diffraction Patterns of Homoeroticism and Mimesis between Twelfth Night and
She’s the Man’, Xavia Publius writes the following:
“In literary criticism, what constitutes homoerotic energy in a piece has a specific history
braided using three strands—psychoanalysis, the lesbian continuum, and queer coding—all
of which analyze the suppression of queer content as (respectively) taboo, his-torically
unimportant, and subversively immoral. Because of this suppression, queer possibilities were
relegated to the subtext, and in order to locate these queer subtexts, audiences had to know
what to look for…” (2020:57).
Discuss how William Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night activates gender as performance, thereby
dissolving the distinction between homoerotic and heterosexual acts of love and fellowship. Your
answer should be cognizant of the distinction between gender performance and gender identity, and
the way in which Shakespeare uses the subtext of the play to comment on gender queerness as
taboo.
Make detailed refence to the play in your answer, and consult at least two articles.
OR
THE WINTER’S TALE
Peter B. Erickson (1982) remarks that while Hermione “changes from art object to particularized
human being” at the end of The Winter’s Tale, “she remains an icon.”
One might interpret Leontes’ “idealization” of Hermione as a means by which he neutralizes the
threat she poses to his patriarchal power: an icon, unlike a flesh-and-blood woman, has no desire
or agency. On the basis of such a reading, the ending of the play appears less redemptive than it
is often thought to be.
Write an essay in which you examine whether and in what ways patriarchal attitudes and social
structures are transformed over the course of the play. Discuss whether you think that the play
may be considered redemptive with respect to women’s position in the society depicted. Your
essay should make close reference to the text and you should critically analyse relevant passages
from the play to develop and support your answer. Your essay should refer to at least two articles
