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Within Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night, we experience Shakespeare’s notorious theme of conflict between opposites. In this particular play, nearly all characters portray some sense of disguise, whether it is of false appearance or altered personality. The first evidence we see is of Orsino, Duke of Illyria. Although he is a male, we witness him showing ‘womanly qualities.’ He continuously talks about his love for Olivia and includes the line:”O, then unfold the passion …

…heaven, fool.” “The more fool, Madonna, to mourn for your brother’s soul, being in heaven…” This exchange of words exposes Feste’s high intellect and therefore shows a contrast between his occupation and how he acts. Shakespeare used his idea of dissimilarity, contradictions and contrast to describe his main topic of disguises and false appearances, which sequentially stood out and made us see that what’s on the outside may differ from the inside.