Twelfth Night and as You Like It

Cross dressing is an important element that renders serious repercussions in Shakespeare's plays. Two plays that emphasize cross dressing and the repercussions it can bring are Twelfth Night and As You Like it. While the characters of Viola and Rosalind have very different reasons to explain their cross dressing, each circumstance while causing complications, also works in their behalf. Their ability to fool those around them generates interest and adds an element of complexity to each play. Namely, each woman is able to accomplish something she would not have been able to do as a woman. Rosalind teaches Orlando the ways of love and Viola makes her way into Orsino's house and heart.

In As You Like It, Rosalind is forced to assume to role of a man as a result of fleeing the Duke's Court and seeking refuge in the forest of...
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