Disguises are a prevalent theme within Twelfth Night, and the play reveals how disguises can exist beyond just physical appearances. Viola disguises her physical appearance in order to convince everyone that she is a man, while Maria and Feste use written and spoken language to deceive Malvolio. People can convince or deceive in many forms, and the play makes us question the purpose of disguises and how disguises can distort our own perception of the world. Olivia and Feste share a conversation that highlights the layers of deception within the play. Feste states, “A sentence is but / a chev’rel glove to a good wit. How quickly the wrong side / may be turned outward” (3.1.10-12). Language can be deceptive, since words are capable of having more than one meaning. Words can also be shifted and manipulated in order to convey different meanings. People are also able to shift and manipulate their own outward appearances, and they can change just as easily as language can. For example, Viola is able to change people’s understanding of her just by changing her clothes. Orsino immediately believes that she is a boy and states, “For they shall yet belie thy happy years / That say thou art a man. Diana’s lip / Is ot more smooth and rubious” (1.429-31). Orsino believes that Viola is feminine man, but a man nonetheless. The play teaches audiences that people are capable of embodying new identities just through their clothing. Feste also reveals how clothing helps people to embody other identities. Feste disguises himself as the priest Sir Topas in order to visit Malvolio while he is trapped in the dark room. Malvolio cannot see Feste, so there is no real reason for Feste to dress up as Sir Topas. Feste even states, “Well, I’ll put it on, and I will dissemble myself in’t” (4.2.4). Feste dresses in the garments of a priest in order to fully embody the character of Sir Topas, and he also disguises his voice to further deceive Malvolio. Feste reveals how disguises are not just used to deceive others, but also to deceive oneself. Feste truly wants to believe that he is this character, so he dresses as Sir Topas to the fullest extent in order to convince himself that he truly is Sir Topas. Finally, Maria copies Olivia’s handwriting in order to convince Malvolio that Olivia is in love with him. She states, “I can write very like my lady, your niece. On a forgotten matter we can hardly make distinction of our hands” (2.4.47-48). Maria is disguising herself as Olivia through the use of written language, which conveys that there is not one set way to conduct disguises. Twelfth Night reveals how people are able to embody different identities through their voice, clothes, and language. The play also helps us to question whether or not our assumptions of the world are real, or just another illusion. In a way, the disguises in the play are just exaggerated versions of the illusions that appear in our everyday lives. People are always disguising themselves in different ways, and Twelfth Night helps to highlight how we cannot always trust the outward appearances or actions of ourselves and others.