"There is no darkness but ignorance." This is a quote from which play by William Shakespeare?
The phrase, "there is no darkness but ignorance" is said by Feste, the clown, in William Shakespeare's play "Twelfth Night" (IV, 2, 42). Scholars tell us that the idea of ignorance for Shakespeare is something that is not static; it comes to everyone in different vibrations. Here, the joke being played on Malvolio has reached its fullest magnitude, and the pranksters are beginning to contemplate the extremes to which it has gone.
The scene (IV, 2, 42) points out that people must not just walk through life. They shouldn't be ignorant of the world around them. If they are, then they deserve to be kept in the dark. When people open their eyes to the ways of the world, they normally see it for what it is. The darkness is then lifted and all becomes clear. When smart and successful individuals know what they want from life, but don't know how to get there, they may find themselves stumbling alone in the dark. These people should seek knowledge and become wise to paths in front of them. This is what "Twelfth Night" seems to conclude. One must lift up the black veil of ignorance, and the path then becomes clear. Knowledge is power; ignorance is a failure.
For Shakespeare, self-knowledge in "Twelfth Night" comes from discarding the ways of the world and being true to oneself. The word 'darkness' is important, because its opposite is 'light', which always carried the connotation of self-realization for many who lived as Shakespeare wrote and performed all of his plays
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