Disguises, love affairs, and misunderstandings are some of the words that come to mind when thinking of William Shakespeare's Twelfth Night and Richard Sheridan's The Rivals. The distinct representation of drama and dramatic irony are very similar to that of our modern-day soap operas even though these were written in the early seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. This paper will give examples of multiple love affairs and the great misunderstandings or misrepresentations of characters. They seem to flow endlessly through each scene and paragraph.
             The multiple love affairs that are in each character's story are almost impossible to unfold let alone keep track of. As the story unfolds in The Rivals, the overly romantic Lydia is fixated on the idea of eloping with a penniless man. Since she is an intelligent and well-read girl, Lydia understands the concept of loving someone for love and not for money. Captain Absolute has taken into account Lydia's desired man. He has disguised himself as plain old Ensign Beverley and feeds her fantasy about running away, even though that will mean forfeiting her fortune. Unfortunately, Captain Absolute is not the only man who comes along to whisk her love away. The two other wannabe suitors for Lydia's hand in marriage turn up to claim her. One is Captain Absolute's friend from back home, the rustic Bob Acres. Acres is a very simple person who has a very difficult time gaining the respect of others around him due to his poor use of language The other is the fortune-hunting, Sir Lucius O'Trigger an Irish man with a hot temper. O'Trigger often becomes angry with just about anything that crosses his path.
             In The Rivals, Sheridan seems to suggest the underlining meaning of love and just exactly how twisted it can become. Lydia seems to have a better understanding than most of the characters on what true love really is. Her desire to marry a penniless man focus...