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Shakespeare's ideas of love
Shakespeare's ideas of love
Twelfth night analysis gender roles
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People often dream of the one day they find their true love, but the constant treachery and adultery that haunts the modern world are causing them to increasingly ponder the existence of this elusive creature and whether something so pure can truly exist. Shakespeare, a masterful playwright, geniusly demonstrates his doubts under the guise of a light-hearted play. Shakespeare wrote a comedic play Twelfth Night that initially focuses on the Duke Orsino’s love for an Illyrian countess Olivia. However, Olivia falls in love with Viola, disguised as a male named Cesario, while Viola falls in love with Orsino. Moreover, the love triangle becomes a love rectangle when Sebastian, Viola’s twin brother, comes to town, meeting and falling in love with …show more content…
For instance, before Orsino discovers Viola’s true identity, he declares that his “love [for Olivia] can give no place [and] bide no denay” (2.4.137). Although he claims that he could love none other than Olivia and would never give up on her, he unexpectedly falls in love with Viola the moment he realizes she is a girl. The scant amount of time that it takes for him to shift his affections from one woman to the next establishes the ease at which one falls in love. Consequently, the short amount of time that it takes for them to fall in love suggests that his desire for both Olivia and Viola is based on their looks alone. The abrupt shift in feelings exemplifies Shakespeare’s criticizing assessment regarding how easily people fall in love as a result of the feeling’s already shallow beginnings. Furthermore, during the time that Orsino remains ignorant of Viola’s femininity, he occasionally behaves in a hostile and impolite manner. In fact, when he discovers that Olivia has been wedded to who she thinks is Cesario, Orsino angrily commands Cesario to “direct [his] feet/ Where [they] henceforth may never meet” (5.1.177-78). Despite the reality that Orsino is not the most understanding person, Viola continues to harbor feelings for this boorish man, as displayed when she accepts his marriage proposal. The …show more content…
For most of the play, Olivia loves Cesario, but when she discovers that she had not married Cesario but his brother instead, she does not object in any way. In fact, when she first discovers that there are two people who look like Cesario, she does not feel anger or confusion, she just exclaims, “Most wonderful!”(1.5.236). Even though she claims to love Cesario, when she finds out that she had wedded his twin brother instead, she only feels happiness. The way she is able to suddenly switch from loving Cesario to loving Sebastian illustrates how one can fall in love effortlessly. In addition, Olivia’s happiness towards the event in which there are two Cesarios demonstrates that her love is only based on outer appearances and other superficial reasons. This signifies Shakespeare’s forlorn conviction that one becomes infatuated too easily and that love is dependent on one’s physical nature along with many other surface factors. Shakespeare’s ideas are also presented in the way Sebastian falls in love with Olivia. When he arrives in Illyria and is being doted on by Olivia, having mistaken him for Cesario, he does not correct her, only saying that “if it be [a] dream, still let [him] sleep”(4.2.66). Sebastian does not question this strange woman’s affection towards him, only deciding that he somehow got lucky.
During the weeks leading up to matrimony, Olivia fell madly in love with Cesario, who though looks and sounds just like Sebastian, is truly Viola dressed as a man. Sebastian does not realize this as he meets Olivia for the first time. He is amazed that a woman of her statue and beauty would feel so strong for him and he wastes no time.... ... middle of paper ...
Naturally, one of the most reoccurring themes in Shakespeare is romantic love. It is perhaps not a coincidence that he put so much emphasis on this elusive and enigmatic emotion. In the Elizabethan age when he was writing, the arts were being explored more fervently, and thus raw human emotions began to surface in the mainstream culture. In Twelfth Night, love is a confusing and fickle thing, as demonstrated in the relationships between Duke Orsino and Olivia; Olivia and Viola/Curio; Malvolio and Olivia (she certainly has an effect on men doesn't she?); Duke Orsino and Viola/Curio. However, the characters seem to have a love-hate relationship with Cupid. Within the first line of the play, it is glorified: "If music be the food of love, play on..." (Duke Orsino, I:I). And while Olivia is annoyed with Orsino's affection, she craves Curio's.
The protagonist of Twelfth Night is Viola, the central character in the play, a likeable, resourceful and attractive young woman. At the beginning of the story, Viola is shipwrecked with her brother Sabatian. Fearing that Sebastian is dead, she decides to dress like a man in order to get a job with Duke Orsino. Viola, in love with Orsino, is asked by Orsino to court a woman for him. She finds herself in an unusual love triangle.
William Shakespeare's Twelfth Night In the last act of the play the plot entanglements and confusions are not only sorted out but, also reach their climax. To do this all the plots that have been occurring throughout the play are brought together in one final conclusion. The various plot entanglements are sorted out in what is generally thought to be a happy ending, for instance:- Viola, who is under the mistaken identity of Caesario, finally reveals her true identity because Sebastian has appeared therefore everyone else thinks they are seeing two Ceasario's. By Viola doing this, she can finally reveal to Orsino that she loves him.
Orsino sends Cesario expresses his affection for Olivia, which Cesario/Viola is not thrilled about. with.
Each of them felt that they could trust her to complete important tasks. Orsino thought that since she looked more feminine and young that she could talk to Olivia and get her to fall in love with him. As Valentine is talking with Viola, he is telling her, “If the Duke continues these favors towards you, Cesario, you are like to be much advanced. He hath known you but three days, and already you are no stranger.” (1.4.250).
As prescient and insightful as this evaluation may seem after considering the outcome of Twelfth Night’s romantic pairings, it reads as a very shallow perspective rather than any sort of wisdom – to the Duke, love is never permanent, lasting, or constant (just like the nature of the tides, it always changes). Duke Orsino has no concern whatsoever for Olivia’s feelings of grief after the loss of her brother – she is merely an object of his desires at the moment, and as his eventual courtship with Viola proves, he is extremely fickle in his affections. (Even before Viola’s disguise became apparent, Orsino showed some signs of attraction to the male Cesario – this raises a few questions about exactly how far his romantic indecisiveness
Viola, as Cesario, manages to win the favour of Orsino He truly believes that she is a he. Orsino, still convinced of my majesty, believes that he can win the love of a woman, via a proxy. By having Viola merely read the words he has prepared, he thinks that Olivia will fall immediately in love with him. But while Orsino had his head in the clouds about his love, Viola is attempting to conceal from him, her love for him.
In one of Shakespeare's play called Twelfth Night, Orsino is the Duke of Illyria and he is a wealthy man who is respected by many people. Throughout the course of the play, the readers can see that the character shows little changes, and even when Orsino was still in love with Olivia, when he found out that ‘Cesario’ (Viola) turns out to be a female, he became in love with her and asked her to marry him immediately. Orsino is a really passionate and desperate character and it can be seen when he always relates his love to Olivia with music. In the play, Orsino is really passionate about the idea of love and that is probably one of the reasons why he tries so hard to get Olivia to love him.
We see this exaggerated one-sided love play out in many forms throughout the play. Viola, for example, says in this line, “I’ll do my best To woo your lady: Aside. Yet a barful strife! Whoe 'er I woo, myself would be his wife.” (1.4.44-46) This tells us that Viola, having just met Orsino a few days ago, has a desire to be wed to Orsino. This kind of desire that Viola has for Orsino can only be conjured up from a fairytale due to the sheer passion and irrationality of falling in love with an acquaintance. Shakespeare also uses diction in deceptive forms. This is evident when Orsino uses the word “violets” (1.1.6) in his speech and to display the deception that is played out in the play. The word “violets” comes from the comes from the latin word viola. Some readers would be deceived, as many might not even notice the hint that Orsino gives in his own speech. We know this deception to be true in the form of Viola when she disguises herself as a eunuch to Orsino in his own courts as evidence in this line, “For such disguise as haply shall become The form of my intent. I 'll serve this duke: Thou shall present me as an eunuch to him”
Twelfth Night consists of a large number of love triangles, however many characters are too indulged in love that they are blind to the untrue, and the weakness of their relationship, they are deceived by themselves and many people around them ( ex. Malvolio is tricked by Sir Andrew, Feste ,Sir Toby and Maria),but there are certain incidents where the love is true and two characters feel very strongly about one another. In the play, Viola and Orsino have the most significant relationship. The way they interact with each other causes the complexity on which the play is all about, their relationship turns from strangers to friends then lovers .In the First Act Viola is not honest with Orsino because she disguises herself as a male servant named Cesario in order to get closer to the duke. Orsino. Orsino quickly trusts Cesario and sends him to Olivia to declare Orsinos Love for her, the girl he most dearly loves. This quick bond is the fast example of their relationship. At the beginning of the play, Viola thinks her brother (Sebastian) is dead (after they’re deadly boat crash, where they get separated) when actually he is alive and thinks she is dead, Viola always seems to have a part missing from her which shows her bond with Sebastian is strong, and a part of her but in a brotherly/sisterly way rather than a proper relationship like viola and orsino, At the end of the play they meet and both fall in love , Viola with Orsino and Sebastian with Olivia.
Although Viola might be able to relate to Olivia's grief at first, her love for Orsino is so great that she cannot understand why Olivia would deny him. When Olivia expresses affectio...
William Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night, which is commonly believed to criticize society’s romanticized idea of love, demonstrates that even though love may seem unachievable, it is still possible to find it even in the most unlikely places. Shakespeare illustrates this idea in Twelfth Night through the characters Antonio and Sebastian by subtly suggesting that Antonio and Sebastian are more than just friends. It is Sebastian’s physical beauty that attracts Antonio to him, which leads him to devote himself to Sebastian as a sign of love. Antonio’s love for Sebastian grows to obsession; however Sebastian considers their friendship to be completely plutonic. In addition Sebastian generally tries to save Antonio from his own desire; however he does a bad job by leading him on unintentionally due to his passive nature.
Throughout Twelfth Night, disguise and mistaken identity works as a catalyst for confusion and disorder which consistently contributes towards the dramatic comic genre of the play. Many characters in Twelfth Night assume disguises, beginning with Viola, who disguises herself as a man in order to serve Orsino, the Duke. By dressing his protagonist in male garments, Shakespeare creates ongoing sexual confusion with characters, which include Olivia, Viola and Orsino, who create a ‘love triangle’ between them. Implicitly, there is homoerotic subtext here: Olivia is in love with a woman, despite believing her to be a man, and Orsino often comments on Cesario’s beauty, which implies that he is attracted to Viola even before her male disguise is removed. However, even subsequent to the revealing of Viola’s true identity, Orsino’s declares his love to Viola implying that he enjoys lengthening the pretence of Vio...
Love however, is the source of much confusion and complication in another of Shakespeare’s comedies, Twelfth Night. Men and women were seen as very different from each other at the time the play was written, they were therefore also treated in very different ways. Because of this Viola conceals her identity and adopts the role of a man, in order to better her safety whilst being alone on the island, and to get a job at Count Orsino’s court. In the play Shakespeare uses the gender confusion he has created from obscuring characters identities to explore the limits of female power and control within courtship, and their dominance within society. Violas frustration surrounding her inability to express her feelings to the Count because she is a woman is an example of the limiting rules of courtship which were upheld at the time. (Aside) ‘yet, a barful strife! Whoe'er I woo, myself would be his wife.’ Here she is already expressing her anxiety and emotion at being a woman, and having to keep her emotions hidden from those around her. She longs to be able to express her love as a man could, and in her disguise as Cesario she finds an opportunity to vent her feelings for the Count, but concealed as his words and towards Olivia. Viola is unaware of how her words may sound to Olivia because she is aware of their gender boundaries however Olivia isn’t and soon falls for Cesario. Because Olivia is a Lady and head of the household, and especially how she lacks a father figure, she has a lot more freedom in courtship. Duisinberre comments on this saying, ‘...Viola and Beatrice are women set free from their fathers, and their voice is that of the adult world.’ This is seen when Olivia immediately takes the dominant role in her and Cesarios relat...