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Love in twelfth night analysis
The main themes concerning love in Shakespeare's twelfth night
Love in twelfth night analysis
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In Twelfth Night, Shakespeare uses his gift of the pen to weave an intricate web of relationships between the characters, mostly through love. The majority of the plot is based on this frivolous game of ever-changing desires. However, in the play, Shakespeare does not suggest that love will always be successful. On the contrary, much of the action and plot of the play is based on the unsuccessful relationships.
A good example of unsuccessful love in Twelfth Night is the love between Antonio and Sebastian, or rather, Antonio’s love for Sebastian. Although Sebastian is grateful for Antonio’s help and hospitality when his ship was shipwrecked, he is ready to move on to the next stage of his life. Antonio, on the other hand, loves Sebastian as
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It was not socially appropriate in that era for two people of the same sex to marry. So, no matter how much Antonio loves Sebastian, he knows deep down in his heart that their marriage will never be successful. Every minute he is spending with Sebastian is torture, tempting himself with glimpses of what can never be. Love, instead of being a sweet bliss, was a bitter sting for Antonio. It was a constant reminder of what he cannot have …show more content…
In act 2 scene 3, he severely scolds Sir Toby for making a racket, saying, ‘My masters, are you mad? Or what are you? Have you no wit, manners, nor honesty but to gabble like tinkers at this time of night? Do you make an alehouse of my lady’s house, that you squeak out your coziers' catches without any mitigation or remorse of voice? Is there no respect of place, persons, nor time in you?’ (II.iii.77-82). Sir Toby and Maria retaliate to his scolding by planting a ‘love letter’ from Olivia, addressed to Malvolio. As can be expected, Malvolio was overjoyed, and did exactly what the letter asked him to do - wear a pair of yellow cross gartered stockings. However, when Olivia sees Malvolio, she believes that he has become insane and imprisons him for being a lunatic. Malvolio’s ambitious love, rather than winning the lady’s hand in marriage, has caused him much suffering and humiliation. This presents a very clear message: not only is love sometimes unsuccessful, it can also create much pain and
The characters in Twelfth Night each play an important and specific role, especially when it comes to interfering or setting fate for romantic interests. Not all characters get a happy ending, and a particular character’s husband turned out to be someone much different than who she believed to be marrying. Through dishonesty, confusion, and chicanery, each character had a helping hand in dishing out each other’s fate, but nonetheless, the relationships that resulted in a law binding marriage beat destiny and overcame every hardship standing in the way of love and happiness.
In the time of William Shakespeare where courtship and romance were often overshadowed by the need to marry for social betterment and to ensure inheritance, emerges a couple from Much Ado About Nothing, Hero and Claudio, who must not only grow as a couple, who faces deception and slander, but as individuals. Out of the couple, Claudio, a brave soldier respected by some of the highest ranked men during his time, Prince Don Pedro and the Governor of Messina, Leonato, has the most growing to do. Throughout the play, Claudio’s transformation from an immature, love-struck boy who believes gossip and allows himself to easily be manipulated is seen when he blossoms into a mature young man who admits to his mistakes and actually has the capacity to love the girl he has longed for.
Olivia’s own cousin, Sir Toby, also has a secret side that doesn’t align with his social identity. Sir Toby is supposed to be a honourable high...
In stark contrast to the dark and tragic "Othello," is one of Shakespeare’s lightest and funniest comedies, "Twelfth Night." The theme of love is presented in a highly comical manner. Shakespeare, however, once again proves himself a master by interweaving serious elements into humorous situations. "Twelfth Night" consists of many love triangles, however many of the characters who are tangled up in the web of love are blind to see that their emotions and feelings toward other characters are untrue. They are being deceived by themselves and/or the others around them.
Malvolio’s self-love makes him blind of his actions; when Maria and Sir Toby played a prank on him by sending him a letter from “Olivia” he is quick to assume that the letter is to him. “ M, O, A, I. This simulation is not as the former;/ for every one of these letters are in my name.” (Act 2, Scene 5).
Antonio originally requests to accompany Sebastian, but Sebastian declines on the grounds that his ill fate might negatively affect his companions. Sebastian regards himself as cursed by the shipwreck itself and the assumed loss of his sister – he wishes to have died alongside her, and he indicates that his voyage is “mere extravagancy (2.1.11)” without having a particular destination in mind. “She is drowned already, sir, with salt water, though I seem to drown her remembrance again with more (2.1.26-27)” provides the second example of a direct comparison being made between tears and salt water – for Sebastian, the sea represents the misfortune of loss, and perhaps, a representation of his cursed fate. For Viola, the sea represents uncertainty and hope – despite all evidence pointing towards her brother’s demise, she appears willing to at least entertain the notion that her brother remains
Sir Toby does not have enough money to support his drinking habit, so he must rely upon Sir Andrew to help him out. Sir Toby implies this in a conversation he has with Sir Andrew by saying, “thou hadst need send for more money” (2.3.180); demonstrating the dependency Sir Toby has for Sir Andrew in their friendship. Sir Andrew uses his friendship with Sir Toby in order to try to marry Olivia. Sir Andrew says, “if I cannot recover your niece, I am a foul away out” (2.3.181), implying that if he cannot court Olivia, then he will be poor. If Sir Andrew was to become poor, then Sir Toby would not be able to depend upon Sir Andrew for money, and Sir Andrew would not be able to depend upon Sir Toby to help him court his niece; this would cause the friendship to fall apart.
Like most fairy tales that commence with "Once upon a time," William Shakespeare's Twelfth Night is a romantic comedy where a basic conflict is eventually resolved so that all the protagonists live "happily ever after." Similar to Shakespeare's other romantic comedies, Twelfth Night not only includes conflict resolution, but also a wedding in the final act meant to signify the good fortune that is bestowed on all the central characters at the conclusion of the play. Ultimately love is supposed to conquer all things. As displayed in fairy tales, love comes complete with chirping birds and a rainbow painted sky. Shakespeare, however, mocks love in its absurdity and accuses it of imperfection because love is a truth that is not perfect and does not always triumph. By examining the characters Olivia and Orsino, a reader will recognize that love is inconsistent and unconventional, and is capable of being genuine at times and egotistical at others; in order for love to be unconditional a level of openness and honesty must first occur. This level of sincerity is evident through the theme of gender bending.
Shakespeare’s play Twelfth Night revolves around a love triangle that continually makes twists and turns like a rollercoaster, throwing emotions here and there. The characters love each another, but the common love is absent throughout the play. Then, another character enters the scene and not only confuses everyone, bringing with him chaos that presents many different themes throughout the play. Along, with the emotional turmoil, each character has their own issues and difficulties that they must take care of, but that also affect other characters at same time. Richard Henze refers to the play as a “vindication of romance, a depreciation of romance…a ‘subtle portrayal of the psychology of love,’ a play about ‘unrequital in love’…a moral comedy about the surfeiting of the appetite…” (Henze 4) On the other hand, L. G. Salingar questions all of the remarks about Twelfth Night, asking if the remarks about the play are actually true. Shakespeare touches on the theme of love, but emphases the pain and suffering it causes a person, showing a dark and dismal side to a usually happy thought.
There is a certain degree of expectation with the genre of comedy that despite whatever difficulties appear within the play, by the end these will be resolved and the play will have a traditional happy-ending with a marriage or a celebration in the final scene. The “Twelfth Night” is no exception to this rule. Despite problems of confused identities and sexualities, the play ends with marriage for the major characters because they “have learned enough about their own foolishness to accept it wisely, and their reward, as it should be, is marriage.”(Schwartz 5140). There is a resolution of harmony to a certain extent and an endorsement of romantic love yet despite the happiness evident in the last scene, there are many elements in the play that causes the audience to wonder whether the happiness is forced or genuine. The words of a departing Malvolio, “I’ll be revenged on the whole pack you.”(Twelfth Night 5.1.365) leads to a conflict being unresolved. The marriage of Olivia and Sebastian also leads the audience to question whether Shakespeare has pushed the limitations of comedy to far, as Olivia marries Sebastian who she believes to Cesario and whose identity is only revealed after. The appearance of Antonio in the last scene also casts a sombre ambience over events; he is not united with the one he loves though he was willing to sacrifice his life for what he believed to Sebastian’s safety. The last discourse of the play from Festes once again returns to the melancholic mood that was apparent in the opening and it is this mood that remains with the audience.
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.
According to Merriam-Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary, love is defined as “strong affection for another arising out of kinship or personal ties; attraction based on sexual desire; affection and tenderness felt by lovers; affection based on admiration, benevolence, or common interest; or an assurance of love.” In William Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night, three different types of love are experienced: friendship love, true love, and self love. Each character experiences a different type of love, and in some cases it is not what they originally expected. The twisted, yet intriguing love story allows the reader to get lost in each characters emotions and development throughout the play. Many instances of love in the play are overwhelmed with a feeling of desire, which leads some characters to fall blind to their true love. Viola, Cesario, Orsino, Olivia, Sebastian and Malvolio, all experience love in a variety of different ways, which adds depth to Shakespeare’s comical play.
I aim to show how the “human” relationships in the play reflect real life relationships within Shakespeare’s own society (as well as his future audience), for which his plays were written and performed. Ferdinand and Miranda’s type of relationship shows Shakespeare’s ideas about true love, recognising not just the emotional side of love, but the physical nature too. Miranda promises Ferdinand “The jewel in my dower” which is her virginity, a prized thing in Jacobean times. This knowledge would have been known by Shakespeare’s audience, and knowing this helps us to understand Prospero’s protection of his daughter from Caliban. Ferdinand is asked not to have lustful thoughts about Miranda as “Sour-eyed disdain and discord shall bestrew the union of your bed with weeds so loathly that you shall hate it both” meaning that sex before marriage will poison the lovers’ marriage bed so that they will both grow to loathe it.
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...
In many instances, Bassanio and Antonio believe that friendship is more important than love. Therefore, the following theme is proven: friendship is a bond stronger than a vow of love. At the beginning of the play, Antonio is willing to sacrifice his credit to ensure Bassanio’s happiness. In the middle of the play, friendship and romance conflict, as Antonio is willing to give up his flesh to fulfill the bond that he makes with Shylock, and Bassanio departs to Venice without his newly-wedded wife. At the end of the play, Antonio persuades Bassanio to break his promise to his wife, fully proving the bond of friendship is stronger than a vow of love.