Twelfth Night Research Paper

Love is only two extremes, destructive or delightful. The definition of love is known as a strong feeling of affection towards something or someone. The play Twelfth Night by William Shakespeare, which is set in the make believe place of Illyria, explores the different emotions that love can give. Shakespeare shows the happy side of love and the more sad effects that love can have on people. The main theme in the play is all about the different parts of love, which are portrayed by the character using real love relationships, the absence of love and effect of love on the audience.

In Twelfth Night it seems that most of the characters love is artificial, many characters switch their love interest and are hypocrites to themselves. There are

The love drives the production and all the elements such as humour, happiness and tension, to make the play successful and entertaining. Most actions in the play are driven by love, for example Malvolio being tricked into believing that Olivia is in love with him. Malvolio believes the fake letter because he has made himself believe that he is in love with the countess, Olivia. Malvolio would do anything for Olivia, in viewing of the fact the he loves her: Not black in my mind, though yellow in my legs. It did come to his hands, and commands shall be executed. (iii.iv.24-5) Malvolio is convinced that the letter he found is true and from Olivia, he dresses in yellow stockings that are cross-gartered and does not stop smiling. He acts like an idiot just for Olivia to fall in love with him even more. This scene adds a comedic twist onto the confusion and deception of love. The whole play is based on the famous love triangle between Orsino, Olivia and Viola. The confusion in the love adds tension to the play, making the audience really think about all the character personalities and the feelings they have for each other. The love triangle adds mystery and uncertainty to the ending of Twelfth Night. The love confusion keeps the theatergoers interested with the question how will it end and who will end up together? The location is a big part of the romance, Illyria is a make believe place. The illusion of Illyria adds to the magic and happiness of the play. The setting is warm and exotic, which brings more of a enchanted and a secure vibe to the play. The secure feeling in the play lets the audience know that even though there is a cloud of confusion above their heads during most of the play that in the end everything will work out. The certainty that everything will be happy foreshadows the actions of brothers finding sisters and lovers marrying. Overall the theme of love affects the