Twelfth Night Research Paper

1805 Words4 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Shakespeare view on love

Shakespeare uses juxtaposition of his characters in the Twelfth Night in order to show his view on love. Viola and Olivia are both similar and different in terms of love. One the one hand, Olivia is a strong, arrogant women. Olivia seems to think that she is better than everyone else. On the other hand, Viola is a positive, devoted and outgoing when it comes to love. They are both strong women in terms of love. In other words, both Viola and Olivia don’t allow others to influence their decisions when it comes to love. Throughout the play we’ve come to terms that opposites attract, which is essentially what Shakespeare view on love is.
When Olivia is first introduced the play she comes off melancholy. Olivia is hopeless when it comes to love. Olivia …show more content…

How now (1.5:284-288). Her taking a risk at love with Cesario comes from her loving and passionate side. Olivia is a very confused character when it comes to love. In the beginning of the play she goes from mourning the death of her father and brother for seven years, to meeting Cesario and still not being interested in love. To falling in love with Cesario so quickly. “Thy tongue, thy face, thy limbs, actions and spirit do give thee five-fold blazon. Not too fast! Soft, soft! Unless the master were the man. How now? Even so quickly may one catch the plague” (1.5.297-301). Olivia goes from shutting off love to falling in love over night? Olivia seems to be very confused when it comes to love. To top it off marrying Sebastian simply because he resembles Cesario. This makes Olivia come off as a confused woman in the aspect of love.
In The Twelfth Night, we can see that Viola is a responsible servant, clever and selfless. Viola is selfless when it comes to love. Viola says, “Too well what love women to men may owe. In faith, they are as true of heart as we” (2.4:116-117). It is evident that Viola is genuine. Basically Viola is saying when women are really in love it is true and deep. This shows Viola’s genuine

Show More
Related

  • Laura Jastrem's Romance And Gender Positions In Twelfth Night

    809 Words  | 2 Pages

    Laura Jastrem’s essay “Romance and Gender Positions in Twelfth Night” focuses on the attraction that Olivia formed for another woman, Viola, who masquerades as Cesario throughout the play. The audience is aware of the fraud male persona that Viola has mislead the others to believe. Given that the play was written in 1601, there are diverse critical responses regarding the concept of love between two people of the same sex based on their time period. Jastrem’s critique was composed in 1999, when same sex marriage was still a notion that was not heavily accepted by the vast majority. Being 2016, with same sex marriage now legalized, it is clear that perspectives will differ concerning this view. Jastrem’s sexist critique focuses on the lesbian attraction between Olivia and Viola but fails to mention

    Read More

  • As the World Turns, So Do the Days of Our Lives

    1037 Words  | 3 Pages

    The central theme of the play is romance. The characters all experience love, in one way or another, whether it be unrequited or shared between more than one person. The plot is intricately woven, sometimes confusingly so, between twists and turns throughout the multiple acts, but it never strays too far from the subject of adoration. Despite the hardships, misperception and deceit the characters experience, six individuals are brought together in the name of holy matrimony in three distinct nuptials. Sebastian, the twin brother of Viola who was lost at sea after a shipwreck, and Lady Olivia are the first to marry, but things are not as they seem.

    Read More

  • Outer Identity Doesn’t Always Match Inner Perception in Shakespeare's Twelfth Night

    732 Words  | 2 Pages

    Olivia’s public status shows her as a caring and high-class lady, a persona with a stark contrast to her inner self as a bold and tenacious woman. When Olivia pines for Cesario, she takes action and confesses, “But, would you undertake another suit, / I had rather hear you to solicit that/ Than music from the spheres” (3.1.108-110). This confession shows Olivia’s yearning for Cesario to woo her, revealing a bold inner character and desire that doesn’t align with how others perceive her. Another example is after Cesario denies having married her and redirects the topic back to Duke Orsino, Olivia replies, “If it be aught to the old tune, my lord/ It is as fat and fulsome to mine ear/ As howling after music” (5.1.104-106). Olivia dismisses the Duke’s affections and rebukes him as a man would, saying his courting is gross and disgusting. This shows she is not the fragile and polite woman one may perceive her to be, but an abrasive woman who can speak her mind. Olivia breaks out of her social identity as a frail, polite, and proper Elizabethan lady and reveals her true inner character as a strong and empowered woman.

    Read More

  • The Theme of True Love in A Midsummer Night's Dream by William Shakespeare

    742 Words  | 2 Pages

    In "A Midsummer Night's Dream," William Shakespeare explains the difficulties of the nature of love. Both false love and true love prevail in the end, leading the reader to come to the conclusion that all types of love can triumph. Hermia and Lysander represent the existence of a "true love", while Helena and Demertrius represent the opposite extreme. Shakespeare presents the idea that love is unpredictable and can cause great confusion. Love is something that cannot be explained, it can only be experienced. Shakespeare challenges us to develop our own idea of what love truly is.

    Read More

  • Gender Identity And Alternative Sexualities In Twelfth Night, By William Shakespeare

    1019 Words  | 3 Pages

    In Twelfth Night, by William Shakespeare, gender identity and alternative sexualities are highlighted through the depiction of different characters and personalities. In the play, Viola disguises herself as a man thereby raising a merry-go-around of relationships that are actually based on a lie rather than actual fact. Viola attracts the attention of Olivia since she thinks that Viola is a man but even more fascinating is the fact that Orsino is attracted to Viola although he thinks that she is a man. In another twist Viola is attracted to Orsino and has fell in love with him although their love cannot exist since Orsino thinks that Viola is a man.

    Read More

  • Love for Friends and Love for Lovers Compared in Shakespeare's Midsummer Night's Dream

    1214 Words  | 3 Pages

    In his A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Shakespeare contrasts the love existing in the relationships of friends and of lovers. Love here does not refer to romantic emotion exclusively; “love” means connection and empathy with another being. The female relationships in the poem, between Hermia and Helena, and Titania and her fairies, exist with a love based on connections between the females. However, the lovers’ relationships arise from a love produced by desire for another’s differences. The females produce a strong bond with each other that exists to provide the other person with a better version of themselves and protection from destruction. Love can only exist in this relationship because it exists away from outside forces, such as sight. True love does not originate from desire but connection. This connection cannot exist romantically because lust and perception interfere. Shakespeare contrasts the love existing between the same sex versus opposite sexes to reveal the female friendship’s importance in love and virginity: the love between two females in friendship exists independent of outside forces, without domination or penetration, therefore providing the sole form of true love.

    Read More

  • The Importance Of The Sea In Twelfth Night

    1581 Words  | 4 Pages

    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

    Read More

  • Twelfth Night Language Analysis

    1499 Words  | 3 Pages

    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”

    Read More

  • The True Love Between Viola and Orsino, as Compared to Other Relationships in Shakespeare's Twelfth Night

    409 Words  | 1 Pages

    In Twelfth Night the relationships are anything but romantic. Shakespeare writes from the male point of view which implies an un-easy split between love and physical charm. In Twelfth night the romance is falsely produced by selfish desire. Duke Orsino and Viola stand out from the other relationships. By questioning the relationships between the other couples, Shakespeare highlights the true love between Viola and Orsino and the fake relationship of Malvolio and Olivia which is truly based on Malvolio’s desire of a higher status , despite his status and his personality , Malvolio tries to impress Olivia by dressing up in ridiculous clothes , which does far from his aim , and repulses Olivia.

    Read More

  • Shakespeare's Twelfth Night

    970 Words  | 2 Pages

    Finally, Olivia officially tells Viola (Caesario) that she loves him after Viola delivers another message to Olivia. Olivia tells Caesario that she has been in love with him ever since she first saw him, and that she cannot hold it anymore. She cares not about what her society would think about her for falling in love with a person not from her class. The reader knows that Viola is not interested at all in Olivia since she is in love with Orsino. Lady Olivia’s love for Caesario illustrates a universal truth about life that when someone is in love, he/she will do whatever it takes to show the other person that they love them. They are willing to sacrifice everything they’ve got for their love. In this case, Olivia is sacrificing her social status and reputation.

    Read More

  • True Love in Shakespeare's Twelfth Night

    1979 Words  | 4 Pages

    Unlike the other characters in Shakespeare's "Twelfth Night", Viola's feelings of love are genuine. She is not mistaken about Orsino's true nature and loves him for who he really is, while the other characters in the play seem to be in love with an illusion. Viola's love for Orsino does not alter during the play, nor is it transferred to another person.

    Read More

  • The Pain and Suffering of "Twelfth Night" by William Shakespeare

    1326 Words  | 3 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • Shakespeare's View On Love

    1955 Words  | 4 Pages

    Because of this confusing love triangle, some of the characters seem to view love as a curse. They also claim to suffer painfully from being in love or from the “pangs” of unrequited love. In Act 1 scene 5, Olivia describes love as a “plague” from which she suffers terribly. In Act 1 scene 1, Orsino depicts love dolefully as an “appetite” that he wants to satisfy and cannot. Another example of the characters not “liking” love is in Act 2 scene 2 when Viola says “My state is desperate for my master’s love.” This quote relates to the violence in Act 5 scene 1 when Orsino threatens to kill Cesario because he thin...

    Read More

  • Shakespeare in Love

    563 Words  | 2 Pages

    Romeo and Juliet had a delightful marriage. Shakespeare wrote about happy marriages. Romeo loved Juliet so much that he was willing to die for her. He never did her any wrong and cherished her love. Shakespeare is a woman worshiper. In Elizabeth I, Viola is a young witty girl who dresses as a man to work with Shakespeare. Viola falls in love with him. Viola is portrayed as vibrant and bright. Accusations of Shakespeare’s affairs are published in the novel, No Bed for Bacon. Shakespeare was said to write about love from his own experience. A Midsummer Night’s dream describes love the best.

    Read More

  • Disguises and Mistaken Identity in Twelfth Night

    1368 Words  | 3 Pages

    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...

    Read More

More about Twelfth Night Research Paper

Open Document