How Does Shakespeare Use Dramatic Irony In Twelfth Night

At the beginning Orsino has an infatuation with Olivia before even meeting her because tales are told about her beauty. When Olivia and Orsino meet for the first time he says, “If music be the food of love, play on. Give me excess of it, that, surfeiting, The appetite may sicken and so die” (1.1. 1-3). This shows that the Duke’s passion has already grown past healthy levels. This can be seen by him insinuating that his desire needs to be sated which isn't healthy for either recipient. Orsino continues to fervently pursue Olivia throughout Twelfth Night by giving Cesario sickening notes begging Olivia to accept his proposal and to return his love. However the Duke may not be infatuated with Olivia especially, he could be an eager, over-passionate lover. This is proved when near the end of the play when Viola’s true identity is revealed. Olivia reveals her affections for Sebastian and the fact that they already married. Orsino is momentarily in disbelief but then Viola declares her love for him and he realizes all of her advice for Olivia was meant for him. This causes him to declare her his fancy queen and that he wishes to see her in a lady's clothes “Give me thy hand and let me see thee in thy woman’s weeds” (5.1 279-280). His actions and sudden shift in attraction proves that the Duke is perhaps a lonely bachelor who

For instance, when he finds the love letter that is supposedly written by Olivia, confessing her love for him, and telling him to smile, wear yellow stockings and go cross-gartered, he says, “I will smile, I will do every thing that thou wilt have me.” (2, 5, 165-6). He thinks the letter is from countess Olivia, who he is in love with, and believes that the greatness of being her husband is about to be given to him. Before finding the letter, he wanders around in Olivia’s garden and dreams about himself “To be Count Malvolio!” (2, 5, 32). He imagines how the other characters of the play would serve him, which again shows that Malvolio thinks he stands above everyone. In addition, when Malvolio is hailed by Olivia, he arrives smiling, wearing yellow stockings and cross-gartered, which makes Olivia think he has gone insane: “Why, this is very midsummer madness.” (3, 4, 51). Consequently, in this part of the play Malvolio’s inside does not match his outside. Throughout the play he is a grave character, that detests other persons having fun, so his actions of smiling and wearing strange dress make him look like a madman, which is why he gets locked up in Olivia’s basement. Towards the end, he returns to his initial manner, and declares that he will “be reveng’d on the whole pack of you!”, referring to the characters that tricked him into believing that the letter was

Later, Malvolio confronts Olivia and she thinks he is insane. Malvolio gets put in a cage and becomes isolated for his behavior.

In William Shakespeare’s play Twelfth Night, love as the cause of suffering is one of the most prominent theme of the story. Even though this play ends in love and wedded bliss, Shakespeare also shows us that love can also cause pain. The characters often view love as a curse, something that is thrust upon you and you cannot easily or willing escape. Examples include Malvolio’s love for Olivia, the love triangle between Olivia, Duke Orsino, and Viola as Cesario, and Antonio’s crush on Sebastian. There are countless occasions where unrequited love for another results in heartbreak and sorrow.

The dramatic irony created by Hamlet failing to go through with the murder of King Claudius furthers the suspense and anticipation within scene 3.3, especially when Claudius does not profess a guilty conscience. This particular scene begins when King Claudius is praying to God, hoping for some way to wash away the fratricide that has stained his mind. When Hamlet enters the room, he begins contemplating the actions of his villainous uncle. Instead of killing him in this moment of prayer, he decides that he deserves to die at a time that will cause pain, saying that “To take him in the purging of his soul,/ When he is fit and season'd for his passage?/ No” (3.3.89-92). Hamlet believes that King Claudius actually feels remorse for his crimes, and can still achieve a place in heaven. When only Claudius, himself, is present in the scene, though, he realizes that trying to receive forgiveness for the murder of his brother is impossible. His self revelation truly reveals the macabre faults in his actions. This scene sets the perfect backdrop for Hamlet’s murder of Claudius, but he leaves before can hear the King say “My words fly up, my thoughts remain below;/ Words without thoughts never to heaven go” (3.3.102-103). At this time, even Claudius knows he will not make it to heaven, so his murder would be fitting. Since this course of action doesn’t transpire, but the idea of death befalling Claudius remains, the scene ends on a note apprehensiveness and strain. Hamlet must wait and

Within the letter written by Maria, he receives instruction to complete tasks that will “please” Olivia such as wearing yellow tights and smiling often. However, Olivia despises these actions, for she is in mourning over her deceased relatives. Once Malvolio carries out these deeds in attempt to win the love of his Lady, he appears to be mad and causes Olivia to throw him in jail. She expresses her concern by proclaiming, “Let some of my people have a special care of him. I/ would not have him miscarry for the half of my/ dowry,” (3.4.67-69). Through the orders from Olivia to look after Malvolio, it is shown that his love-stricken actions have made him appear crazy. Also, because Lady Olivia expresses how much she values his work in the household, Malvolio’s confidence in himself increases, for he attempts to exert power over his arrestors and believes his captivity is all part of Olivia’s plan. Malvolio’s actions carried out for the sole purpose of love blind him to how he appears to those of the household and causes him to be thrown in jail because of accusations that he has become

Malvolio is brought in by Fabian to see that the love of his life, Olivia, is with a new man. The men think their jokes are all fun and games until the final scene when Malvolio confronts Olivia about the letter. Olivia who is unaware of the jokes being played, responds with, “Have I, Malvolio? No!... this is not my writing… ‘Tis Maria’s hand” (5.1. 318. 333-344). Malvolio doesn’t know how to react to the news of his crush being taken away and that the letter was phoney. This doesn’t seem to get much attention from the surrounding crowd because immediately after they start talking about other matters. The only thing Malvolio can say is, “I’ll be reveng’d on the whole pack of you!” (5.1.365). The “jokes” played on Malvolio were taken to another level when they created Olivia’s false love for him. Was it this or was it that Malvolio was so blind from the love that he couldn’t see anything? Either way Malvolio’s love for Olivia concluded with him being humiliated in front of the whole cast of

In the play Twelfth Night, Shakespeare uses dramatic irony to develop the comedic effect in the characters relationships. The use of dramatic irony produces most of the comedic effect by revealing situations and relationships to the audience, but not the cast. Developing the plot with this literary device provides comedic and ironic situations while engaging the audience.

“The element itself, till seven years’ heat, Shall not behold her face at ample view;”. (1.1.26-27) Although the death of her brother, may have been a tragedy, she vows to mourn by cloistering herself inside with no life outside of her mourning. She is preoccupied with her own feelings of grief (love for her brother), which makes her self-involved and foolish. One can understand that mourning your lost brother is normal okay, but however, doing it for 7 years is preposterous . In Olivia’s situation of love, she is encrusted around the love and lost of her brother. Olivia, spends all of her time at her court, instead of engaging with the world around her due to her outrageous decision. She's also preoccupied with her own feelings of grief (love for her brother), which makes her self-involved and foolish. The play shows how love is a romantic idea, but if the individual is very self-involved, the result will be unpleasant. Olivia had a huge passion for Cesario, becoming more and more desperate for his affection. Since Olivia has sworn off men for 7 years, and trapped herself in her own court she sends her head steward Malvolio to fetch Cesario her love. Olivia attempts to woo the young Cesario by and repeatedly lureings him to come back to her estate by using various tricks and forcing him to love her back. and problems. However Olivia, has some sentimental feelings for someone else. Because

Malvolio frowns upon Sir Toby for mingling with Maria who is a servant below his class but when the same opportunity is presented to him he is fine with someone of the higher class marrying him. He dreams of telling Sir Toby to, “Amend his drunkenness”(43) or that he would kick him out of the house even though Toby is a higher class than him and he should officially be taking Toby's orders. Malvolio kisses Olivia's hand repeatedly while wearing the yellow stockings and defies her order to go to bed ignoring his protocol and defying the natural order even

This is one of the only scenes in which Malvolio does not seem as sceptical or cautious as he usually is. He seems to truly believe Olivia sent him a love letter which was also foolish of him to believe as he knows Olivia is grieving over the recent deaths in her family and is not courting any suitors in respect to her father and

Comedy, in the Elizabethan era, often included themes of wit, mistaken identity, love, and tragedy, all tied up with a happy ending. These themes are prevalent in William Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night, a comical play that explores the pangs of unrequited love and the confusion of gender. Love is a powerful emotion that causes suffering, happiness, and disorder throughout the play. The play also demonstrates the blurred lines of gender identity, which ties into the modern day debate on sexuality and gender identity. The main characters in the play, Viola, Olivia, and Orsino are connected by a love triangle, each person pursuing an unrequited love. Suffering from love and the fluidity of gender are the prevalent themes explored throughout the play and intertwined with Viola, Olivia, and Orsino.

Meanwhile Olivia's drunkard uncle, Sir Toby; his pawn in the story Sir Andrew Aguecheek, are trying in his hopeless way to court Olivia with Sir Andrew. When Sir Toby takes offense at Malvolio's, the houses Stewart, constant efforts to spoil their fun, Maria engineers a practical joke to make Malvolio think that Olivia is in love with him. She forges a letter, supposedly from Olivia, addressed to her beloved, telling him that if he wants to earn her favor, he should dress in yellow stockings and crossed garters, act haughtily, smile constantly, and refuse to explain himself to anyone. Malvolio finds the letter, assumes that it is addressed to him, and, filled with dreams of marrying Olivia and in hopes of becoming noble he, happily follows its commands. He behaves so strangely that

In Shakespeare’s play, Malvolio and Maria both wish to do this; one by courting Olivia, and the other by trying to get closer to Sir Toby. The main difference between the two characters is Malvolio’s self-adulation and lust for power in comparison of Maria’s cleverness and her willingness to put her immediate wants aside to ultimately satisfy her craving for a better social standing at a later time. Malvolio’s immediate addiction to power and wish to get revenge on others overcomes any will he could have to play a part to access a higher social status.

Twelfth Night, Or What You Will, written by Shakespeare during the Elizabethan era, centers around the convoluted and shifting nature of love. The play makes a point that the ways in which love and affection are expressed and interpreted differ amongst the different social classes. Count Orsino and Lady Olivia, representing the upper class of the nobility, demonstrate their love in grand, impersonal gestures, whereas Viola, whose status is slightly lower, does so in a selfless, more authentic manner. This stark difference in how these two classes perceive love is also seen in how quickly the feelings of Orsino and Olivia change for their love interests once someone new comes along. The nobility has little to no sense of what genuine love is, which is seen in both their frivolous displays of affection and how quickly they are able to fall for someone new.