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Sonnet Xx And Twelfth Night

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Even in the Elizabethan era, the concept of love was difficult to grasp. During that era, many people married young since they had short lifespans. Consequently, people quickly became infatuated with one another, such as from a glance or simple gesture. In many Shakespearean plays, the recurring theme is that love is tragic and brings only pain. However, in Twelfth Night, The Merchant of Venice, and “Sonnet XX”, love does not evoke only one emotion, but rather a range of emotions, from bliss to bittersweet.
In Twelfth Night, the characters endured sadness and happiness while they were in love. For example, when Orsino talked about Olivia, he seemed content and exhilarated. He thinks highly of her because of her beauty: “O, when mine eyes did see Olivia first, methought she purged the air of pestilence! That instant was I turn'd into a hart; and my desires, like fell and cruel hounds, e'er since pursue me” (Twelfth Night, Act 1.1). However, when he finds out that Olivia had married Cesario, he felt betrayed and furious. He was so mad that he wanted to kill Cesario: “But this your minion, whom I know you love, and whom, by heaven I swear, I tender dearly, him will I tear out of that cruel eye where he sits crowned in his master’s spite” (Twelfth Night, Act 5.1). His intense infatuation with Olivia caused him to feel this much anger. Ironically, Orsino quickly gets over his intense infatuation with Olivia and marries Viola when he finds out that Cesario is actually Viola in
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