Twelfth Night Women

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

Olivia tells Viola after listening to her message from Orsino, “I cannot love him. Let him send no more- unless perchance you come to me again to tell me how he takes it” (I. v. 285-287). Evidently, Olivia does not want any part in Orsino, even when he sends his heartfelt poems and messages to her. However, at no point does Orsino ever try to talk with her, and never meets Olivia in person (until around the time he discovers Cesario as a woman named Viola). Shakespeare uses this information to show how a lust for someone without knowing her/his true personality and attitude cannot consider itself genuine love. Even Olivia eventually starts to look into Orsino’s true personality and character, and develops a more genuine and developed love for him than his initial love for her. Claiming that he will remain faithful to Olivia, Orsino instructs Cesario, “Say my love can give no place, bide no denay” (II. iv. 136-137). Shakespeare foreshadows through Orsino that true love stays with the lover, as opposed to desire which has a tendency of having a short term of phase. Just as quickly as it starts, Orsino’s “love” for Olivia comes to a close when he realizes that Viola has true love for him in the

     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.

Gender equality is one of the main focuses in the Shakespearean play Twelfth Night. The movie “She’s the Man” is inspired by this play. The movie “She's the Man” challenges traditional views of males and females in society. In the movie, Amanda Bynes’s coach informs her soccer team that there will no longer be a girl’s team throughout the rest of the year. Unhappy about her coach’s statement, Amanda suggests that the girls should collaborate with the boys and play together on one team. The boys and coach find the idea to be laughable and disagree. When Amanda’s star athlete older brother runs off to travel the country to go on tour with his band, he convinces Amanda to disguise herself as him until his return. She pretends to be him for two

Queensland Theatre’s take on one of Shakespeare’s highly renowned plays, Twelfth Night, performed at QPAC has been re-written and adjusted for a more modern audience. The classic comedy contains gender problems and identity crises. Through this play, the director Sam Strong has been able to successfully achieve his goal of proving to modern audiences exactly how incredible and robust Shakespeare’s pieces are. Strong’s creative manipulation of dramatic action and staging, as well as plentiful representation of themes such as gender stereotypes and sexuality and also the use of certain aspects of Elizabethan comedy have all come together to successfully bring Shakespeare to be enjoyed by a whole new era.

through his vanity is easily fooled into thinking it is he who she loves although

Another story where love is fickle is in Twelfth Night. Orsino loves Olivia and tries to woo her, but Olivia rejects his love. However, when Orsino sends his manservant Cesario to declare Orsino’s love for Olivia, Olivia begins to fall in love with Cesario. Throughout the story, Orsino begins to take interest in his manservant and Olivia falls deeper in love with Cesario. Orsino’s love for Olivia is love at first sight, which does not last very long when he begins to love Cesario. At the end of the play, Olivia mistakes Sebastian for Cesario and marries Sebastian. In this play, Shakespeare shows that love is fickle and characters marry before they truly know if they really love each other. Olivia’s marriage to Sebastian does not display any

Much of the first half of the Twelfth Night is about disguised identities and general misconceptions about who is actually who. The play opens on a note of melancholy and death, Orsino grieving because Olivia refuses to love him and Viola and Olivia mourning the deaths of their brothers. It is following a shipwreck that Viola disguises herself as a male, ensuring that confusion will be part of the plot. The idea of masquerading as a member of the opposite sex is a familiar device and the “complications, artificial as they may appear, are an essential part of the play’s complete development.” (Travers 308) It is interesting to note that unlike other comedies such as “The Tempest”, Shakespeare does not create an older generation who prevent the young lovers from being together; instead it is the perplexity about gender and that keeps them apart. Sebastian, Viola’s identical twin, is the solution to all of the problems, though his appearance does add to it for a short while. Viola, dressed as Cesario, is mistaken for Sebastian by Antonio, and is asked for the money that he gave to Sebastian. However, this type of confusion adds to the comic nature of the plot as the audience is aware of the concealed identities. Order eventually comes from the chaos, disguises are shed and identities are revealed. The appearance of Sebastian ensures that the marriage will be possible for the main characters; Viola is free to marry Orsino and Olivia marries Sebastian, although she

Sexual identity and gender norms were very clearly defined in Elizabethan times and are still very clearly defined in todays world and society. Women are presented as being more in touch with their emotions, being more dramatic and being less qualified to lead or be in charge of their own destiny, whereas men are often portrayed as being more rugged, hands on and very qualified to do all things simply because they are men. Emancipation is a relatively new term, even though, when Shakespeare was writing his play his country was governed by a female monarch. In twelfth Night Shakespeare explores gender norms, sexual identity and women’s abilities to be their own person, have their own opinions through Viola. This arguably creates a very feminist

In Act 2 Scene 4 of “Twelfth Night” Duke Orsino was claiming that women were incapable of having feelings as strong as those of a man, Viola did not hesitate to disagree: “Too well what love women to men may owe: In faith, they are as true of heart as we. My father had a daughter loved a man, As it might be, perhaps, were I a woman, I should your lordship.” (Shakespeare 94). Though she was disguised as Cesario at the time Viola showed no shame in expressing her opinion, and not only did she explain her point she also admitted her love for Orsino without him realizing. When she says “My father had a daughter loved a man, As it might be, perhaps, were I a woman, I should your lordship”, she is saying that if she were a woman, which she is, she would love him immensely. Viola is not your typical Elizabethan woman; she does not shy away from arguments, and is willing to dress as man to achieve her goals. However, Viola isn’t the only bold, untraditional woman is “Twelfth Night”; Olivia, Orsino’s main love interest, seems to be anything but bold but in Act 4 Scene 3 she makes a bold, unexpected move toward Sebastian, Viola’s twin brother and her (Olivia’s) love interest at the end of the play, that showcases her character: “Blame not this haste of mine. If you mean well, Now go with me and with this holy man Into the chantry by: there, before him,

Shakespeare often writes his plays to be found comedic by using similar key elements. In the comedy the Twelfth Night, Shakespeare uses the elements of love triangles, role reversal, and rule breaking to create humor. Shakespeare often uses love triangles to create unusual situations of love’s absurdity. To create this, in The Twelfth Night, Shakespeare creates a woman, Viola, who dresses as a man in order to gain entrance into the noble world. Duke Orsino is madly in love with Olivia who falls in love with Cesario, who is really Viola.

Shakespeare presents Olivia as a person who has been swept off their feet, with her falling in love in an instant without warning. She can’t contain her new love as is evident when she says ‘Not so fast! Soft, soft!’ , showing she is so in love she has to tell herself to calm down and stop being so rash as she has only just met Cesario. In this scene, Olivia has just met Cesario, a girl called Viola in disguise, who was meant to deliver a message of love from one of Olivia’s suitors, Orsino but has inadvertently caused Olivia to fall hopelessly in love with her instead.

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.

The women in Shakespear's play: Twelfth Night, are all depicted as having power, comedic and being very emotional.

Viola sacrificed who she was and expressing her love to Orsino so that she could create her voice in the world and be accepted in a dominate male society. Act one, scene two, lines 53 and 54, Viola says, “Conceal me what I am, and be my aid for such disguise as haply shall become.” She portrays her courage when she decides to disguise herself as a young man. She does not have to mask her inner bravery while dressed as a man, because it’s acceptable for a male to be openly courageous constantly, while Desdemona showed moments of her strength which I will discuss. Viola becomes “Cesario” and Olivia becomes infatuated with him because he is unlike any other man she has encountered. Act one, scene five, lines 296-298, Olivia speaks to herself after Cesario has exited, “Methinks I feel this youth’s perfections with an invisible and subtle stealth to creep in at mine eyes. Well, let it be.” Cesario acts as a close female friend would, because he is actually a female. He listens, cares, and makes Olivia a priority. I believe that this is Shakespeare’s way of convincing or proving to 1600’s men in the audience that if they show compassion and understanding toward women, young ladies will fall in love with them easier.