Viola and Orsino in Twelfth Night by William Shakespeare Essay

Fear of cuckoldry is widely known theme in medieval and Renaissance English literature. Fear of cuckoldry was also a widespread fear in English society during those eras. Men often treated their wives as possessions. Once men and women married, divorce was almost impossible, especially since it was almost impossible to prove that one had been cuckolded. If one were cuckolded and one’s wife had another man’s child, one might spend decades taking care of that child and passing on one’s money and belongings to that child without ever knowing that one had been deceived. Unmarried women are seen as their fathers ' property and the play 's two marriages are marked by jealousy and cruelty. Most

In Othello every character has their own personalities that makes them the person they are. In Othello there are characters that show true grit, a fixed mindset, and a growth mindset. Each characters are different which makes the book even more interesting. True grit means to endure and push through to do something better no matter what it takes. An example of grit is studying for a long period of time for a test and enduring the amount of work that must be completed. The definition of mindset is the established set of attitude held by someone. There are two other types of mindset as well. There is growth mindset and fixed mindset. Growth mindset is when the person isn 't

Though Orsino seems to have his eyes set solely on Olivia, he also looks at “Cesario” with some interest, commenting, “Diana’s lip is not more smooth and rubious, thy small pipe is as the maiden’s organ, shrill and sound, and all is semblative a woman’s part” (I. iv. 34-37). He recognizes some key features in Viola that pique his interest, but does not show his love for her because she disguises herself as a man. Shakespeare presents him by showing his ability to notice Viola’s masculine and feminine features, unlike with what he does with Olivia which he only looks at the broad characteristics that consist only on her shallowest features. Later on, he goes as far as to propose to Viola, “Meantime, sweet sister, we will not part from hence. -Cesario, come, for so you shall be while you are a man…Orsino’s mistress, and his fancy’s queen” (V. i. 407-411). To contrast Olivia’s swift rejection of her own love for Cesario because of “his” gender, Shakespeare presents Orsino as a character who quickly accepts Viola’s love for him, regardless of her current state of gender. However, unlike his stubborn, selfish desire for Olivia, Orsino’s blossoming relationship with Viola transfers his desire into a more selfless aspect of true love.

When pairs of texts are considered together, their universal themes and ideas lead to greater understanding, appreciation and insight of both the old and the new. The texts Othello, William Shakespeare (1600) and Othello, Geoffrey Sax (2001), ring true for this statement. Despite the differing contexts and ages, the universal themes of racism and betrayal bring new meaning to each of the texts. The primary meaning from the juxtaposition of the two is that of the human condition, and how the problems faced in the 17th century are faced in modern times.

Shakespeare is known for his use of recurring themes throughout his work, including love, death and betrayal. These themes are present in his work of Othello. However, the most fundamental issue is jealousy. The lives of the characthers in Othello are ruined by jealousy from the beginning to the end of the play. The telling of the story is carried out by passion, jealousy, and death. Shakespeare’s Othello reveals devastating tragic inevitability, stunning psychological depth, and compelling poetic depth; the fragility and mysterious power of love, as well as demons of doubt, and how suspicion can be triggered by manipulative villain (Barthelemy 12).

“Here as before, never so help you mercy,/How strange, or odd some’er I bear myself,/As I perchance hereafter shall think meet/To put an antic disposition

Different types of love and marriage play a significant role in Shakespeare’s twelfth night, whether unrequited like with Antonio and Malvolio; or something seemingly unattainable like with Duke Orsino. Love is prevalent as one of Shakespeare's central theme emphasized in the Twelfth Night. With that, we see Shakespeare communicate different interpretations and feelings regarding the subject. He does this with the medium of melodramatic characters. However, this essay will solely elaborate on the character Duke Orsino and his exploration of love. Through Orsino’s actions, Shakespeare conveys several messages still applicable today, some of which are about the fine line between superficial love and genuine love, love's incoherency, and love's

In Shakespeare’s play Othello, tragedy unfolds on the account of one man’s actions, Iago. He is a twenty eight year old military veteran from Venice. His personality consists of being obsessive, manipulative, relentless, and bold. From the beginning he expressed his hatred towards the Moor, or North African named Othello. Othello is a highly respected general and is also married to the pure Desdemona. The marriage between Othello and Desdemona is destroyed due to Iago’s actions and lies. His actions consist of getting Michael Cassio discharged as lieutenant and convincing the Moor that his wife is cheating on him. The motives Iago has for despising Othello are he passed him over for a promotion to be his lieutenant, instead he chose

If William Shakespeare were alive today he could have been a millionaire movie producer, but alas his misfortune caused him to die an author who causes many students to cringe upon the mention of his name. William Shakespeare wrote the classic Othello in 1604, in 2001 Tim Blake Nelson directed the film O based on Othello. Both of these stories run the same story line but with a difference in setting, time period, and characters names. The correlation to the original Othello that O displays allows for a better understanding of the text as well as a deeper appreciation for the talented mind of Shakespeare. The final scene of Othello can be translated into a modern adaptation for a younger audience and still correlate with the original.

Through out Shakespeare’s entire Twelfths Night Act there were various roles of mistaken identities. “Shakespeare often uses mistaken identity to create confusion and tangled, love triangles. This keeps his plays fresh and serves to add humor to the entertainment.” (D, Jill) Viola is one of the main characters of the Twelfths Night Act we can easily reduce the amorality or her decision to dress like a young man. Her character is the center the entire plot. She seems to be the only character to truly be authentic. She also seems to be truly in love. Viola also plays the character of Cesario. At times she has problems keeping her identity being that she is in disguise. For Orsino and Olivia, Orsino starts out by professing his love for Olivia.

"He is a coward and a coistrel that will not drink to my niece 'till

Critics have debated the significance of Othello’s race in terms of portraying his identity for a long time. The negative connotations of “blackness” have led to the creation of many racial constructs associated with the “Moor”; this denigration has infused the opinions of many critics, such as Albert Gerard, proposing that Othello’s “negroid physiognomy” reaches down to the “deepest levels of personality” and that he is a “barbarian”. However, many other critics like Edward Berry and Martin Orkin believe that colour is merely a “surface indicator” compared to the outward virtue of beneficence, defining identity. Beneficence could be defined by the will to practice good acts, in conjunction with the aversion of practicing evil, and the prevention and removal of evil.

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.

In Volpone and Twelfth Night both Shakespeare and Jonson use disguise to make the audience laugh, but also to explore more serious themes. Such as gender issues within Shakespeare and Jonson with exploring greed and how it can destroy you. The playwrights make the audience laugh by using a range of different methods such as interaction with the audience throughout the plays. The writers’ purposes right at the beginning are to explore the theme of greed through humour, and explore the roles people hide behind. As Francois de La Rochefoucauld says; ‘We are so accustomed to disguise ourselves to others that in the end we become disguised to ourselves’ this suggests that mankind are so practised in disguise that the blur between reality and falsehood becomes invisible even to themselves. The audience’s expectation of the plays is to be engaged with them and for them to feel superior to the characters within the play; thus if the characters make fools of themselves they will laugh. Disguise is also something the audience wants to see. What the audience also wants is a sense of dramatic irony. This is used throughout - thus making the audience to feel as if they have the upper hand, they know more than the actual characters themselves.

“In roughly built playhouses and cobblestone inn yards, an extraordinary development took place in England in the 1500s.” (Yancey, 8). At that time, an opportunity combined to produce literature achievement never before witnessed in the history of drama and theater. The renaissance, helped spark this movement by inspiring scientific and artistic creativity throughout the land. Models began writing dramas that portrayed life in both realistic and imaginative ways. This created work later captured the attention of the world that changed the English drama. The many aspects of Elizabethan theater helped to shape the acting and theater world forever.