Twelfth Night Love Essay
The Reasons of Love in Twelfth Night William Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night is a well-known romantic comedy in which many characters fall in love due to their own personal reasons. Viola shows that true love should be caused by genuine reasons, but Orsino and Malvolio demonstrate that people can pursue others for their own selfish purposes. However, these three characters all reveal that the reasons that make them fall in love are based on their own personalities. Orsino is depicted as a fickle character through his over-dramatic soliloquies that underscore his self-absorbed personality. His superficial character is also reflected in the ways he pursues Olivia. First of all, he claims to love Olivia for her immeasurable beauty without knowing
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First of all, Viola only declares her love for Orsino once she has spent time with him and has gotten to know his character. After Cesario works for him as his servant for some time, Valentine says to Cesario, “[Orsino] hath known you but three days, and already you are no stranger.” (1.4.2-4) Despite only being with him for three days, even Valentine, a third party, recognizes that Cesario knows Orsino very well. This suggests that he is attached to him because he has spent an adequate amount of time with Orsino, and therefore knows him well. In addition, Viola conceives affections for Orsino because he treats her as an equal although she is an outsider in Illyria. This is demonstrated when Orsino describes his favourite love song to him, “Mark it, Cesario, - it is old and plain / […] And dallies with the innocence of love, / Like the old age.” (2.4.42-47) Although Orsino listens to numerous love songs throughout the play, he only discusses them with Cesario, indicating that he sees him as a friend. Lastly, Viola bestows her affections on Orsino because in her perspective, he has a good personality. After their three days together, Orsino says to Cesario, “Thou know’st no less but all: I have unclasp’d / To thee the book even of my secret soul.” (1.4.13-14) This means that Cesario knows more about Orsino than the audience does, demonstrating that she is in love with his desirable character traits that the audience may not even know about. Because of her genuine character, Viola is fond of Orsino because of his admirable personality, their friendship, and the time they spend together, which are all legitimate reasons to fall in
First of all, Viola only declares her love for Orsino once she has spent time with him and has gotten to know his character. After Cesario works for him as his servant for some time, Valentine says to Cesario, “[Orsino] hath known you but three days, and already you are no stranger.” (1.4.2-4) Despite only being with him for three days, even Valentine, a third party, recognizes that Cesario knows Orsino very well. This suggests that he is attached to him because he has spent an adequate amount of time with Orsino, and therefore knows him well. In addition, Viola conceives affections for Orsino because he treats her as an equal although she is an outsider in Illyria. This is demonstrated when Orsino describes his favourite love song to him, “Mark it, Cesario, - it is old and plain / […] And dallies with the innocence of love, / Like the old age.” (2.4.42-47) Although Orsino listens to numerous love songs throughout the play, he only discusses them with Cesario, indicating that he sees him as a friend. Lastly, Viola bestows her affections on Orsino because in her perspective, he has a good personality. After their three days together, Orsino says to Cesario, “Thou know’st no less but all: I have unclasp’d / To thee the book even of my secret soul.” (1.4.13-14) This means that Cesario knows more about Orsino than the audience does, demonstrating that she is in love with his desirable character traits that the audience may not even know about. Because of her genuine character, Viola is fond of Orsino because of his admirable personality, their friendship, and the time they spend together, which are all legitimate reasons to fall in