Skip to main content

How are different types of love explored in "Twelfth Night"?

Firstly, we certainly see a great deal of "romantic love" in Twelfth Night. The play explores unfulfilled romantic desire in the play's love triangle between Orsino, Olivia, and Viola/Cesario. At the end of the play, we see the fulfillment of romantic love with the coupling of Orsino and Viola and Olivia and Sebastian. The most true romance we see between two characters, however, might be in the flirtatious and seemingly truly mutually affectionate relationship between...

Firstly, we certainly see a great deal of "romantic love" in Twelfth Night. The play explores unfulfilled romantic desire in the play's love triangle between Orsino, Olivia, and Viola/Cesario. At the end of the play, we see the fulfillment of romantic love with the coupling of Orsino and Viola and Olivia and Sebastian. The most true romance we see between two characters, however, might be in the flirtatious and seemingly truly mutually affectionate relationship between Maria and Sir Toby that does, ultimately, end in a report of marriage.


The play also explores sibling or familial love. We see the grief caused by the loss of a sibling for both Viola and Sebastian—who believe the other drowned—and for Olivia, who is mourning the death of her brother at the play's beginning. The ties between family are further explored in the relationship between Olivia and Sir Toby—it is a tense relationship as Toby's drunkenness and brawling are problematic in Olivia's household. Olivia responds to her uncle's behavior with a mixture of care and concern, anger, and sadness over the course of the play.


Friendship is a type of love that is complicated within Twelfth Night. There is a sort of friendship between Cesario and Orsino that is complicated by Viola's feelings for her boss and Orsino's confusion over his feelings for Cesario. There is also a sort of friendship between Feste and Olivia and Maria and Olivia, but this is complicated by status. The friendship between Toby and Andrew is complicated by the fact that Toby uses Andrew for his own amusement. The only true friendship to be found in the play is that between Antonio and Sebastian—and there is scholarly contention that Antonio's feelings for Sebastian are more romantically inclined than anything else.


Finally, this play deals with the idea of self love. This is most evident in the character of Malvolio, whose love for himself is his own downfall. His opinion of himself is so elevated that he is blind to the trickery of Toby and Maria and ends up disgraced and humiliated.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

What is the meaning of "juggling fiends" in Macbeth?

Macbeth is beginning to realize that the three witches have been deceiving him since he first encountered them. Like jugglers, they have kept changing their forecasts in order create confusion. This is particularly apparent when the Second Apparition they raise in Act IV,   Scene 1 tells him that no man of woman born can overcome him in hand-to-hand battle--and then Macbeth finds himself confronted by the one man he has been avoiding out of a... Macbeth is beginning to realize that the three witches have been deceiving him since he first encountered them. Like jugglers, they have kept changing their forecasts in order create confusion. This is particularly apparent when the Second Apparition they raise in Act IV,   Scene 1 tells him that no man of woman born can overcome him in hand-to-hand battle--and then Macbeth finds himself confronted by the one man he has been avoiding out of a sense of guilt, and that man tells him: Despair thy charm. And let the angel whom thou still hast serve...
Post a Comment
Read more

In Martel's Life of Pi, how does writing a diary help Pi Patel build on his leadership skills?

At the end of chapter 73, Pi first divulges the fact that he had started a diary after about a week alone at sea. Pi claims that he wrote about "practical stuff" (208) such as what he caught for food, foreseeable problems and solutions, Richard Parker, and reflections about specific events that occurred. In a sense, Pi is the captain of his ship; therefore, he must take responsibility for himself and his crew. He can... At the end of chapter 73, Pi first divulges the fact that he had started a diary after about a week alone at sea. Pi claims that he wrote about "practical stuff" (208) such as what he caught for food, foreseeable problems and solutions, Richard Parker, and reflections about specific events that occurred. In a sense, Pi is the captain of his ship; therefore, he must take responsibility for himself and his crew. He can do this by writing down events, problems and solutions, and reflections to look back on when confronted with repeated problems. It can ...
Post a Comment
Read more

Why did Tybalt attack and kill Mercutio instead of Romeo, who he had originally been targeting?

Though Tybalt's quarrel is with Romeo, he begins the momentous duel in Act 3 by fighting with and killing Mercutio instead. Tybalt ultimately attacks Mercutio because the garrulous and hot-headed character insults Tybalt and goads him into a duel to protect Romeo's honor. From the beginning of the encounter in Act 3, Scene 1, it's clear that Mercutio is itching for a fight. For instance, when Tybalt signals that he wants to talk to Mercutio... Though Tybalt's quarrel is with Romeo, he begins the momentous duel in Act 3 by fighting with and killing Mercutio instead. Tybalt ultimately attacks Mercutio because the garrulous and hot-headed character insults Tybalt and goads him into a duel to protect Romeo's honor. From the beginning of the encounter in Act 3, Scene 1, it's clear that Mercutio is itching for a fight. For instance, when Tybalt signals that he wants to talk to Mercutio and Benvolio, Mercutio responds "And but one word with one of us?/ Couple it w...
Post a Comment
Read more