The love theme in Shakespeare's Twelfth Night is confusing but at the same time entertaining. The love triangle involving Viola, disguised as Cesario, is in love with Orsino. Orsino is in love with Olivia. Olivia, however, loves Cesario. Orsino tries to woo Olivia with the language of love; however, his many attempts fail because the heart cannot be controlled. Orsino, a man in love with love itself, is on a mission to win the heart of his current object of affection, the Lady Olivia. She, however, has somewhat different plans as she envisions herself married to the lovely Cesario. Shakespeare's beautiful sonnets 18 and 73 describe the changes in season and the passages of time that correlate with the play's main theme and mood.
In both sonnets and in the Twelfth Night introduce the issue of the effect of the weather. In Twelfth Night, a stormy sea has shipwrecked a vessel leaving the passengers scattered at sea. Viola, a Sea Captain, and some sailors believe that they are the only survivors of the wreck. The Captain believes that their being saved was only as fate would have it. Viola struggles with what to do with herself in a foreign country with no male companions. She, with the Captain's help,
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The stormy weather brings confusion for Viola when she lands on Illyria. "Cesario, come-/ For so you shall be while you are a man; / But when in other habits you are seen, / Orsino's mistress, and his fancy's queen," (v. The Captain agrees with her plan and convinces Duke Orsino that Viola, disguised as Cesario, is one of his noblest men. In Twelfth Night, Duke Orsino comes to comprehend that no matter how hard he tries, Lady Olivia is never going to change her feelings for him. disguises herself as a boy so that she can protect her identity, support herself, and not be taken advantage of. This understanding comes after Orsino realizes that she will no longer love him. Orsino finally understands that his efforts to make the Lady Olivia his were a waste of his time, and he learns to focus his attention to a more open prospect, Viola. In sonnet 73, Shakespeare writes, "That time of year thou mayst in me behold / When yellow leaves, or none, or few, do hang / Upon those boughs which shake against the cold, / Bare ruined choirs, where late the sweet birds sang," (1-4). Since Orsino is no longer in love with any particular person but the idea of love itself, it is not a hard to imagine his reaction when Viola reveals her love to him. These comparisons are similar to those in Twelfth Night. The calming of the weather in Twelfth Night resembles happiness and a new beginning just like the summer's day in sonnet 18. When the play ends, Viola is revealed and happily lives with Duke Orsino.
Approximate Word count =
854
Approximate Pages =
3 (250 words per page double spaced)
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