How is deception presented in Twelfth Night?
             Twelfth Night is a very interesting story that uses the theme of deception very well, on stage many characters believe that they are deceiving each other, when in actual fact a good majority are deceiving themselves and by using dramatic irony in conjunction with this, Shakespeare introduces a comic element.
             An example of this would be the opening speech, spoken by Orsino, he is deceiving himself about how much he loves Olivia and what love is
             "If music be the food of love, on; Give me excess of it, that surfeiting, the appetite may sicken and so die"
             This quote helps the audience identify that Orsino doesn't really love Olivia that he is in fact just in love with the ideals of love. By asking for excess its almost as if its an indulgence. Although this speech in all its admiration of love is slightly aggressive and I believe this to be because he feels himself to be more a victim of love than a pursuer this is displayed be his speech when conversing with his serf, Curio.
             "That instant I was turned into a hart, and my desires like fell and cruel hounds E'er since pursue me."
             On the other side of the play Olivia is rejecting Orsinos love because her father and brother died, and this makes her decide to mourn for seven years, shunning love and all it has to offer,
             "The element itself, till seven years' heat, shall not behold her face at ample view; but like a cloistress she will veiled walk, and water once a day her chamber round with eye offending brine; all this to season a dead brothers love."
             and by doing this she is deceiving herself that she will be able to suppress her emotions to such a degree. There are two main ideas that support this idea. The first is that Elizabethans frequently used 'thou or 'thy' to address someone that is close or loved Olivia uses it quite frequently throughout her co...