The Aspects of Love in Twelfth Night

631 Words2 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Shakespeare's relationship of love

The Aspects of Love in Twelfth Night

The main theme in Twelfth Night is love. It is announced at the

beginning of the play ‘If music be the food of love play on’ and from

this you know that love will be a main aspect in Twelfth Night.

In Elizabethan time ‘love’ as we know it today was very different. You

could not love anyone outside of your social status, marriages were

almost always arranged on how the social status could improve the

current standing of one partner i.e. one partner had lots of money,

land or influence.

In Twelfth Night there are many different kinds of love to list a few,

filial love, unrequited love, Lust, Courtly Love, True Love,

Ambitious/Selfish love. There are many good examples of all these

types of love throughout the play.

There are seven different characters that share a filial bond of love.

Sebastian and Viola they are twin brother and sister and have never

really been apart. There very strong bond is shown when Viola thinks

she has lost her brother she displays a lot of grief and remorse for

her ‘dead’ brother “O my poor brother!” Another two characters that

display Filial Love is Sebastian and Antonio “If you will not murder

me for my love, let me be your servant.” Antonio and Sebastian fought

in many wars together and have become very close friends. The other

two characters are Sir Toby Belch and Sir Andrew. Sir Toby wants Sir

Andrew to woo Olivia because this would secure his place in Olivia’s

household; Sir Toby is using his friendship and dumb wittedness of his

friend to bend him to do his bidding. The final example of filial love

is the love Olivia has for her dead brother, she is so ...

... middle of paper ...

...

acquaintance.” This is a display of Malvolio’s Puritanism where he

thinks he is better and purer than everyone else. Sir Toby cannot

disobey as Malvolio will own the land, money and her house as in

Elizabethan times the man owned everything the woman previously owned.

Another similarity to Much Ado about nothing is that Malvolio is

tricked in a similar way to how Benedict and Beatrice are tricked

except the outcomes are very different the one is a happy ending for

the couple where as Malvolio is thought to be mad and locked up.

Traditionally in a Shakespearian comedy all the “loose ends” are all

tied up at the end and this is where the last type of love to be

displayed in the book true love. All the characters that are meant to

end up together do Olivia with Sebastian, Orsino with Viola and Sir

Toby with Maria.

Show More
Related

  • Love in A Midsummer Night's Dream

    924 Words  | 2 Pages

    Is love controlled by human beings who love one another or is love controlled by a higher power? There are many people who believe that a higher power has control over love. An example of a higher power would be a cupid, a flying angel-type creature who is supposed to shoot arrows at people to make them fall in love. There are other people who reject the idea that a higher power controls love and that the people who experience love can control it. In the novel, "A Midsummer Night's Dream", by William Shakespeare, several examples of love's association with a higher power are presented. With the use of examples from the above novel, this essay will discuss the evidence that love is associated with a higher power. Examples like: Thesius arranging a marriage between himself and Hippolyta, Egeus choosing who Hermia should marry and the fairies who have the ability to control love in the Enchanted Forest.

    Read More

  • Romeo and Juliet is Not a Love Story

    1002 Words  | 3 Pages

    William Shakespeare (1564-1616) was a Renaissance poet and playwright who wrote and published the original versions of 38 plays, 154 sonnets, two long narrative poems, and several other poems. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language, and often called England’s national poet. Several of his works became extremely well known, thoroughly studied, and enjoyed all over the world. One of Shakespeare’s most prominent plays is titled The Tragedy of Romeo and Juliet. In this tragedy, the concept that is discussed and portrayed through the characters is love, as they are recognized as being “in love”. The general umbrella of love encompasses various kinds of love such as romantic love, the love of a parent for a child, love of one’s country, and several others. What is common to all love is this: Your own well-being is tied up with that of someone (or something) you love… When love is not present, changes in other people’s well being do not, in general, change your own… Being ‘in love’ infatuation is an intense state that displays similar features: … and finding everyone charming and nice, and thinking they all must sense one’s happiness. At first glance it seems as though Shakespeare advocates the hasty, hormone-driven passion portrayed by the protagonists, Romeo and Juliet; however, when viewed from a more modern, North-American perspective, it seems as though Shakespeare was not in fact endorsing it, but mocking the public’s superficial perception of love. Shakespeare’s criticism of the teens’ young and hasty love is portrayed in various instances of the play, including Romeo’s shallow, flip-flop love for Rosaline then Juliet, and his fights with Juliet’s family. Also, the conseque...

    Read More

  • As the World Turns, So Do the Days of Our Lives

    1037 Words  | 3 Pages

    The characters in Twelfth Night each play an important and specific role, especially when it comes to interfering or setting fate for romantic interests. Not all characters get a happy ending, and a particular character’s husband turned out to be someone much different than who she believed to be marrying. Through dishonesty, confusion, and chicanery, each character had a helping hand in dishing out each other’s fate, but nonetheless, the relationships that resulted in a law binding marriage beat destiny and overcame every hardship standing in the way of love and happiness.

    Read More

  • Midsummer Night’s Dream: The Power of Love

    1250 Words  | 3 Pages

    Love is a powerful emotion, capable of turning reasonable people into fools. Out of love, ridiculous emotions arise, like jealousy and desperation. Love can shield us from the truth, narrowing a perspective to solely what the lover wants to see. Though beautiful and inspiring when requited, a love unreturned can be devastating and maddening. In his play, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, William Shakespeare comically explores the flaws and suffering of lovers. Four young Athenians: Demetrius, Lysander, Hermia, and Helena, are confronted by love’s challenge, one that becomes increasingly difficult with the interference of the fairy world. Through specific word choice and word order, a struggle between lovers is revealed throughout the play. In A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Shakespeare uses descriptive diction to emphasize the impact love has on reality and one’s own rationality, and how society’s desperate pursuit to find love can turn even strong individuals into fools.

    Read More

  • Love in A Midsummer Night's Dream

    484 Words  | 1 Pages

    True love never runs a smooth coarse. And this is quit evident in A Midsummer Night's Dream. The young love of two people is far more powerful than one thinks. And at the end true love will prevail no matter what gets in the way.

    Read More

  • A Comparison of Romantic Love in A Midsummer Night's Dream, The Tempest, and Twelfth Night

    1503 Words  | 4 Pages

    Naturally, one of the most reoccurring themes in Shakespeare is romantic love. It is perhaps not a coincidence that he put so much emphasis on this elusive and enigmatic emotion. In the Elizabethan age when he was writing, the arts were being explored more fervently, and thus raw human emotions began to surface in the mainstream culture. In Twelfth Night, love is a confusing and fickle thing, as demonstrated in the relationships between Duke Orsino and Olivia; Olivia and Viola/Curio; Malvolio and Olivia (she certainly has an effect on men doesn't she?); Duke Orsino and Viola/Curio. However, the characters seem to have a love-hate relationship with Cupid. Within the first line of the play, it is glorified: "If music be the food of love, play on..." (Duke Orsino, I:I). And while Olivia is annoyed with Orsino's affection, she craves Curio's.

    Read More

  • This Boy’s Life

    1586 Words  | 4 Pages

    Toby’s credit that he doesn’t want to stay down and that’s enough of an edge. Instinctively using the creative license of his absent father, he finds a tenuous way out--enough of a break to set him on a better path.” (Salavarria)

    Read More

  • Othello - Compared To Twelfth Night

    765 Words  | 2 Pages

    In stark contrast to the dark and tragic "Othello," is one of Shakespeare’s lightest and funniest comedies, "Twelfth Night." The theme of love is presented in a highly comical manner. Shakespeare, however, once again proves himself a master by interweaving serious elements into humorous situations. "Twelfth Night" consists of many love triangles, however many of the characters who are tangled up in the web of love are blind to see that their emotions and feelings toward other characters are untrue. They are being deceived by themselves and/or the others around them.

    Read More

  • Love in A Midsummer Night’s Dream

    1057 Words  | 3 Pages

    Throughout the events which unfold in A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Shakespeare delivers several messages on love. Through this play, one of the significant ideas he suggests is that love is blind, often defying logic and overriding other emotions and priorities. Helena loves Demetrius unconditionally and pursues him despite knowing that he loathes her; conflict arises between Helena and Hermia, childhood best friends, over Demetrius and Lysander; and because she is in love, Queen Titania is able to see beauty and virtue in the ass-headed Nick Bottom.

    Read More

  • Feeling Sympathy for Malvolio

    945 Words  | 2 Pages

    wrong to Sir Toby to be put in a dark room and bound up. I felt no

    Read More

  • Love In A Midsummer Night's Dream Analysis

    1680 Words  | 4 Pages

    It is present everywhere, in every form imaginable, in every condition an even when one least sense’s it. Although love is said to bring happiness to a person’s life of a completion feeling, in the play, love is chaotic, unpredictable, and leads to

    Read More

  • The True Love Between Viola and Orsino, as Compared to Other Relationships in Shakespeare's Twelfth Night

    409 Words  | 1 Pages

    Twelfth Night consists of a large number of love triangles, however many characters are too indulged in love that they are blind to the untrue, and the weakness of their relationship, they are deceived by themselves and many people around them ( ex. Malvolio is tricked by Sir Andrew, Feste ,Sir Toby and Maria),but there are certain incidents where the love is true and two characters feel very strongly about one another. In the play, Viola and Orsino have the most significant relationship. The way they interact with each other causes the complexity on which the play is all about, their relationship turns from strangers to friends then lovers .In the First Act Viola is not honest with Orsino because she disguises herself as a male servant named Cesario in order to get closer to the duke. Orsino. Orsino quickly trusts Cesario and sends him to Olivia to declare Orsinos Love for her, the girl he most dearly loves. This quick bond is the fast example of their relationship. At the beginning of the play, Viola thinks her brother (Sebastian) is dead (after they’re deadly boat crash, where they get separated) when actually he is alive and thinks she is dead, Viola always seems to have a part missing from her which shows her bond with Sebastian is strong, and a part of her but in a brotherly/sisterly way rather than a proper relationship like viola and orsino, At the end of the play they meet and both fall in love , Viola with Orsino and Sebastian with Olivia.

    Read More

  • The Pain and Suffering of "Twelfth Night" by William Shakespeare

    1326 Words  | 3 Pages

    Shakespeare’s play Twelfth Night revolves around a love triangle that continually makes twists and turns like a rollercoaster, throwing emotions here and there. The characters love each another, but the common love is absent throughout the play. Then, another character enters the scene and not only confuses everyone, bringing with him chaos that presents many different themes throughout the play. Along, with the emotional turmoil, each character has their own issues and difficulties that they must take care of, but that also affect other characters at same time. Richard Henze refers to the play as a “vindication of romance, a depreciation of romance…a ‘subtle portrayal of the psychology of love,’ a play about ‘unrequital in love’…a moral comedy about the surfeiting of the appetite…” (Henze 4) On the other hand, L. G. Salingar questions all of the remarks about Twelfth Night, asking if the remarks about the play are actually true. Shakespeare touches on the theme of love, but emphases the pain and suffering it causes a person, showing a dark and dismal side to a usually happy thought.

    Read More

  • More than Friends William Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night

    978 Words  | 2 Pages

    William Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night, which is commonly believed to criticize society’s romanticized idea of love, demonstrates that even though love may seem unachievable, it is still possible to find it even in the most unlikely places. Shakespeare illustrates this idea in Twelfth Night through the characters Antonio and Sebastian by subtly suggesting that Antonio and Sebastian are more than just friends. It is Sebastian’s physical beauty that attracts Antonio to him, which leads him to devote himself to Sebastian as a sign of love. Antonio’s love for Sebastian grows to obsession; however Sebastian considers their friendship to be completely plutonic. In addition Sebastian generally tries to save Antonio from his own desire; however he does a bad job by leading him on unintentionally due to his passive nature.

    Read More

  • Shakespeare’s Creativity

    1657 Words  | 4 Pages

    In William Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night, the art of music appears in the opening of the speech as the unhappy and lovesick Orsino tells his musicians, “If music be the food of love, play on” (I.i.1) In the speech that follows, Orsino asks the musicians to give him so much musical love i.e. food that will “surfeit” and cease to yearn for love any longer. Shakespeare uses music in opening line of play and at the end by Feste singing his song. It reveals that Shakespeare has presented on stage a romantic comedy which is not detached from our everyday reality. Thus songs are used by Shakespeare with surfeiting desire not only for the purpose of entertaining the audience but also closely linked to the play’s theme.

    Read More

More about The Aspects of Love in Twelfth Night

Open Document