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the idea of romantic love in twelfth night
william shakespeare use of love
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Recommended: the idea of romantic love in twelfth night
By: Bryan Coates
Date Due: April 9, 2014
For: Katherine Gottli
Course: DART 2F94
Assignment: Final Essay
Love has been considered one of the most complex topics in today’s society how do you know this?; love is generally represented in today’s society as something that is irresistible, spontaneous and overpowering. It is portrayed as being dangerous and something that can destroy a person and not just bring hope to someone’s life, it is also shown in society that love is very difficult to get rid of where do you see all these examples? While you’re not wrong, as you suggest that they are seen in society, you need to say where you can see these examples of love. There are many, many ways that love is shown in many, many places – are you using specific examples as reference here? This is a good way to open the essay, but it includes a lot of generalization. Shakespeare, using his comedic play “Twelfth Night” compares it to disease and suffering, and shows that it can cause pain. Orsino describes love as an “appetite” that he needs to satisfy, but is unable to, and Olivia describes love as a “plague”. Even Viola who is less theatrical, sighs that “My state is desperate for my master's love”, because those who suffer from it are consumed by it and become desperate, they resort to violence to secure the love of another this is just in the case of Viola, or everyone? Again, if it’s the latter, that’s a large generalization. For example, Sir Andrew challenges Viola to fight to the death for Olivia's hand, and Orsino threatens to kill Viola, the subject of Olivia's affections, in order to keep her for himself, “But this your minion, whom I know you love, And whom, by heaven I swear, I tender dearly, Him will I tear out of that cruel ey...
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...ituation humorous, for example when Olivia is chasing after Cesario, is constantly being rejected, but is persistent none the less, “Viola : I pity you, Olivia: That's a degree to love”; we know that Cesario is really Viola and that Olivia should just give up. Another technique that Shakespeare uses is word play. He takes everyday words, and changes them so that they refer to love as well as the intended meaning. For example, in the first scene, Curio asks Orsino if he will hunt “the hart”. Curio meant a male deer, but we interpret it to mean a heart. Orsino then extends this and compares himself to the hart. Shakespeare uses several different methods to explore the theme of love in “Twelfth Night” but the most important one is through his characters. He turns each idea into a character and the drama and relationships between them help us to understand his thoughts.
In Act I of Romeo and Juliet, Shakespeare demonstrates different forms of love that characters face. From the beginning, Romeo struggles to find true love and what love really is. As for Juliet, she also struggles on what love is, but also finding her own voice. And when finally finding true love they discover that they have fallen in love their own enemy. They both realize that the idea of love can be amazing, but also a painful experience. Shakespeare demonstrates love versus evil and the forms love takes that is acknowledged as an universal issue that connects different types of audiences. Audiences are captured by relating on love and the emotions that are displayed. From Romeo and Rosaline’s unrequited love, Paris and Juliet’s false love, and Romeo and Juliet’s ill-fated love, create the forms of love that establishes love as a leading theme in Act I.
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.
A Midsummer Night’s Dream consists of the dominant theme of love. It emphasizes marriage as proper contentment of romantic love. The conflict throughout the play stems from romantic troubles involving a number of romantic elements. This play implicates people who have a tendency to fall in love with those who are outwardly beautiful. The overall meaning of it is that outward beauty can become unappealing if it is all the love is based on. The power and passion of love threatens to terminate friendships, turn women against women, and turn men against men.
The idea of unrequited love is a fear for many that oftentimes becomes true. No one wants to pour their heart out only to have their heart be broken in return. Why is love often unreciprocated? Love itself is often the answer to this question; many people fail to see someone loving them because they are madly in love with someone else. In William Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night, protagonist Viola has the unfortunate luck of falling in love with Duke Orsino who does not reciprocate this feeling of love for Viola because he is infatuated with Olivia. In Taylor Swift’s song “Invisible”, Swift sings about how she is in love with someone, but he is in love with someone else who does not love him back: “And I just wanna show you/She don’t even
William Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night depicts the trials and faults of several characters’ loves. There are many downfalls and unrequited loves, and the story basically ends up in a confusing love triangle. He especially shows the many quirks of Orsino in his quest for winning the true love of Olivia. In this play, the reader can easily understand the many mistakes that Orsino makes in love.
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.
What is love? Love is the pinnacle of all emotions, it is the epicenter for life, what is the point of living if there is no love, ironically love is the cause of many a down fall. William Shakespeare has single handedly captured and embraced this necessary feeling and has allowed us to view in on it through the characters in his two masterpieces, Othello and King Lear. Three different kinds of loves explored in both Othello and King Lear, sharing both similarities and differences are a love for a significant other, the love a father holds to his children, and the love a daughter holds for her father. By looking at the outcomes of these loves one may draw a sense of loves negative and positive effects, and how the different traits of loves play into the outcomes in the fate of Shakespeare's characters. Through the analysis of love in these two plays one will become a more knowledgeable student of literature.
Unlike the other characters in Shakespeare's "Twelfth Night", Viola's feelings of love are genuine. She is not mistaken about Orsino's true nature and loves him for who he really is, while the other characters in the play seem to be in love with an illusion. Viola's love for Orsino does not alter during the play, nor is it transferred to another person.
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.
This duality of love is established early within the play with Orsino’s commentary on love. In Orsino’s lines, he describes the “spirit of love” as being “quick and fresh” (1.1.9), and he continues to explain how love “…falls into abatement and low pride even in a minute” (1.1.13-14). With these lines, Shakespeare expresses how quickly love can alternate from an entity of joy to one of extreme depression. By employing these lines so early in the play, the vision of love as a force of exceeding strength is firmly planted within the reader’s subconscious, and Shakespeare has prepared the reader to fully grasp the central theme of the play.
The theme of love is brought up over and over again in the play. It is
In Twelfth Night the relationships are anything but romantic. Shakespeare writes from the male point of view which implies an un-easy split between love and physical charm. In Twelfth night the romance is falsely produced by selfish desire. Duke Orsino and Viola stand out from the other relationships. By questioning the relationships between the other couples, Shakespeare highlights the true love between Viola and Orsino and the fake relationship of Malvolio and Olivia which is truly based on Malvolio’s desire of a higher status , despite his status and his personality , Malvolio tries to impress Olivia by dressing up in ridiculous clothes , which does far from his aim , and repulses Olivia.
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.
Viola's love is an example of true love in the play and she also shows
According to Merriam-Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary, love is defined as “strong affection for another arising out of kinship or personal ties; attraction based on sexual desire; affection and tenderness felt by lovers; affection based on admiration, benevolence, or common interest; or an assurance of love.” In William Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night, three different types of love are experienced: friendship love, true love, and self love. Each character experiences a different type of love, and in some cases it is not what they originally expected. The twisted, yet intriguing love story allows the reader to get lost in each characters emotions and development throughout the play. Many instances of love in the play are overwhelmed with a feeling of desire, which leads some characters to fall blind to their true love. Viola, Cesario, Orsino, Olivia, Sebastian and Malvolio, all experience love in a variety of different ways, which adds depth to Shakespeare’s comical play.