Although the actual plot for “Twelfth Night” is not the most original of Shakespeare’s ideas, the classic poetry and memorable characters makes it one of his most successful pieces to date. The exploration of love and romance are at the heart of this play. Almost every type of love is expressed, Sibling relationships, Genuine love, Self-love leading to complete blind love. Love is also closely associated with madness and the characters seem to go to ultimate extremes to obtain the love they desire. At the core of the play, is the love triangle between Olivia, Viola and Orsino adding suspense, comedy and drama.

The first character introduced into the play is Duke Orsino. Many productions of the play will have melancholy music being played to add a dismal, dreary opening effect to the scene as Orsino’s mind drifts on the thoughts of love. H

Orsino and Olivia can be compared to each other in the sense that they both swear by something and do not keep their promise. Olivia claims to excessively mourn for her brother “till seven years’ heat” and “like a cloistress she will veiled walk.” This is a promise Olivia has made to herself yet she instantly falls for Cesario. This is much the same as Orsino swearing infinite love for Olivia then moving straight on to Viola after learning that Olivia has married Sebastian. Both of these examples reinforce the fact that these characters do not feel genuine love but warm more to the thought of being in love or feeling false sorrow.

Olivia’s character is often talked about before she even makes an appearance. When the captain is asked by Viola about her, he describes her as “A virtuous maid” and tells Viola of the oath she has taken against men. The audience is instantly given the impression of an untouchable beauty. Although Olivia is highly sought after she is also a creature of intemperance and fraudulent behavior, the mourning of her brother’s death appears more so for her sake rather than in actual despair of a loss.

Orsino’s self obsession is evident when he replies to Curio’s question about hunting. The word “hart” having two interpretations, Curio meaning literally hunting the hart and Orsino who talks about it as his own troubled heart. This also backs up the fact that Orsino likes feeling sympathy for himself, as Curio was simply a

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