Both claim to have strong emotions, but both ultimately seem to be self-indulgent individuals who enjoy melodrama and self-involvement more than anything. When she discovers that she has actually married young Sebastian, Viola's twin, she quickly transfers her love to him, just as Duke Orsino is able to transfer his love to Viola.ġ2 Orsino and Olivia Orsino and Olivia are worth discussing together, because they have similar personalities. While she recognizes the duke's good qualities and acknowledges them, she is adamant in her refusals, and, thus, it is part of the comedy that the lady who has no sympathy for the duke falls so irrationally in love with a young girl disguised as a young boy. She is much more aggressive in the pursuit of her love than is Duke Orsino in his pursuit of Olivia. Olivia best is perhaps her impetuous love and her assertion of it. Yet, earlier when Feste made fun of Malvolio, the over-serious steward, Olivia was fully capable of appreciating the clown's joke.ġ1 Lady Olivia The single quality that characterizes She has to contend with her drunken uncle, Sir Toby Belch When Malvolio presents himself in his mad garb, she feels compassion for her foolish steward. Her intelligence is constantly seen in the many household matters that she has to attend to. Other than the melodramatic pose that Olivia is assuming at the beginning of the play (we know it to be false because she is willing to immediately forget it in order to flirt with Cesario), Olivia is presented as being essentially an intelligent woman with a number of good qualities. Thus, we hear a great deal about this important lady before we actually meet her. In the fourth scene, Olivia is again the central subject of discussion. Olivia seems to have no difficulty transferring her affections from one love to the next, suggesting that her romantic feelings-like most emotions in the play-do not run deep.ġ0 Lady Olivia The comedy opens with music being played to remind the duke of Olivia the first scene discusses the lady's beauty and she is mentioned in the second scene as having lost a brother. Viola’s arrival in the masculine guise of Cesario enables Olivia to break free of her self-indulgent melancholy. She and Orsino are similar characters in that each seems to enjoy his or her own misery. This is ultimately what makes it believable that Viola does fall in love with him immediately.Ĩ Lady Olivia A wealthy, beautiful, and noble Illyrian lady, Olivia is courted by Orsino and Sir Andrew Aguecheek, but to each of them she insists that she is in mourning for her brother, who has recently died, and will not marry for seven years. He is handsome, brave, courtly, virtuous, noble, wealthy, gracious, loyal and devoted - in short, he is everything a young lady could wish for in a husband. The duke is, however, according to Olivia and others, a perfect gentleman. He has seen Olivia, and the very sight of her has fascinated him to such an extent that his romantic imagination convinces him that he will die if she does not consent to be his wife. Given the enmity between England and Spain at the time, it makes it much more fun to mock a foolish character who is named for Orsino, a Spaniard of high rank.ħ Orsino, Duke of Illyria The duke is basically characterized by the first line that he utters - "If music be the food of love, play on" - that is, he is one of the most melancholy characters that Shakespeare ever created. When Shakespeare wrote the play, Twelfth Night, the Spanish Ambassador was named Orsino. A supreme egotist, Orsino lies around complaining how heartsick he is over Olivia, when it is clear that he is chiefly in love with the idea of being in love and enjoys drawing attention to himself. Orsino is used by the play to explore the absurdity of love. Orsino is lovesick for the beautiful Lady Olivia, but becomes more and more fond of his handsome new page boy, Cesario, who is actually a woman-Viola. Dramatic Irony: when the audience is aware of something the characters don’t know.ĥ Orsino, Duke of Illyria A powerful nobleman in the country of Illyria. ![]() ![]() Situational Irony: when a situation has results contrary to those expected. Aside: words spoken by a character on stage that are meant to be heard by the audience only. Provides insight into the character’s thoughts, emotions, and motives. ![]() Conflict: external & internal Soliloquy: A speech delivered by a character while alone on stage.
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