TWELFTH NIGHT - ORSINO
THESIS
- Shakespeare’s epiphany play ‘Twelfth Night’, written in the early 17th century, is a classic
example of a festive comedy that explores the complexities of love, gender, and societal norms,
therefore perhaps illustrating both the comedic and darker elements of human nature.
- Structurally, Shakespeare uses the character of Orsino to drive the main plot forward. He also
presents Orsino as a paradox to the societal expectations of an Elizabethan Duke, while
exploring the layers of sexuality through his relationship with his servant, Cesario, constructing
a carnivalesque world of ‘topsy-turvydom’.
- In the nal scene of the play, Shakespeare utilises the construct of Orsino to ful l the
conventional ending of comedy, to therefore satisfy his Elizabethan audience.
1. In the plays opening, Shakespeare introduces Orsino as a paradox to the
conventional characteristics of a Duke through his melodramatic nature,
creating comedy by mocking the upper echelons of Elizabethan society.
- Opening Soliloquy - provides audience with a view of a typical Petrarchan lover, one who is
preoccupied with melancholy, excess of love and ckleness “develops and ethic of
indulgence” HOLLANDER
- “If music be the food of love, play on, give me excess of it” - hyperbolic language and
metaphorical ‘love music’ food presents Orsino as satirical version of courtly lover, as a
renaissance ideal of a courtier was a devoted and re ned man whose sonnets focused on
admiration for the woman - orisons soliloquy focuses on himself, doesn’t mention Olivia’s name
till after his opening soliloquy.
- Perhaps Shakespeare’s intentions are not only to create comedy but to criticise the
exaggerated and unrealistic ideals of courtly love that were so valued in Elizabethan society.
- The melancholic tone of Orsino’s soliloquy greatly contradicts Elizabethan ideals surrounding a
Duke, who was expected to be dominant, stoic, and strong as a leading member within society,
providing comic relief for the ‘groundlings’, who were typically lower-class citizens in the pit of
the Globe Theatre who would’ve enjoyed the mocking of those above them in the social
hierarchy, supporting Maslen’s assertion that “comedy was the dramatic form that dealt
with commoners”.
- “That instant I was turned into a hart, and my desires, like fell and cruel hounds, E’re
since pursue me” - hunting metaphor, exaggerated rhetoric, classical reference to the myth of
Acteon where he is turned into a deer by Diana and hunted as a punishment, but again instead
of focusing on Olivia, the repeated use of personal pronouns and signi cance of the ‘cruel
hounds’ that ‘pursue’ him illustrate how Orsino is at the centre of his own fantasies as the
victim and object, and rather is in love with the idea of love.
- Shakespeare utilises Orsino’s paradoxical lovesickness as a catalyst for the play's comedic
elements and contributes to the carnivalesque nature of the play, as his exaggerated
expressions of love and self-pity create a humorous situation that is both satirical and subverts
societal norms, whilst mocking the Elizabethan concept of courtly love, which was often
unrealistic, highlighting the absurdity of this ideal.
- Orsino’s unrequited love for Olivia drives the action and comedy of the play, as he sends
Cesario to woo her on his behalf, yet Viola herself falls in love with Orsino, creating the love
triangle that permeates the play.
- By presenting Orsino in this light, Shakespeare further comments on the irrationality of human
nature, by portraying the way in which love, whether true or ckle, consumes an individual and
leads to foolish behaviour.
2. Furthermore, Shakespeare utilises the intimate relationship between Orsino and
his servant Cesario, to explore the distortion of sexuality, while breaking gender
roles and social conventions creating a ‘homoerotic intimacy’ (Shapiro) between
the two characters.
- In Elizabethan society, strict gender norms and heteronormative ideals were deeply ingrained,
and any deviation from these norms was often seen as comical.
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