How does Shakespeare present Orsino in
Twelfth Night?
- marked 35/35 (A*)
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. As such, Shakespeare illustrates 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.
In the plays opening, Shakespeare introduces Orsino as a paradox to the conventional
characteristics of a Duke through his melodramatic nature, creating comic relief by
mocking the upper echelons of Elizabethan society. Orsino’s opening soliloquy provides
the audience with a view of a typical Petrarchan lover, one who is preoccupied with
melancholy, excess of love and ckleness, which Hollander argues “develops an ethic of
indulgence” in the play. Shakespeare illustrates Orsino’s ‘indulgence’ in unrequited love
through the opening line “If music be the food of love, play on, Give me excess of it”, with
Shakespeare’s hyperbolic language and metaphorical “love-music” food presenting
Orsino as a satirical version of a courtly lover, as a Renaissance ideal of a courtier was a
devoted and re ned man whose sonnets focused on his admiration for the woman, yet
Orisno’s soliloquy is self-absorbed, focusing on the concept of unrequited love instead of
the object of his a ections, Olivia, as it isn’t till after his opening soliloquy he actually
mentions her by name. 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”. Shakespeare
further conveys Orsino’s exaggerated rhetoric through the hunting metaphor “That instant
I was turned into a hart, and my desires, like fell and cruel hounds, E’re since pursue me”.
Shakespeare uses a 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 metaphorical ‘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 concept of love. Arguably, 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. Thus, 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
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