"Twelfth Night" Character Analysis on Viola

Essay by Dragoness3890High School, 10th gradeA, May 2006

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Some people will do anything for love. They will cheat, steal, lie, and even give up their life. In some cases they will sacrifice their dreams just to make them happy. This is what real, pure, unselfish love is. In "Twelfth Night" by Shakespeare, Viola, disguised as a man, has found herself in love with her master. Her love for the Duke Orsino is so great that she sacrifices her chances to be with him just so she can make him happy. This story of love shows through Viola's character that love is not just an attraction to another person, it is a undying passion and loyalty to make the other person happy.

Viola is probably the most loyal person in the play other than Antonio. She has such love for the Duke Orsino that she will do anything for him. This is not obsessive love like the love that the Duke Orsino has for Olivia but rather a deep passionate love to make the one she loves happy.

"I'll do my best

To woo your lady. [Aside.] Yet a barful strife!

Whoe'er I woo, myself would be his wife."(I.v.40-42)

She says how willing she is to do anything for him even though she wishes she could do it differently. She goes to Olivia a number of times when she knows nothing will make Olivia love the Duke Orsino. She does it just because the Duke Orsino wants her to. This could prove as a weakness because she might do something that would harm her or others just for the Duke Orsino. Loyalty is a very key part in Viola's character that shows she is truly in love with the Duke Orsino.

Compared to the Duke Orsino's pursuing of Olivia, Viola is very aggressive. She has the...