The views of love in the play Twelfth Night by William Shakespeare.

Essay by congee_manJunior High, 9th gradeA, December 2002

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Love is a strong liking or affection for a thing or person. In William Shakespeare's Twelfth Night, there are many different types of love. Mistaken love is shown when Malvolio falls in love with Olivia but she thinks that she loves Cesario. Self-Love is expressed through Malvolio and Orsino's conceitedness. Throughout the play, true love is evident when Viola falls in love with Orsino and Toby falls in love with Maria. The characters in the play express three types of love - mistaken, self, and true love.

Two characters in the play show Mistaken Love by falling in love with someone that does not love them in return. The first example of mistaken love is Malvolio loving Olivia. Malvolio says, "To bed? Ay, sweetheart and I'll come to thee." (3.4.30) This quote shows that Malvolio has an attraction to Olivia but his attraction to her is only mistaken love because Olivia just takes him as a simple servant.

Another example of Mistaken Love is Olivia loving Cesario. Olivia says, "Cesario, by the roses of the spring,/By mailhood, honour, truth and everything,/I love thee so that, maugre all thy pride,/Nor wit nor reason can my passion hide... Cesario replies, "By innocence I swear, and by my youth,/I have one heart, one bosom, and one truth,/And that no woman has, nore never none/Shall mistress be of it, save I alone." (3.2.147-158) This quote shows that it is obvious that Olivia loves Cesario but he/she cannot love her because Cesario is not who he/she really is and is actually Viola, a woman disguised as a man. Therefore Mistaken Love is expressed by these characters, Malvolio and Olivia, throughout the play.

In the play, two characters, Malvolio and Orsino, show Self-Love. Malvolio is a self-righteous, egotistical person. Malvolio says, "Sir Toby, I...