Character sketch of viola in twelfth night by shakespeare. Twelfth Night Detailed Character Information 2022-10-22
Character sketch of viola in twelfth night by shakespeare
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Viola is a complex and multifaceted character in Shakespeare's Twelfth Night. She is intelligent, resourceful, and quick-witted, with a strong sense of loyalty and a deep capacity for love.
At the beginning of the play, Viola is shipwrecked on the coast of Illyria and finds herself separated from her twin brother, Sebastian. Determined to find her way in this strange new land, Viola disguises herself as a man and takes on the identity of "Cesario." As Cesario, Viola enters the service of Duke Orsino and becomes a messenger of love between the Duke and Olivia, the woman he is courting.
Despite her male disguise, Viola is a compassionate and caring person, and she quickly becomes a trusted confidant to both the Duke and Olivia. She is a skilled listener and is able to offer wise and thoughtful advice to both of them as they navigate the complexities of love and relationships.
However, Viola's situation becomes even more complicated when she falls in love with the Duke herself. She is torn between her duty to serve him and her own desires, and she finds it increasingly difficult to hide her true feelings. Eventually, Viola's true identity is revealed, and she is able to marry the Duke and live happily ever after.
Overall, Viola is a dynamic and engaging character who uses her intelligence and resourcefulness to navigate the challenges and complexities of love and identity in Twelfth Night. She is a deeply caring and compassionate person, and her ability to see the best in others and offer them guidance and support makes her a truly remarkable character.
The ways Shakespeare presents the character of Viola in Act One Scenes Two and Four Essay
This mounting identity crisis culminates in the final scene, when Viola finds herself surrounded by people who each have a different idea of who she is and are unaware of who she actually is. Her arrival on the shores of Illyria marks the beginning of a very dramatic love story in which things do not go quite as planned. As Cesario, she is tasked to make Countess Olivia fall in love with Duke Orsino, but both Orsino and Olivia find themselves falling in love with Cesario. As she says to Orsino, describing herself and her love for him: She pined in thought, And with a green and yellow melancholy She sat like patience on a monument, Smiling at grief. Her mother is also not mentioned at all in the play, apart from in a figure of speech by Sebastian.
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Viola
She is critical of her steward, Malvolio, to whom she lives the management of her house. Viola was given the idea by the captain and she ends the. He sees that Viola is about to duel Sir Andrew and tries to protect her from the duel. There is a kind of dignified elegance in her general bearing before all. . Viola in turn falls in love with the Duke.
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Viola in Twelfth Night: Character Traits & Analysis
The captain of the boat says he saw Sebastian somewhere in the ocean. In the nineteenth and twentieth centuries homosexuality was a taboo and illegal in most countries, and still is in some. Forced to masquerade as a man named Cesario for most of the play, Viola falls in love with Duke Orsino, who makes her his page. Viola suggests she would like to hide after her trauma until she is ready to face the world again. The fact that she is so distraught needs to be emphasised in the staging of the play; I think a girly, vulnerable yelp, as well as almost hysterical tears would be appropriate. An example of Viola's charm is that in just three days of her disguise, she is able to gain Orsino's trust through music, song, and unquestionable loyalty.
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The Character Of Viola In The Twelfth Night's Play
She knows her duty well and performs it honestly. She has her relative Sir Toby Belch who was still around and visited her. See eNotes Ad-Free Start your 48-hour free trial to get access to more than 30,000 additional guides and more than 350,000 Homework Help questions answered by our experts. She wants to help Olivia get through what she is also going through. Were Twelfth Night not a comedy, this pressure might cause Viola to break down. To show this sexual ambiguity I would create sexual tension on stage by making it seem awkward when they sit next to each other on a bench.
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Twelfth Night: Viola
She is a keen observer of life and the world. Despite her own developing feelings for him, Viola remains loyal to Orsino's interests and attempts to fulfill her duties as his attendant. Her actions and thoughts produce all of the momentum within the play. This activity can be found on page 6 and takes approximately 20 minutes. Much like Rosalind in "As You Like It" and Portia in "The Merchant of Venice", Viola is among the few women who cross-dress in one of Shakespeare's plays. Sir Toby confesses to Fabian that he has been taking money from Sir Andrew. Is it how he has always felt? Malvolio is very efficient but also very self-righteous, and he has a poor opinion of drinking, singing, and fun.
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Viola In Twelfth Night; Character Analysis • English Summary
In the play, she is appreciated by all. An Analysis Of Kabuki's Twelfth Night Even before any changes, Twelfth Night can be read as a somewhat gender subversive story. The Elizabethan audience, watching the male actors in those roles, could forget that and not be distracted by the falseness of it. She notifies the audience that her feelings will make wooing Olivia on behalf of Orsino an even more of a difficult task than it already is. Everything revolves around her.
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Twelfth Night Detailed Character Information
Is he lashing out because he is hurt? Sir Toby calls Olivia his niece and he may be her uncle or he may be a more distant relative but it's clear he depends on her. This sexual ambiguity is shown through the fact that after only three days, already Orsino has told Cesario all about his love for Olivia because he has been so impressed by him. Though at times she is playing with her household servants and permits the fool, for instance, to engage her in coit combats, she maintains a measurable distance between herself and infectious. Consequently, she evaluates the sea captain's character, finds it suitable, and wisely places her trust in him; then she disguises herself as a boy so that she will be safe and have a man's freedom to move about without protection. Whoe'er I woo, myself would be his wife.
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Twelfth Night Character webapi.bu.edu
Her qualities of wit, care, and charm are what lead both the duke and countess to fall in love with her. Surrounded by characters who express the extremes of emotionalism and melancholy — that is, Viola is caught between Duke Orsino's extreme melancholy and Lady Olivia's aggressive emotionalism — yet she represents the norm of behavior in this strange world of Illyria. What do you think that purpose might be? Viola displays intelligence, and self-control and has a mature respect for love. Read an Malvolio The straitlaced steward—or head servant—in the household of Lady Olivia. She accepts his proposal.
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Viola
Please either update your browser to the newest version, or choose an alternative browser — visit If you have any more questions please visit our If you would like to complete your booking on the phone instead, please call the Box Office on 01789 331111. Another important aspect of the staging in this scene is how to stage the relationship between Orsino and Cesario. We know that she has a great love for the Duke but due to her modesty, she never expressed it. After a series of events, Olivia and Sebastian are married, Viola reveals her true identity to Orsino, and he proposes to her. One of the most interesting questions I had about Viola was why she did not go home after the ship wreck.
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Twelfth Night: Character List
She is attractive not just for her beauty, but for her supreme understanding and for the way she uses words. Sebastian and Olivia get married and Orsino, discovering that his best friend is really a woman, proposes to her instead. Why do you think Viola has so closely imitated her brother in her dress and behaviour? This is their last meeting before Olivia meets Sebastian and mistakes him for 'Cesario' in Act 4 Scene 1. Olivia lets Sir Toby Belch live with her, but she does not approve of his rowdy behavior, practical jokes, heavy drinking, late-night carousing, or friends specifically the idiotic Sir Andrew. See if you can complete the grid to make four points that could answer this question. A lot of other themes also emerge from her actions. On the other hand, her disguise is ingenious, allowing her to survive in the Duke Orsino's court and take on duties unbeknownst to women.
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