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Love is probably the strongest theme running through the play Twelfth Night. Shakespeare explores all the different kinds of ‘love’ that we feel, and also explores the differences between male and female love.
By disguising herself, Viola is allowed a very special insight into the idea of ‘love’. However, her disguise also puts her into a very awkward position. The fact that she is disguised as a boy allows Shakespeare to question what love really is – Olivia quickly ‘falls in love’ with Viola, but this is a type of love completely unacceptable in this society.
Look at the list on the next slide and use arrows to link the characters to those types of love that they feel at some point in the play.
The theme of disguise, and of ‘seeming’ to be something that you are not, is also an important one in Twelfth Night.
Using a disguise allows us to feel less inhibited, and this links to the festival of Twelfth Night, when people could ‘let their hair down’. The idea of wearing a disguise is also closely linked to the whole concept of theatre. In fact, at the time that the play was first performed, the role of Viola would have been played by a boy, adding a further layer of complication: a boy, playing a girl, who was playing a boy!
As we have already seen, Viola’s disguise causes her a great deal of difficulty, but it also has some benefits for her.
He makes a point about women in this society: disguised as a boy, Viola has a great deal more freedom.
Linking to the theme of love, he explores how we really decide who we love, and how far our feelings are swayed by what we perceive to be true. For instance, Viola ‘falls in love’ with Cesario, who is in fact a girl.
Olivia talks about the face being a ‘picture’. How far are we concerned with outer appearance, and how far with inner truth?
Disguise
When you are studying the theme of disguise, you need to decide what points Shakespeare might be making. Here are some ideas to start your discussion:
Here are some quotations on the theme of disguise. For each quote, find out who is saying the line, and whereabouts in the first three acts of the play it occurs.
Tying closely to the theme of disguise, Shakespeare also uses the idea of contrasts, or opposites in the play.
The basis for the plot is the fact that Viola and Sebastian are twins: without this, there could be no case of mistaken identity. Although they are male and female, when Viola is disguised as Cesario the twins look enough alike to fool even Antonio, a very close friend of Sebastian.
As well as there being many literal examples of contrasts and opposites, notice how the language that Shakespeare uses is littered with double meanings, some quite rude!