Twelfth Night - Love and Desire

Which types of love are displayed in Twelfth Night?

- Performative Love

- Transactional Love

- Romantic Love

- Familial Love

- Foolish Infatuation

Key Quotes Relating to Love and Desire [14 Quotes]

- "If music be the food of love, play on, / Give me excess of it, that surfeiting / The appetite may sicken and so die."

- "O, when mine eyes did see Olivia first / Methought she purged the air of pestilence. That instant was I turned into a hart [...] my desires, like fell and cruel hounds / E'er since pursue me"

- "So full of shapes is fancy that it alone is high fantastical."

- "To pay that debt of love but to a brother."

- "rich golden shaft [...] liver, brain and heart, / These sovereign thrones, are all supplied and filled / Her sweet perfections with one self king"

- "I have unclasped / To thee the book of even my secret soul."

- "O then unfold the passion of my love, / Surprise her with discourse of my dear faith"

- "[aside] Yet a barful strife / Whoe'er I woo, myself would be his wife."

- "With adoration's fertile tears, / With groans that thunder love, with sighs of fire"

- "Make me a will cabin at your gate / And call upon my soul within the house / Write loyal cantons of contemned love"

- "How now? Even so quickly may one catch the plague"

- "If you will not murder me for my love, let me be your servant."

- "But come what may I do adore thee so, That danger shall seem sport and I will go."

- "Methought her eyes had lost her tongue, / For she did speak in starts, distractedly. She loves me sure. The cunning of her passion..."

Give an example of performative love in Twelfth Night.

Orsino's love towards Olivia (his actions are dramatised and over the top as he believes this is how all love should be expressed when you are a "true lover")

Give two examples of familial love in Twelfth Night.

- Olivia towards her brother and father (the extent of her mourning for them)

- Sebastian and Viola towards each other

Give an example of foolish infatuation in Twelfth Night.

Olivia towards Viola (falls in love at first sight and tries to bribe her with jewels) - stereotypical teenage girl around her

What is transactional love?

Transactional love is love where a person expects to get something from another person in return for their love

What type of love does Shakespeare display within Act 1, Scene 1?

Performative Love

How does Shakespeare link love and sickness with Love and Desire? [4 points]

- Shakespeare associates love with sickness in that the symptoms are the same - you feel sick around the person you love as your feelings for them are so strong.

- He first associates it with the idea that overconsumption of love can make you sick - as though the symptoms come from a love that is too strong: "If music be the food of love give me excess of it that surfeiting it may sicken and so die".

- He considers how love can make us foolish - as though it is a disease of idiocy, but also presents it as something that cures all: "O, when mine eyes did see Olivia first / Methought she purged the air of pestilence."

- He also presents the idea that we catch love quickly like a sickness, presenting the nature of foolish infatuation and the stupidity of the concept of 'love at first sight': "How now? Even so quickly may one catch the plague."

How is the motif of the sea used in association with Desire and Love? [3 points]

- The sea is symbolic of the vastness and complexities of human emotion - how emotion ebbs and flows, and changes rhythmically just like the sea.

- It highlights how love can be changed "even in a minute" - how it can be decreased in value by a single person's actions, highlighting in many ways how love is false.

- It shows how vast love can be and how it can be felt in a number of ways (just as Shakespeare presents through the use of different types of love including familial, platonic and romantic love).

Explain how a religious motif is present within the theme of Desire and Love. [5 points]

- Within the theme of Desire and Love a religious theme is present due to the presentation of an almost religious adoration towards one's lover such as Antonio saying "I do adore thee see".

- Additionally, the references to a book/text which is referred to in a sacred light creates the association that love is as important as faith.

- The concept of the soul relates to religion - Orsino says to Cesario/Viola "I have unclasped to thee the book of even my secret soul."

- Orsino also associates love with faith, as though they are interconnected - love is an act of religious faith and blind adoration (especially in that his love for Olivia is actually desire). He describes how Cesario should "unfold the passion of his love" and "Surprise her with discourse of my dear faith".

- This creates the idea that we as a society worship love in a way that we shouldn't.

What do Olivia and Orsino showcase about love?

Olivia and Orsino showcase the complexity of distinguishing between love and desire. Orsino describes his feelings for Olivia as love, when truly in all its anatomical elements it is merely desire. It also highlights the relationship between men and women in society overall and the impact of a patriarchal society upon both men and women (highlighting gender roles and stereotypes).

How do Orsino and Olivia showcase performative love?

- Orsino's love is performative towards Olivia (he believes love should be presented in an extravagant manner, when that is not truly how love is). He has these ideas on love because he has not truly experienced it - he feels desire for Olivia (explicitly stated, highlighting his lack of self control around the matter when he says, "my desires, like fell and cruel hounds, e'er since pursue me").

- Shakespeare uses Orsino and Olivia to highlight both the complexities and false nature of love.

What do Orsino and Olivia highlight about patriarchy and beauty?

- It also highlights how women were faced with the problem of patriarchy even in their romantic relationships at the time. Olivia is hunted by Orsino (or so he views it) so that he can take over her "liver, brain and heart" filling these "sovereign thrones" with thoughts of "one self king" (that being himself). It shows how Orsino believes he should have control over Olivia entirely, because at the time the woman's role was to be dominated by a man's control.

- This is also highlighted when he says "To have a heart of that fine frame", as though all he cares about is controlling Olivia - keeping her trapped in a frame/cage.

- This also shows how he only cares about Olivia's appearance and her being perfect - showcased once again in 'her sweet perfections'. This also indicates that Orsino's love is merely desire - he does not truly know Olivia or love her because he does not accept or know of her flaws (whereas when you truly love someone, you accept them for who they are, including their flaws).

How does Shakespeare present the relationship between Antonio and Sebastian?

- Antonio and Sebastian represent the love between platonic friends, however there are homosexual undertones to their relationship as well as the concept of unrequited love.

- It also arguably displays the love between a master and servant.

- Antonio is presented as being in love with Sebastian in a way that transcends the bounds of a master/servant or even a simply platonic relationship. He loves him in a fit of passion expressing almost religious devotion towards him.

- "If you will not murder me for my love, let me be your servant." / "But come what may I do adore thee so, That danger shall seem sport and I will go."

- Antonio is devoted to Sebastian in a way that transcends the bounds of friendship - he is willing to follow him anywhere, and Shakespeare even uses the word "adore" in relation to Antonio's feelings towards Sebastian, highlighting just how far their love is from platonic.

- He is even willing to put himself in danger for Antonio, showing just how much he loves him.

- Antonio's feelings towards Sebastian are presented as passionate and devout in a way proclaiming that he will die if he is not to be allowed to go with him.

- "If you will not murder me for my love, then let me be your servant" shows how Antonio doesn't care about the status of their relationship, as long as he is with Sebastian.

How does Shakespeare present the relationship between Olivia and Cesario?

- The relationship between Olivia and Cesario represents foolish infatuation and criticises the idolised concept of love at first sight.

- It shows Olivia to be infatuated with Cesario immediately, while not knowing anything about him.

- Love is once again presented as a sickness - as something that infects you and takes you over completely (which in a way it does for Olivia, as she thinks of nothing but Cesario and nearly all her actions in the play following this are with the intention of wooing him).

- "How now? Even so quickly may one catch the plague."

- Shakespeare has elements of performative love in this relationship, but also presents how those who are rich in society believe they can buy and control anything and everyone (a concept which transcends time and literature and is still prevalent today).

- This is done through the use of symbols, i.e. the ring and jewels, which are given to Cesario as proclamations of Olivia's love.

- Additionally, Olivia sends these symbols to show her wealth and grandeur - sending a message that if she cannot win his love, she will buy it. Cesario describes this as "the cunning of her passion" highlighting how in many ways love is a game of manipulation.

Where does Shakespeare first display the theme of patriarchy in Desire and Love?

Shakespeare first displays the theme of patriarchy in Desire and Love in Act 1 when Orsino says "rich golden shaft [...] liver, brain and heart, / These sovereign thrones, are all supplied and filled / Her sweet perfections with one self king".

Analyse "rich golden shaft [...] liver, brain and heart, / These sovereign thrones, are all supplied and filled / Her sweet perfections with one self king".

- "one self king" shows Orsino's arrogance (as he thinks of himself as a king), but really brings home the theme of patriarchy within this section of the play - it highlights how he believes himself to have dominance over Olivia (as Elizabethan England was a patriarchy, and primogeniture states that a king's claim is more solid than a woman's). It also highlights how selfish he is with Olivia - in that he does not want to share her with anyone else ("one self" - singular).

- "Rich golden shaft" links to Cupid's arrow, and the theme of hunting in association with love. It also links to Orsino's sexual desire towards Olivia.

- "liver, brain and heart" are the three 'thrones' of the body. They each wear believed to control elements of the human nature, with the liver controlling passion, the heart controlling emotion and the brain controlling reason.

- "sweet perfections" highlights how Orsino only cares about Olivia if she is perfect (linking to the idea of performative love). It also shows how he has a falsified view of Olivia - no person is perfect and yet he views her as perfect, as though he cannot see her flaws (showing how his "love" is actually desire, because if you love someone you embrace their flaws regardless).

How does Shakespeare show the concept of patriarchy through a motif of hunting?

He especially displays the concept of patriarchy through a motif of hunting - highlighting how women are meant to be chased by men, as though they are weak vulnerable creatures that are capable of being tamed by the human hand.

Give four quotes related to the motif of hunting and patriarchal love.

- "rich golden shaft"

- "hart"

- "That instant was I turned into a hart"

- "my desires, like fell and cruel hounds, e'er since pursue me"

In Act 1, Scene 1 how is Orsino's understanding of love presented?

Orsino is presented as believing in false ideas of love (he believes in the textbook ideas as though he has derived his beliefs from a story). He is shown to want to over-consume on love so that he is sick of it (as though he has too many emotions and he doesn't exactly know what to do with them).