Blindness of Love in Twelfth Night by Shakespeare Essay

Blindness of Love in Twelfth Night by Shakespeare In the play Twelfth Night Shakespeare shows how anyone can be blinded by love and act so impulsively to satisfy their appetite for love, that often they fall in love with a faà §ade rather then the person behind the disguise. Also Shakespeare also shows how people are apt to ignore the evidence that disproves the disguise they have fallen in love with. Almost all of the characters in Twelfth Night fell in love with a disguise; I will detail the confusing relationships and disguises used in the play to show the blindness of love. Olivia is easily the largest victim to love and disguise. Olivia quickly falls in love with Viola, who is disguised as Cesario. Olivia realizes how far†¦show more content†¦Antonio, the friend of Sebastian, falls deeply in love with Sebastian after caring for him for so long after the shipwreck. Antonio never considers the thought that Sebastian may not love him back because Antonio is so focused on his love. Antonio is unrelenting with his love to wards Sebastian to the point that he risks his life by accompanying him to Illyria, where he is a wanted man. The disguise that Sebastion wears is not one he deliberately puts on, but one that Antonio places on him to disguise any signs that his love may be one sided. Finally the disguise is violently torn away when Antonio learns that Sebastian has married Olivia so abruptly. Malvolio is deeply in love with Olivia, whom he is a servant to. He has often received negative signals from her, but he does not pay attention to them. Malvolio receives a note that Maria left for him as a trick and Malvolio quickly believes that it is from Olivia to him. Malvolio is so content with the idea of Olivia finally showing her affection for him that he doesnt question why, in the note, she asks him to act so oddly or hear the snickering of the pranksters watching him. There is also the idea that Olivias power and beauty causes many to fall for her. Orsino, Sebastian, Sir Andrew, and Malvolio all ar e in love with Olivia, but it may just be the shallow love for money and beauty and not one for true love that causes this. Sebastian agrees to marry her without everShow MoreRelatedComparing Shakespeare s Romeo And Juliet And His Comedy Twelfth Night1627 Words   |  7 PagesCompare how love is presented in Shakespeare’s tragedy Romeo and Juliet and his comedy Twelfth Night INTRODUCTION Shakespeare uses similar techniques in his contrasting plays ‘Twelfth Night’ and ‘Romeo and Juliet’ to explore societal conventions of love and courtship, while also considering different types of love – such as fraternal love or the idea of infatuation; and, despite the fact that each play lies at opposite ends of the genre spectrum, he still manages to clearly convey the idea to bothRead MoreWilliam Shakespeares As You Like It As a Study of Perception and Misperception2315 Words   |  10 Pages The concepts of perception and misperception are common themes in many of Shakespeares plays and can be found in his comedies, tragedies and histories alike. Shakespeare explores these often-parallel elements through several different forms in his work, such as disguise, mistaken identity and blindness, and events caused by these can lead to amusing, confusing or sometimes tragic consequences, depending on the nature of the plays themselves. The Concise Oxford