Twelfth Night Character Analysis

After the encounter with Cesario, Lady Olivia instructs Malvolio to chase after Cesario and to return a "ring" that he left behind. "She is returning this ring to you, sir. You might have spared me my trouble, by taking it away yourself. She adds, in addition, that you shou make it completely clear to your lord that she will have nothing to do with him. And one more thing: that you should not be so bold as to come again on his behalf, unless it would be to report how your lord has taken it back" (Shakespeare.81.4-9). When Malvolio say these words, it is really showing how loyal he is. He is doing exactly what Lady Olivia tasked him with, he is being very faithful and devoted to his Lady.

When Feste keeps teasing and annoying Lady Olivia, Malvolio steps in and says very blunt and critical thing towards her. "I am amazed that your ladyship takes delight in such a full Rascal. I saw him out down the other day by an ordinary fool who has no more brains than a stone. Look at him: he didn't have a comeback now. Unless you laugh and encourage him, he's speechless. Really, I believe predictable fools are no better than the fools assistants" (Shakespeare 55.74-80). As a servant, we expect Malvolio to be very humble and bite down his tongue, but he's just expressing what he wants to say in a very rude and honest way! He is very straightforward and dosn't care what anyone says.

When Malvolio walks into the room, he is talking to himself about becoming an aristoratic. He is imagining himself with lots of servants and some of the higher ups too in Lady Olivia's house "I adopt a grand manner; and after letting my gaze travel solemnly over my staff-thus indicating to them that I know my place as I would expect them to know theirs-I call for my kinsmans Toby-Seven of my servants, in obedience, go to seek him. I frown meanwhile, and perhaps wind up my watch, or play with my chain-some rich jewel" (Shakespeare.pg 133.47-55). Malvolio really believed that Lady Olivia has feelings for him. So much as though he starts to have this fantasy as this top notch aristoratic. In reality, it is just a dream he wishes would come true.

Malvolio has been starting to develop some feelings for Lady Olivia, he even thinks that she loves him back because she treats him with great respect. When he is walking back to his bedroom, he stumbles upon a letter that is addressed to him and the handwriting is very similar to Lady Olivia's. "By my life, this is my lady's handwriting! These are her exact C's, her U's and her T's. And this is how she makes her great P's. It is, beyond question, her handwriting" (Shakespeare 155.78-80). From his past experiences with his Lady, he believes that she actually wrote to him! When in reality, it is actually Maria, a servant of the household, playing a prank on him.

Maria, Sir Toby, Sir Andrew and Feste are up late drinking and making lots of noises. Malvolio walks in the room and starts going off on them about how much of a raucous they are making. "My masters, are you mad? What are you doing? Do you have no common sense, manners, or decency, but I gabble like Gypsies at this time of night? Are you making my Lady's house into an Alehouse by squawking your shoemaker songs as loud as you can? Do you have no respect for where you are, or other people, or what time it is?" (Shakespeare pg 91.78-90) Malvolio is really overeacting and questioning Sir Toby's, Maria's, Sir Anddrew's and Feste's actions right now. He is showing more emotion than what is necessary. He is very angry at them and expressing his emotions

Malvolio is in a room by himself and he stumbles upon a letter, thinking it's from Lady Olivia. When he reads the contents inside of the letter, he believes that Lady Olivia is returning her feelings for him. "It's only chance; everything is matter of chance. Maria once told me that Olivia was fond of me. And I have heard her say this much, that if she did fall in love, it would be with someone like me. Besides, she treats me with greater respect than anyone else in her service. What should I make of all this? (Shakespeare pg 111. 20-24). When Malvolio says this, he believes that Lady Olivia shows him a lot of respect. This feeling of love towards her is clouding his rationality that he believes this.

When Cesario and Lady Olivia are talking she starts to notice little things about the way Cesario talks and moves. ""What is your rank? "Above my present fortune. But my social standing is good". I would swear you are! Your voice, your face, your form, movements and spirit are the fivefold sign of an aristocrat". (Shakespeare. 69.269-273). When Lady Olivia says these words it is really showing that she is an observant person. She is able to pay close attention to the way someone's face looks down to the person's body movements. Then can make a good inference from these hints.

In Lady Olivia's house, Olivia keeps on trying to woo Cesario by saying different things to him but Cesario keeps on rejecting her. Lady Olivia is oblivious to this and is just desperate for Ceserio to like her back. "You think you're in love with a man, but you're not. You think you aren't mad, but you are. I'm not a man. I want you to be my husband" (Shakespeare.139-142). This line shows Cesario and Lady Olivia going back to back with each other, Olivia is just acting with great desire for Cesario when she say's in the riddles that she want's him as her husband. This is showing how Lady Olivia is a desperate person for Cesario's love.

In this scene, Lady Olivia starts to develop feelings towards Cesario. So when he leaves her house to return the news to the Duke, she sends Malvolio to return a ring to Cesario. Cesario on the other hand, did not leave any ring behind. So when he gets the ring he'll be confused and will have no choice but to go back to her house and return the ring. "Run after that rude messenger that was just here-the count's servant. He left this ring when he left, whether I wanted it or not. Tell him I won't accept it" (Shakespeare 71.281-283). Lady Olivia is using the "ring" to conceal her true intentions, this is showing how she is manipulative.

The duke is angry that Lady Olivia won't accept his love. His servant Valentine, told him that she is acting like this because she is mourning her dead brother. "The sky itself shall not see her face uncovered until seven summers have passed. But like a nun behind walls, she will walk around her room wearing a veil, and weeping salty years. All this she does to preserve her love for her dead brother, which she wants to keep fresh and lasting in her sad memory" (Shakespeare 27. 27-34). When Valentine says this, it is showing how much Lady Olivia loves her brother that she will just walk around her house all depresssed and mourn him throughout the day.

When Cesario leaves, Lady Olivia describes the way she is feeling towards Cesario. "May one catch the plague as quickly as this? I think that I feel this young man's perfections penetrating my sight with an invisible and delicate influence" (Shakespeare .69.275-277). When Lady Olivia says how she caught the plague quickly, it is a metaphor explaining how fast she fell for Cesario. Also, when she said that he's clouding her sight with a strong influence, it relates to how When people are in love, they tend to feel influenced by the people they are infatuated with.

When Olivia had uncalled for guests arrive at her house, she puts on a veil to cover her face from society. "Give me my veil. Come, throw it over my face. We will once again hear Orsino's message" (Shakespeare 61.152). Lady Olivia wears the veil because she is still mourning her father and brother.

For the past few months, Duke Orsino has been declaring his love for Olivia. Lady Olivia keeps rejecting him though, because she does not love him back for whatever reason or because she is still sad about the loss of her loved ones. Now, when a messenger comes from the Duke, she just tells her servant to shoo him away or make up some excuse that she isn't home. "Malvolio, you go. If it's a proposal from the count, say I am sick, or not at home, whatever you like, to get rid of it" (Shakespeare 57. 98-99).

The Duke has hired a young Eunuch named Cesario. Over time ,the Duke has has taken quite a liking to him, he tells Cesario everything including that he's in love with Lady Olivia. Now he gets Cesario to go to Olivia's house to ask for her hand. I think one of the reasons Duke Orsino has become so close to the young lad is because of his youthfulness. "The lips of the Virgin goddess Diana are not smoother and more ruby-red than yours. Your small voice is like a girl's, high and clear. You could pass for a girl". I think the Duke trusts Cesario with this task to persuade Lady Olivia because of his young looks. He probably think she'll be more persuaded to accept his love for her. "She will receive it better coming from someone young like you, rather than an old messenger" (Shakespeare 27-28)

Duke Orsino uses a lot of emotional words and metaphors to describe his love for her. "Oh, when my eyes first saw Olivia, I thought she purified the air. In that instant, I was turned into a deer, and my desires, fierce and cruel hounds, have pursued me ever since" (Shakespeare. pg 25-26. 19 -24) His words are really showing how he loves her. A lot of people that fall in love often feel similar to the Duke when he said he turned into a deer. It means that when he first saw Lady Olivia, he was so caught off guard by her looks that he couldn't even look away. That is was Duke Orsino means with the deer.

Duke Orsino has been rejected by Lady Olivia many times in the past and cannot seem to accept the fact that she does not love him back. The duke cannot seem to accept that though, when he has Viola/Cesario as his new servant, he demands that he goes to Lady Olivia's house and demand for her to accept his love and not to take no as an answer. "You know everything about me. Even my soul's secrets are an open book to you. Therefore , good Lad, go to her. Don't be denied access. Stand at her door and tell her servants that your feet will take root there until you are allowed to see her" (Shakespeare pg 45. 11-17)

Duke Orsino is so furious that Lady Olivia will not take his hand. Viola in this scene is saying to him that if she were a woman, where she already said she is between the lines, then she would be madly in love with the Duke. "My father had a daughter who loved a man; just as, perhaps, if I were a woman, I might love your lordship" (Shakespeare pg 107-112-116). After she says this, the Duke pays no mind to these words at all! Viola is literally exposing herself in front of him and he's just so concerned about himself and his love for Olivia. He just continues to rant about his love and simply says go to Lady Olivia's house and give her a jewel.

In the beggining of the play we are in Duke Orsino's house, where he describes his painful love for Lady Olivia. "Oh her heart is so tender that she does all this out of love for just a brother. How will she love when Cupid's golden arrow has killed all other affections in her" (Shakespeare pg 27. 35-38). He is coming off very emotional and sad here, how Lady Olivia cannot seem to get over her dead brother. When he mentions how Cupid will kill all affections, he's taking this love for her way to deep and this is how an emotional person tends to act with their feelings.

In Lady Oliva's house, when she and Cesasrio are talking, she briefly mentions that Duke Orsino is handsome and has a good form. "I believe him to be virtuous, know him to be noble, very wealthy, of fresh and innocent youth, well spoken of, generous, well educated, and brave. And in his physical form a handsome person" (Shakespeare. 67. 235-240) What Lady Olivia says proves that the Duke is good looking because the two of them have probably meant before.

When Viola gets brought to shore after being in a ship wreck, the caption tells her about the land she is in and how the Duke is noble. "Who governs here? A noble Duke, both in birth and character" (Shakespeare 31.25).