However, Viola was caught up in another true love scenario, only this time she was on the receiving end, and things didn't work out to plan. During her attempts to court Olivia for Orsino, Olivia grew to love Cesario (Viola). Each time Viola would visit Olivia, Olivia’s love for Viola would increase and she soon became attached to Viola. Viola was now caught in a terrible situation and there was only one way out, but that would put her chances with Orsino at threat. It's amazing that Olivia could fall for a woman dressed as a man, but because Viola knew what women like to hear, her words won Olivia's heart.
The next case of true love is on a less cherished and romantic scale, and more family natured. Viola and Sebastian's love for one another is a bond felt by all siblings, as through their times of sorrow and mourning for each other after their apparent deaths, they still loved each other. They believed deep down that maybe someway or by some miracle that each of them was still alive and well.
“Twelfth Night” also addresses the issue of self-love. Malvolio is the obvious character within this play, with the problem of self-love. He sees himself as a handsome and a noble man. Malvolio believes many women would love to be with him. He likes to see things one way only, and he deceives himself just to suit his outlook on the situation. For example, in the play he twists Olivia's words around to make it sound like she admires his yellow cross-gartered stockings, when she really despises them.
Sir Toby Belch and Olivia also show signs of self-love, but this is not as big an issue. Sir Toby only cares about himself and no one else, not even his friends. He totally ignores Maria's warnings about drinking into the early hours of the morning each night, and he continues to push Sir Andrew Auguecheek to court Olivia. Although he believes Sir Andrew doesn't have a chance. While usually he’s just using Sir Andrew for his riches and money. Olivia cares about the people around her, but she also believes that no man is worthy of her beauty. She thinks she is “all that” and that no one can match her “flawlessness”. Hence why she is associated with self-love.
Friendship is the third type of love expressed in “Twelfth Night”. The biggest and closest friendship would certainly have to be between Orsino and Cesario. They scarcely knew each other at first, and before long Orsino was telling Cesario about his deep love for Olivia. He even had Cesario running his love messages to Olivia. Cesario did for a brief time act as a kind of “cupid”.
The second friendship, and definitely the strangest, is between Sir Toby and Sir Andrew. They are close friends but sometimes Sir Toby doesn't show it. He sets Sir Andrew up, and likes to get him into trouble. For example, he persuades Sir Andrew to challenge Cesario to a dual, even though he is not a great swordsman and is totally oblivious of Cesario's ability. Although on the other hand, Sir Andrew does appreciate Sir Toby's company, as he always lifts his spirits and makes him feel like a true knight. Many would possibly argue that Sir Andrew would be lost without him, as he sets a sort of role model for him and someone to look up to.
Lastly the next friendship has got to be between Viola and the Sea Captain. Even though this friendship was hardly mentioned, they did have a very deep bond between one another. As they survived the shipwreck together and the Sea Captain promised to keep Viola's idea about pretending to be a man a sealed secret. If it weren’t for the Sea captain, the disguise of Cesario would have hopelessly failed, and if he had opened his mouth and told a single sole, the entire play would have changed. There’s no doubt about it.
Love does clearly play a major role in this play: “Twelfth Night”, and Shakespeare addresses true love, self-love and friendship in a very compelling and interesting way. He uses various ways in which getting the idea of love across. For example in the main plot he uses a poetic form or verse and in the sub plot, prose or every-day speech is used. Also, he uses rhyming couplets and “iambic pentameter”. This means each line contains ten syllables. It is poetry where the stress lies upon the second syllable and each line is made up of five feet. This all helps to ensure the play is good to read and watch. Finally, “Twelfth Night” is the true definition of love, and Shakespeare does a great job of explaining a somewhat difficult and affectionate subject.
