Twelfth Night - Analyse how Shakespeare creates tension through the setting, character and the dramatic impact of language, showing how you think the audience is being asked to respond.

Sultan Ahmed 13 – 03 - 2001

Twelfth Night

Analyse how Shakespeare creates tension through the setting, character and the dramatic impact of language, showing how you think the audience is being asked to respond.

This is an essay in which I am analyzing how Shakespeare creates tension through the setting, character and the dramatic impact of the language. I am also going to write about how the audience is being asked to respond. The story Twelfth Night is an interesting blend of sadness of separation and love between a brother and a sister when both of them get separated by a shipwreck. It also deals with messages going between lovers, but in return they receive nothing. For instance, Orsino sends his love messages to Olivia throughout the play, but in return he doesn’t receive any love from her. In Act I scene 1, the play begins as the Duke of Illyria, Orsino, longing for the love of Olivia, says: ”If music be the food of love, play on!” In Act I Scene 2, Viola has confirmation that she also has lost a brother, Sebastian. Then she comes to know from a sea captain who saved her that Orsino is the ruler of the country and he is a bachelor who loves Olivia. Viola decides that she wants to serve Olivia as a messenger. When the captain makes it clear to Viola that Olivia is in seclusion, Viola decides to change herself to a man and serve as a messenger in Orsino's court.

The settings of all the three acts are the same. They took place in Duke Orsino’s palace. There are so many other settings for different acts and scenes. For instance, Olivia’s Court, Olivia’s Garden, and the seacoast. In Act I scene 1, Shakespeare creates tension when Valentine, whom Orsino sent to give his love message to Olivia, returns. Valentine was not allowed to speak to Olivia, but Olivia sent a message via her Gentlewoman, Maria, that Olivia will continue to mourn her dead brother, and will not allow Orsino to see her – “A brother’s dead love, which she would keep fresh…”. On the other hand in Act I scene 4, Viola has disguised herself as a boy, Cesario, and has been taken into the service of Orsino. Valentine remarks that Orsino and Viola, as Cesario, have become close in short time that Viola has been employed - “…he hath known you but three days, and already you are no stranger”. Orsino has already told Viola of his great love for Olivia. Orsino now asks Viola to go to Olivia and tell her about his love to her. He believes that Viola/ Cesario, being younger and more fluent than his other messengers, will succeed. Tension is created here when Viola has been asked to go to Olivia and woo her. Viola says she will obey and will do her best, although she confesses in an aside that she already feels love for Orsino and would rather be his wife than try to woo Olivia for him – “Whoe’er I woo, myself would be his wife”. By this we can understand that Viola is already in love with Orsino. In Act II scene 4, tension is created when Orsino calls Feste to sing a song that pleases him very well. Orsino then begins to talk to Cesario about love, and its weaknesses. Feste begins to sing his song, a sad one about love and death. As he sings his song Viola seems to be getting closer to Orsino and is about to kiss him. Tension is also created when Viola attempts to persuade and soothe Orsino that Olivia might not love him, but that perhaps another woman does – “Say that some Lady, as perhaps there is Hath for your love as great a pang of heart…”. Orsino counters this with the argument that women are very inconstant in love and do not have a feeling as deep as the love he has for Olivia – “There is no woman’s sides Can bide the beating of so strong a passion…”Viola doesn’t think that this is true because of the love she has for Orsino. She also attempts to persuade him that women are as true of heart as men – “In faith they are as true of heart, as we”, by telling him a false story she makes up about a sister who loved a man too constantly and too well – “My father had a daughter loved a man…”. Here tension is created as Viola talks about herself of how much she loves Orsino, but Orsino doesn’t realise that.

Orsino is the ruler of Illyria. He is lovesick for Olivia and

This is a preview of the whole essay

Orsino is the ruler of Illyria. He is lovesick for Olivia and

will not give his affections up for her. He is also a moody man. Tension is created here when his affections shift or change at the end of the play from Olivia to Viola. He has now fallen in love with Viola as soon as the truth is revealed. Olivia is the countess of Illyria and the lady whom Count Orsino loves. She lost her brother before the beginning of the play. So she decides to be in mourning for her brother for seven years. Due to that Orsino is unable to meet or woo her. During her mourning she falls in love with Cesario/Viola, who is a messenger for Orsino. Tension is created here when Olivia falls in love with Cesario who is Viola, a lady. Finally, Viola is a young woman who lost her twin brother Sebastian in a shipwreck and luckily lands in Illyria. She decides to serve Olivia as a messenger at first, but as she hears about Olivia’s seclusion she decides to serve Orsino by disguising herself as Cesario. As she serves Orsino, Viola falls in love with Orsino. Tension is created here when Viola falls in love with Orsino. Viola is dressed as a man and therefore she cannot express her love for Orsino.

The language that Orsino uses in the first scene may be full of tricks, but it also indicates strong feeling and liveliness. Orsino may be pining for love, but his feelings are very urgent. The image of him being torn apart by hounds expresses the great influence his feelings have on him, and his urgency in wooing Olivia means that he is not changeable in his fancy – “And my desires like fell and cruel hounds E’er since pursue me”. On another occasion Curio asks Orsino if he will go hunt a hart. Here tension is created when ‘Hunt a hart’ could mean to hunt a deer or to go to hunt Olivia’s heart. Orsino on his reply could also have meant that he’s hunted as the Hart – “That instant I was turn’d into a hart”.

In Twelfth Night Shakespeare wants his audience to be curios, make them wonder what’s going to happen after. In Act1 Scene1, the audience gets really curios when Orsino is waiting for Valentine, anxious to know what the news is going to be “How now, what news from her”, so this line tells us of the anxiety of Orsino for news from Olivia. Shakespeare also uses humor in the language to make the play more interesting, so the audience could feel the humor in the atmosphere that the play brings. The play also carries all kind of moods such as sadness and happiness. We can see some sadness in the play when Olivia rejects the love Orsino is mad for, and also when Viola cannot express her love for Orsino. On my point of view, the audience found the play very humorous, as they knew what is going on. For example, the audience knew that Viola was a lady dressed up as a man and that Olivia fells in love with Viola. On another occasion, Orsino unwittingly states the truth about Viola’s disguise. He says of Viola that “thy small pipe is as the maiden’s organ, shrill and sound, and all is semblative a woman’s part”, the quote is loaded with dramatic irony, as Orsino has guessed the truth about Viola without knowing it, while the audience both knows about Viola’s true identity, and Orsino's good guess. These scenes make a lot of tension in the play and the audience enjoy them a lot.

From my point of view, I found ‘Twelfth Night’ very humorous and interesting. The story is interesting by the way Shakespeare used language and created tensions in ‘Twelfth Night’. The whole play is about people falling in love but in return not receiving the love they wanted. The most interesting character in ‘Twelfth Night’ to me is Viola. I found Viola very interesting as she plays a very interesting role in the story out of all the others.

Written by Sultan Ahmed