Alex Gaastra 5A
Discuss the Effects that Arise in Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night From Viola’s Disguising Herself as Cesario
A large amount of the plot of Twelfth Night results from Viola’s disguise and it has great number of unforeseen consequences. The first and possibly the most crucial of these is Olivia’s sudden attraction to Viola when she disguises herself as Cesario. This begins when Olivia sees Viola for the first time. As she comes to declare the Duke’s love for Olivia in Act 1 Scene 5. At the start of the scene Viola does not realise that she is speaking to Olivia, instead thinking she is addressing a servant. However, it is because of this that Viola says the first thing that may have attracted Olivia to her. She calls Olivia, ‘…most radiant, exquisite and unmatched beauty.’ This is not part of a prepared speech and seemingly directed to a mere servant. It may be this phrase that first softens Olivia’s heart towards the boyish Cesario. The probable reason for Viola using this phrasing is that she is trying to charm her way into see Olivia and as girl, knows exactly how they like to addressed.
In this scene one of the most prominent effects of Viola’s disguise is that it seems that the Boy Cesario can think like a woman. To Olivia, having forsaken men whilst morning her brothers death Viola comes across as extraordinarily sensitive. When Viola confesses Orsino’s love for Olivia she uses phrases such as, ‘Halloo your name to the reverberate hills.’ Olivia is instantly moved by such language and asks, ‘What is your parentage?’ I feel this is the first question, which shows Olivia’s interest in Viola. This is because due to the social hierarchy of the time Olivia would not consider a relationship with someone of a lower class. The scene also opens itself to a number of useful staging possibilities. This mainly due to the fact that the audience is already amused buy Viola’s disguise. It also means that what could appear to a be a perfectly normal feelings to Olivia who thinks that Viola is a man take on a whole new meaning on stage. Phrases from Olivia such as, ‘Methinks I feel this youth’s perfections…to creep in at mine eyes.’ Become instantly jokes among the audience even if the lines in themselves are perfectly serious. It is this state of mistaken identity that adds a large amount of the comedy to the play.
