Unrequited love is displayed in many ways; one instance is Orsino and his love of Olivia. This is exemplified in many situations, such as the meeting of Olivia and Viola in which Olivia falls quickly in love with the made up character of Cesario, ‘even so quickly may one catch the plague.’ This is an example of unrequited love, or the ‘melancholy lover.’ A melancholy lover is a lover which suffers from his/her love. Another example of unrequited love, again is because of mixed Identities, Viola the other ‘melancholy lover’ in the play, loves Orsino, but Orsino cannot return that love because he thinks she is a man so finds it unbelievable, Cesario could love him, so doesn’t pick up or ignores the ‘telltale signs’ of love. She also cannot reveal her love to him because she would then have to reveal her true identity. Viola talks to Orsino explaining how she knows how Orsino feels, because “My father had a daughter that loved a man,” this is about how an invented ‘sister’ of hers that loved a man that didn’t love her back and how it destroyed her.
Humorous love in the play is exposed by some of the characters trying to woo others and failing dismally. Such characters as Andrew Aguecheek act as a light relief, (his name Aguecheek is a joke in it self, it means a red mark on ones cheek that is caused when you are out of breath referring to getting out of breath from sex, a “player” in modern terms). His lack of intelligence is exploited by Sir Toby Belch, he persuades Sir Andrew to continue in his task of wooing after even after he tries to go home as he thinks the task is fruitless. Sir Toby wishes for Sir Andrew to marry Olivia, as living in a very paternal society, it was common practice for the husband to have ownership of all of his wife’s belongings. This would secure Sir Andrew in Olivia’s household, as Sir Andrew is Sir Toby’s friend. Sir Toby also able to make Sir Andrew do what he wants which means he will ultimately be the most powerful person in Olivia’s household.
There are some references to Greek Mythology in most of Shakespeare’s plays. This is also true in ‘Twelfth Night,’ “I thank you Jove” Jove is a God associated in Greek Mythology with exploiting love. The other reference to Greek Mythology is Sir Toby calls Maria “Penthesilea” who is the queen of the Amazons and known to be very beautiful. The reason Shakespeare makes so many links with Greek mythology is because they are much romanticized stories, and they are timeless and have lasted forever. It is also the case that within the concept of courtly love it was usual to refer to classical beauties and stories to make the characters even more elusive.
Courtly love is shown in the way that Orsino attempts to woo Olivia by sending suitors, with messages which says how perfect she is and how his love runs deep, “my love, more noble than the world” but with such a lack of lust and such a idealised view of love, it seems that Orsino is more in love with the idea of love itself rather than an actual living being. This type of love is borrowed from the medieval period and the idea of noble chivalry. Knights must never show any sexual advances towards women and to worship then from afar. This is Similar to the way in which Claudio worships Hero and puts her on a pedestal at the start of ‘Much Ado About Nothing,’ she is perfect ‘a divine goddess’ “dian in her orb” Claudio is more in love with the image of Hero he has constructed for himself than the actual living woman, this mirrors Orsino’s love for Olivia. The language used in the way Orsino woos Olivia was typical of Shakespeare, lots of imagery and similes. Shakespeare was sometimes criticized for his extensive use of imagery saying it took away from the characters and the plot of the play, “And my desires, like fell.”
The last form of love I am going to deal with is ambitious or selfish love. The prime example of this type of love is Malvolio when he finds the false letter supposedly from Olivia, as all he is interested in is her body, her money, and a title for himself as well as the extensive lands she owns. When she says “to bed” in her letter he thinks that she wants to sleep with him. He also wishes to give Sir Toby an ultimatum, in which is to either give up drinking or to leave the house “I will wash off gross acquaintance.” This is a display of Malvolio’s Puritanism where he thinks he is better and purer than everyone else. Another similarity to ‘Much Ado About Nothing’ is that Malvolio is tricked in a similar way to how Benedict and Beatrice are tricked. The outcomes are very different, the first is a happy ending for the couple, where as Malvolio is thought to be mad and locked up.
Traditionally in a Shakespearian comedy all the “loose ends” are ‘tied’ up at the end and this is where the last type of love to be displayed, true love. All the characters that are meant to end up together do, so Olivia with Sebastian, Orsino with Viola and Sir Toby with Maria. Shakespeare’s plays have remained popular because of his extensive use of imagery and language he uses and his themes, especially with the theme of love which is identifiable by all in every age.
