What Is Portrayed About Love in Twelfth Night, Act Ii, Scene Iv

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What is portrayed about love in Twelfth Night, Act II, Scene IV? Twelfth Night was written by William Shakespeare during the Elizabethan Era; because of this, most of the audience would have understood and connected to what the play was about, especially the parts about how women are often seen as the weaker sex, but Shakespeare uses word play to turn it in the women’s favour. The play is set in Italy, adding to the theme of love. Italy was a far off, foreign, and hot country. Italy was thought to be a romantic country, the heat adding to this factor. The fact that it was set somewhere so different to their daily, normal lives might have been what made them want to watch it in the first place. In Twelfth Night, Act II, Scene IV, is full of sentences with double meanings. Many of Orsino’s words contradict what he has spoken about earlier in the play. Orsino describes himself as “as all true lovers are”. This is implying that he is the perfect lover, and his love for Olivia is real. It also shows that he is quite vain and full of himself. True lovers are thought to be sound in their love, but then Orsino continues with a declaration that his love is “Unstaid and skittish”, further indicating that Orsino often contradicts himself, as his love is restless, opposed to his supposed true love. Orsino discusses love with Cesario, who is Viola in disguise. Orsino tells Viola that he can tell by her actions that she is in love. Since Viola is really in love with Orsino, she admits that Orsino is right. When Orsino asks “What kind of woman is’t?” Viola answers that she is very much like Orsino— “Of your complexion”. Orsino, not picking up that she is truly talking about himself, remarks that Cesario would be better off without her ; “let still the woman take an elder than herself”, because men are naturally fickle, despite his supposed ‘true love’, and only a younger
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