1. The document discusses several themes from Shakespeare's play Twelfth Night, including appearance versus reality, disguise, mistaken identity, madness, and love. 2. Key examples of appearance versus reality explored are Malvolio being tricked into appearing mad and Olivia disguising her true feelings behind a veil of mourning. 3. Disguise and mistaken identity, particularly through Viola's disguise as Cesario, are major plot devices that complicate the relationships between characters in unpredictable ways.

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Name:__________________________
Themes of Shakespeare Twelfth Night
 Love
 Appearance versus Reality
 Madness
 Reality versus Fantasy
 Social Class
Appearance versus Reality
“ Disguise, I see thou art wickedness”
Appearance versus Reality is a recurring theme is Shakespeare’s
Twelfth Night Or What You Will. Appearances hide an important
reality and sometimes get in the way of a character from developing
or attaining his/ her goal.
Thanks to Maria, Sir Toby and Fabian’s prank on Malvolio he
appears to be mad. Maria forged Olivia’s handwriting and wrote a
letter to Malvolio. The gullible Malvolio, being in love with Olivia
believes she loves him. The letter tells Malvolio to dress in yellow
cross gathered stockings. Of course, this is exactly what Olivia hates.
He shows up to Olivia’s house and she has sentenced him to a dark
room because she believed that he was mad. He appears to be mad
but in reality he isn’t. The significance of the dark room is that in
Elizabethan times the believed that you can be cured of madness by
being imprisoned in a dark room.

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Another incident of Appearance versus reality is portrayed by
Maria. This is as she has gone into mourning for seven years and
refuses to see no one but servants and family
Feste: “Good madoona, why mourn’st thou?”
Olivia:“Good fool, for my brother’s death.” (act 1 scn 5)
She appears to be mourning the death of her brother but
actually, she isn’t. She veils her self in memory of her choice
(mourning) . Towards Orsino this is her reactions.
When Viola/Cesario show up she send for her. (if she is in
mourning it should be on at all times). “ give me my veil; come
throw it over my face”. Act 1 scn 5
“… I am sick, or not at home. What you will to dismiss it”. (Act 1
scn 5). She says do or say what you will but get rid of him. This a
message sends for Viola/Cesario. This is because Orsino has send him
to woo the love of Olivia for him. In Act 1 scn 5 Olivia unveils.
Upon meeting Viola/ Ceario she falls head of heals in love with him.
“Unless perchance you come to me again to tell me how he takes it”.
(act 1 scn 5). Olivia tells Cesario that she cannot love his master but
go back and tell him that and come back and tell me how he takes it.
If you don’t love someone you should careless right?
Well in Olivia’s case she really didn’t love Orsino but had fallen
in love with his right hand man Cesario. She isn’t concerned about
how Orsino takes it but wants to see Ceasrio again. that the reason
for her line.
Under the theme of Appearance versus Reality comes:
 Disguise
 Mistaken Identity

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Disguise
The theme of disguise is one of the most important parts of the
play. Viola is used to portray the major disguise. Viola who is a
woman is disguised as a man. As she works for Orsin her love for
him grows, but she is forced to pretend / bury her love towards him
because of the choice she had made. “O, time must untangle this not
I’’. Act 2 scn 3.
She would like to reveal herself but is unable to do so. Viola/
Ceario is sent to woo the love of Olivia for Orsino. This is though as
Viola loves Orsino but she must take up her role as Cesario and carry
out the mission. “ Too woo your lady. Yet a barful strife: Whoe’er I
woo, myself would be his wife” . One could say Olivia is in heat for
falling in love so fast but then falling in love is not a choice it just
happens. One could also say is Viola didn’t love Orsino she may have
wooed Olivia’s love for him but who is to know?
The significance of disguised can be looked at from two different
ways.
 How does it affect the plot?
 How does it work thematically?
Viola disguise is a major plot device. This is as she comes between
Olivia and Orsino. Who is to know if she wasn’t there Olivian may
have changed as women love to be chased by men. Since she went
over to Olivia ‘s house (sent by Orsino, seen by Olivia) Olivia falls in
love with her. This helps the further complicate the plot.
Thematically, the use of disguise reminds us that people are not
always who or what they appear to be.

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Mistaken Identity.
“ You do mistake me sir”
Viola disguises herself once again. This time as her twin brother
Sebastian. To Antonio, Viola is Sebastian, his good friend but since
she obviously doesn’t recognizes him he gets up set. This is mistaken
identity, through Viola’s disguise Anotino is unable to see that she
isn’t Sebastian.
“ Is’t possible that my deserts to you
Can lack persuasion? Do not tempt my misery,
Lest that it make me see unsound a man
As to upbraid you with those kindness
That I have done for you” Act 3 scn 4
Mistaken Identity shows again when the Officers arrests Antonio.
Although Antonio had entered the scene to stop the shed of blood,
the officers doesn’t know/ refuses to believe him. The Officers
believes that he too was going to fight. His identity was mistaken and
he was arrested. “You do mistake me sir” Act 3 scn 4.
Sebastian now is disguised as Cesario. Olivia believes he is Cesario
but she too has no made the mistake of mistaken identity. She
believes he is the boy Cesario who she love and she asks for his
hand in marriage.
“Let thy fair wisdom, not thy passion, sway
…
In this uncivil and unjust extent”
Act 4 scn 1.

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Sebastian who Olivia believes is Cesario wonders but accepts the
strange enchantment just like Olivia’s soliloquy in Act 2 scn 2. “I left
no ring with her…. It is to o hard a knot for me to untie”. He
accepts her proposal to marriage. Olivia is unaware of who Cesario
really is and hustles into marriage. This is as she wants the marriage
done before Sebastian/Cesario changes his mind as the real Ceario-
Viola, was hesitant before toward her.
Now with Olivia believing Sebastian is Cesario so does Orsino.
“O thou dissembling cub!” Orsino accuses Sebastian/Cesario of
disrespect and betrayal for knowing his love for Olivia and still
marring her. He too has mistaken Cesario’s identity.
Madness
“ Are all the people mad?” (act 4 scn 1)
There are two levels of madness in the play:
 Madness in Love
 Mental Madness
Madness In Love
No one in Twelfth Night Or What You Will is actually mad but
in reality is sane. Madness overlaps or is an extension of love and the
desire to be love.
Olivia- Cesario “ O by your leave, I pray you;
I bade you never speak again of him.

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But would you undertake another suit,
I had rather hear you to solicit that
Than music from the spheres.”
(act 3 scn 1)
This quote shows how madly in love Olivia started becoming
with Viola/Cesario. Although Viola/Cesario was sent to woo the love
of Olivia for Orsino, Olivia falls in love with her ad tells her say no
more about her master but tell her about her self as she would
appreciate it ove the music from the sphere. In Elizabethan time they
believed that the most beautiful sounds came from th planets as they
rotated. This showed how deeply/ madly Olivia was in love with
Viola.
Madness in love is also explored with Orsino. Orsino- Cesario
“Be clamorous and leap all civil bounds Rather than make unporfited
return”. Orsino tells Viola/ Cesario to go to all ends far and possible
but come beack with word from Olivia. Madness is a way for
characters to express the intensity of their romantic love.
In act 2 scn 4 Viola also express her love for Orsino. “A blank,
my lord. She never told her love, But let concealment like a worm
I’th’ bud..”. She tells Orsino about an incident where a girl had loved
a man but she hid it and it tore her apart. If reality she was the girl
and Orsino was the man.
Mental Madness
Maria, Sir Toby and Fabian plays a prank/ trick on Malvolio,
they made him appear to be mad. Due to their knowledge that
Malvolio loves Olivia they uses it against him, Maria forges a letter
that Malvolio thinks came from Olivia. He show up to Olivia’s hous

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in yellow cross gathered stockings, everything Olivia hates, she
sentences him to a dark room.
Another instance of mental madness is when Anotnio mistakes
the disguised Viola for her twin brother Sebastian and due to his
angry insistence that she recognizes him allows people to think/
assume that he is mentally unstable. The normality of life has turned
topsy-turvy and everyone must confront a reality that is somewhat
fractured.
Love
“ Then let thy love by younger than thyself,
Or thy affection cannot hold thee bent”.
In Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night Or What You Will three different
types of love were explored. They were romantic love, friend love and
self love.

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Romantic/True Love
“Be Clamorous and leap all civil bounds Rather than make
unprofited return.”
Orsino duke of Ilyria is in love with Olivia. He wants Cesario to
go to all ends just to get a reply from Olivia for him. Since Olivia
refuses to return the love for Orsino he sends Cesario to woo the love
of Olivia for him. Istead Olivia accidently falls in love with
Viola/Cesario and is willing to give anything in return for
Viola/Cesario’s love.
“I’d rather hear you to solicit that than music from the
spheres”. This is a clear indication that Olivia loves Viola because she
tells her she prefer the sound of her voice that the rotation of the
planets, which in Elizabethan times was the most beautiful sound
which the music of the spheres were supposedly exerted a magical
influence.

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Although Viola is aware of Olivia’s love for her she says she
can’t give her as her heart belongs else where and also she is a
woman. (act 3 scn 1). “ By my troth I’ll tell thee, I am almost sick for
one, though…”.
Another example of romantic love is when Maria, Sir Toby and
Fabian trick Malvolio into dressing into dressing the exact way Olivia
hates. He does this because he thinks Olivia loves him.
Friendship Love
There are many of friendship love in Twelfth Night Or What
You Will. The first between Viola/Cesario and Orsino duke of Ilyria as
within a few days she had the trust of Orsino. (act 1 scn 4) “ he hath
know but three days and already you are no stranger”.
Another is between Sebastian and Antonio. This is throught their
language of poetry it is seen as the ultimate mark of true friendship.
“ the gentleness of all god go with thee…. The danger shall still seem
sport and I will go.”
Self Love
Throughout the play the sub-theme of self love is expressed
through the portrayal of Sir Andrew. (act 2 scn 3) “ he does it with a
better grace, but I do it more natural’. Everything someone claims
or can do Malvolio says he can do it better. Act 1 scn 3. “ O you are
sick of self-love, Malvolio and taste with a distempered appetite.”

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Unrequited Love
Unrequited love a love that is not returned. This was portrayed
through Orsino and Olivia. Orsino loved Olivia till he was sick. “if
music be the food of love play on, give me excessof it that
surfeiting” He loved Olivia so much that he forgot about all his
responsibilities as a duke. Since she fell in love with Cesario and
married Sebastian who she thought was Cesario. He want to satisfy
his love thirst but is unable to.
Love as a cause of pain can come form unrequited love. “My
state is desperate for my master’s love” (act 2 scn 3) this can result
in violence. Just as in (act 5 scn 1) when Orsino threatens the life of
Olivia because she doesn’t love him. “… kill what I Love…”
Social Class
The play is concerned with social ambition especially relating to
marriage above or below ones rank. This was explored in Malvolio’s
plot, where the play takes particular pleasure in ridiculing Malvolio’s
social climbing fantasies. This is as he loves Olivia. In Shakespeare’s
time or the era in which the play was made a woman of hight status
wouldn’t marry someone of a lower status as it would have damaged
their rank.