Twelfth Night Character Analysis

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Twelfth Night, by William Shakespeare, explores the effects of deception and trickery. Shakespeare’s characters are unaware the world they see is an illusion. Shakespeare sets the stage for a comedic adventure through Illyria starring conspiracy and intrigue. Niccolò Machiavelli, on the other hand, is attempting to shed light on how politics works in the world through The Prince. Machiavelli presents disturbing truths about the behavior of humanity, thus earning himself sinister notoriety. Shakespeare implements some of these truths into his work. So, to what extent is Twelfth Night a Machiavellian play? Throughout Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night, his characters portray qualities a prince would possess according to Machiavelli, which reflects their actions as well as the situation they find themselves in by the conclusion of the play. Characters in Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night, only judge by images their eyes show them and do not investigate further into the scene. According to Machiavelli, “Men in general judge more by their eyes than by their hands” (The Prince, 71). This is most evident in Twelfth Night with the characters Viola/Cesario and Feste the Fool.
In the beginning of the play, a shipwrecked Viola, disguises herself as a man, comes into Duke Orsino’s service. Viola tricks Orsino into believing she is a …show more content…
Machiavelli believes a successful prince requires Fortune to be on their side. He personifies Fortune as a woman, a woman who “lets herself be won more by the impetuous,” and who is a “friend of the young” (The Prince, 101). Shakespeare depicts this idea through Viola and Olivia. Orsino expects Olivia to treat his proposals of love “better in [Viola’s] youth / Than in a nuncio’s of more grave aspect” (1.4.27-28). This perfectly embodies Machiavelli’s beliefs as Olivia plays the role of Fortune who young Viola/Cesario wins

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