From the quill of esteemed playwright, William Shakespeare, comes the comedy, Twelfth Night, a play often credited as one of the first to examine the complex dynamics of gender and how it is performed. In Act I, Scene V, Viola, dressed as Cesario, meets Olivia for the first time and begins to unravel the complex inner-workings of an interesting dynamic between the two of them. Following a beautiful deliverance of Duke Orsino’s message, Cesario improvises an eloquent speech about how he would pursue Olivia’s heart if he were her suitor. Although Olivia is unaware of Cesario’s true identity, she finds herself falling for him and his way with words. In the University of Southern California’s production of Twelfth Night, these ideas are brought
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It is evident that genuine love and human connection surpass gender, as Viola expresses her textual flatteries through imagery. She begins her speech by professing, “make me a willow cabin at your gate / And call upon my soul within the house” (1.5.258). This line creates the image of a lonely cabin in the woods, composed of willow branches. Cesario’s language should be the first clue to Olivia that he is actually a woman, as the willow stands as an emblem for rejected love, and is generally associated with female sadness. Interestingly, this idea is paralleled across several of Shakespeare’s works. In Othello, Desdamona sings “The Willow Song”, in which she mourns the loss of her lover, and in Hamlet, Ophelia, who has been abandoned by Hamlet falls out of a willow tree …show more content…
While in Shakespeare’s time, the question as to how gender is performed also played into the idea that all roles were played by men, this play is universal because people of all backgrounds experience the excitement of finding genuine human connection. In the text, Olivia is depicted by Orsino as a cold and unresponsive maiden, however, while she is uninterested in Orsino, her true motivation for rejecting his lust is her fear of getting hurt. Olivia has recently lost her brother, whom she adored, and the fear of losing someone else whom she loves is too much to bear. Coupled with this fear, her realization that Orsino’s love is not genuine leads her to reject his advances, and remain distant, both literally and figuratively. Through the text, it is evident that during this speech Olivia begins to feel connected to Viola. This feeling most likely stems from Viola’s feminized language, which resonates with Olivia on a level she cannot even comprehend, all because Viola is also a woman. Therefore, Viola may not be looking for love with Cesario at all, she may simply be seeking companionship, in light of the recent passing of her brother and the companionship they once shared. Perhaps this is why Olivia so easily takes Sebastian as her lover when Viola reveals her true identity. This speech proves the concept of genuine love and human
It is evident that genuine love and human connection surpass gender, as Viola expresses her textual flatteries through imagery. She begins her speech by professing, “make me a willow cabin at your gate / And call upon my soul within the house” (1.5.258). This line creates the image of a lonely cabin in the woods, composed of willow branches. Cesario’s language should be the first clue to Olivia that he is actually a woman, as the willow stands as an emblem for rejected love, and is generally associated with female sadness. Interestingly, this idea is paralleled across several of Shakespeare’s works. In Othello, Desdamona sings “The Willow Song”, in which she mourns the loss of her lover, and in Hamlet, Ophelia, who has been abandoned by Hamlet falls out of a willow tree …show more content…
While in Shakespeare’s time, the question as to how gender is performed also played into the idea that all roles were played by men, this play is universal because people of all backgrounds experience the excitement of finding genuine human connection. In the text, Olivia is depicted by Orsino as a cold and unresponsive maiden, however, while she is uninterested in Orsino, her true motivation for rejecting his lust is her fear of getting hurt. Olivia has recently lost her brother, whom she adored, and the fear of losing someone else whom she loves is too much to bear. Coupled with this fear, her realization that Orsino’s love is not genuine leads her to reject his advances, and remain distant, both literally and figuratively. Through the text, it is evident that during this speech Olivia begins to feel connected to Viola. This feeling most likely stems from Viola’s feminized language, which resonates with Olivia on a level she cannot even comprehend, all because Viola is also a woman. Therefore, Viola may not be looking for love with Cesario at all, she may simply be seeking companionship, in light of the recent passing of her brother and the companionship they once shared. Perhaps this is why Olivia so easily takes Sebastian as her lover when Viola reveals her true identity. This speech proves the concept of genuine love and human