Twelfth Night Reality Analysis

The power and acceptance of reality is an underlying theme in the play Twelfth Night by William Shakespeare. This play has a touch of comedy, and tragedy but also comes around full circle in the end. Many characters in the play demonstrate tragedy of love throughout the play. Through the character of the Duke Orsino, we realize that it is better to accept reality and be down to Earth, rather than having unrealistic expectations.
One example of the Duke having unrealistic expectations is through his favorite servant Cesario to go “woo” his love, the princess Olivia. During the beginning of the play, Cesario becomes the Duke’s servant and is right away sent to go to the castle where the princess lives. The princess, however, promised herself that there would be no men in her life for seven years because she is mourning the deaths of her father …show more content…
The Duke doesn’t stop trying just because of this promise, so he sends Cesario to talk him up and make him seem better in her eyes. His instructions to Cesario before he left were: “Be not denied access, stand at her doors/And tell them, there thy fixed foot shall grow/Till thou have audience” (Act I.iv). He tells Cesario this because he knows that all of Olivia’s security and servants will try to send anyone away. The instructions work eventually, and Cesario is then let in. Once he is in the castle, Cesario is then lead to the princess, where he says this speech about the Duke Orsino. When he leaves, he gets the exact opposite of what he wanted, the princess had fallen for Cesario, thus breaking that seven year promise. After he tells him this, he also tells Cesario to: “O, then unfold the passion of my love,/ Surprise her with discourse of my dear faith:/ It shall become thee well to act my woes” (Act I. iv). The Duke also said to tell her