Personification In Twelfth Night Analysis

William Shakespeare’s play, Twelfth Night, is a romantic comedy in which the central characters go through the struggles of unrequited love in a humourous and melodramatic fashion. One of the main reasons for such struggles is the use of disguise by one of the parties involved, namely Viola. In Viola’s dramatic soliloquy, found in lines 14-41 of Act 2 scene 2, Shakespeare employs tone, diction, and literary devices, such as personification, to explain how her disguise has conjured up conflict in the form of a complicated love triangle. At the beginning of this passage, the tone seems to be one of confusion as Viola tries to make sense of what had happened with Malvolio and the ring. This soon shifts to surprise and, to a certain degree, horror, as she realizes that Olivia is in fact in love with Cesario; the horror arises from the fact that Viola, as Cesario, is supposed to be wooing Olivia on Orsino’s behalf, not getting her love for herself. To this, Viola …show more content…
In line 21, the use of the word “distractedly” when describing Olivia’s manner of speech suggests that she seemed “mad”; this madness, which is often associated with falling or being in love, is how Viola figures out that Olivia has fallen for her. The word could also be used in the simplest sense - she was so distracted by Cesario’s attractive appearance that she was babbling or not completely “there” during their conversation.
A notable literary device that Shakespeare uses in this section of the play is personification. The main objects being personified here are Viola’s disguise and time. The disguise, which is directly addressed by Olivia, is treated as an evil entity because it has started to stir up so much trouble and deception. This is the main cause of the conflict found in the play; had Olivia not dressed as a boy, Olivia would not have fallen for her and she would have a greater chance of having her feelings for Orsino be