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Deception In Twelfth Night Analysis

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In the comedic play “Twelfth Night”, by William Shakespeare, the idea of deception is a theme explored throughout the entire play. In the case of Viola, a shipwrecked girl who believed her brother to be dead, decides to distance herself from others after hearing about a Lady Olivia who was also mourning the death of her own brother. She then assumes the persona of a young man named Cesario and enlists in the Duke Orsino 's services. The Duke, having befriended Cesario, a.k.a. Viola, asks Cesario to head over to Lady Olivia’s in hopes of wooing her over for him. By doing so Olivia believes Viola to be the young man named Cesario, and falls in love with him. This then causes even more confusion as Viola, a.ka. Cesario, finds herself in love with Orsino, yet Orsino is in love with Olivia who believes to be in love with a man named Cesario. …show more content…

Viola’s deceptiveness of gender creates the primary love triangle in the entire play, and though the other characters are fooled by Viola, her deception was not out right intentional and merely a means to protect

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