Love At First Love In Shakespeare's Twelfth Night

Despite popular opinion, love at first sight does not exist. The idea of “love” is widely misinterpreted as a mere attraction between two individuals. However, many do not understand that love goes much further than this, and what follows is a common misconception between love and lust. Shakespeare in his 17th century play Twelfth Night delves deeper into this idea of love. He presents the character Duke Orsino who appear to be infatuated and love-sick for the Countess Olivia, a woman with which he knows little about. This raises the question over love’s true meaning and whether what Orsino feels is truly “love,” or something else entirely. Shakespeare in his play Twelfth Night uses Orsino’s feelings to prove that feelings perceived at first to be love may actually be lust.
The main difference between love and lust has to do with time. Built and

Audiences witness a large misuse of the term by Orsino in Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night. Even more so, however, can this misuse be seen in today’s society. People have become obsessed with the idea of finding love, and in doing so, they often try too hard to falsely attribute their feelings to it. Phrases such as “love at first sight” and “hit it off immediately” have become all too common when describing feelings of lust rather than love. The television and media have a large part to do with this, romanticizing the idea and spreading it under a false context. The connections between characters on television often fail to emulate the actual compassion and warmth of true love, conveying an idea that love can be created superficially. Society must recognize that unless one feels a strong, deep, and meaningful bond that has been created over a long period of time, the connection that one may initially feel with another person may only go as far as lust. In the end, the eyes tell nothing of love. Love can only be found in the