Twelfth Night Deception Essay

In Shakespeare’s “Twelfth Night” he outlines the role that deception plays within appearance and reality. This is best explained through Olivia’s interactions between Malvolio, Viola and Sebastian.

Deception is a common theme seen with Olivia’s connection between characters. Deceptions effects can be recognized through the character Malvolio. This character believes he has received a love letter with instructions from Olivia. He then goes on to follow the letters instructions by making a fool of himself. In Malvolio’s monologue he reveals what the letter says. “This concours directly with the letter: she sends him on purpose that I may appear stubborn to him; she incites me to that in the letter.” Deception plays a role in this as it wasn’t

He is later pulling at strings to say that Olivia is flirting with him. In his Monologue we can see that deception may lead people to make irrational, embarrassing and desperate decisions. The effects and presence of deception is seen again through the comparison of Olivia’s relationships with Malvolio and Sebastian. Shakespeare uses the technique of Juxta Position to compare and show how differently deception worked with these two characters. Malvolio has been locked up and is talking to Feste where he says, “They have here propertied me, keep me in darkness, send ministers to me- asses! - and do all they can to face me out of my wits.” Orsino is showing that he is going mad and insane from the letter trick played on him. The juxtaposition is visible when Sebastian’s experience with deception is delivered in Act 4 scene 3. In Sebastian’s soliloquy he talks about how he doesn’t believe that Olivia, a beautiful woman has just saved him. At the end he says “There’s something in’t That is deceivable. But here the lady comes” He is aware that deception is present – as Olivia believes he is Cesario- but he is drawn to her. These two scenes both reveal the different roles

He believes he can make her love him as much as she loves her brother. He is filled with desire. He ignores the context and everything she is feeling to focus on how he wants her feeling towards him. It is once more explored in the same scene where Orsino is talking to Curio. He says, “O when mine eyes did see Olivia first, Methought she purged the air of pestilence; that instant was I turned into a hart, and my desires like fell and fell and cruel hounds e’er since pursue me.” He is saying that when he first saw Olivia, she became the hunter and he the prey. He uses a simile to explain his excess “love”. We can see that he is confusing his desire for her as love. He talks and describes about how he is being hunted by her beauty, causing him to have a desire for her, but not love. The desire is once again seen when Orsino asks Viola to talk to Olivia. “Therefore, good youth, address thy gait unto her, be not denied access; stand at her doors, and tell them there thy fixed foot shall grow