ANALYSIS OF SHAKESPEARE’S TWELFTH NIGHT

ACT 2: SCENE 4
ANALYSIS OF SHAKESPEARE’S TWELFTH NIGHT
ACT 2: SCENE 4
ANALYSIS OF SHAKESPEARE’S TWELFTH NIGHT
ACT 2: SCENE 4
ANALYSIS OF SHAKESPEARE’S TWELFTH NIGHT
ACT 2: SCENE 4
ANALYSIS OF SHAKESPEARE’S TWELFTH NIGHT
ACT 2: SCENE 4
At Orsino's palace, the duke gathers with Cesario (Viola), Curio, and others. He says that
he would like to hear a song, a specific "old and antique" song that he heard last night; the
music seemed to "relieve [his] passion much." Feste, the jester, is not there to sing it,
however, so Orsino sends Curio out to find him, and while Curio is gone, Orsino calls
Cesario to him. He tells the young lad that "if ever thou shalt love," then he should
remember how Orsino suffered while he experienced his unrequited love for Oliva. Orsino
tells Cesario of himself being the sad epitome of all lovers.

Cesario says that the person that he is in love with is like Orsino, a confession that makes
Orsino reply: "She is not worth thee, then ,"he says. A woman, he says, should take
someone "elder than herself." He says that women, by nature, cannot love with the same
intensity as a young man can love; women need to find themselves a steady, doggedly
devoted older man whose passions are burned low and, thus, more equal to hers. Cesario,
Orsino suggests, needs to find a very young virgin, one who has just blossomed, "for women
are as a rose and being once displayed, do fall that very hour." Cesario sadly agrees;
women, he says, often "die, even when they to perfection grow.“

As Orsino instructs Cesario to go impress Olivia once again he ponders if the melancholic
sucker has suffered due to having to endure this one-way love. Orsino says no woman could
love like he does. Cesario responds that his father had a daughter, very similar to Cesario,
who once loved a man just as much as Orsino loves Olivia. The girl never confessed her love
but pined away with melancholy. Orsino asks if she died of love. Cesario avoids the
question. Orsino then sends Cesario with a jewel to Olivia, instructing him to hurry.
 PROMINENT
THEMES
Disguise and Deception

Viola continues to prosper as the alias as Cesario to find

her brother Sebastian. In this scene, when Cesario speaks
with Orsino, he mentions having a love similar to the
ladder. By using the disguise of Cesario, Viola
successfully leads Orsino on to the fact that she has an
infatuation with a woman. Going by society's norms, it
would be mundane and safe for those around him to
assume that whoever she likes, though similar to Orsino,
would be a female. Additionally, Cesario tells Orsino of
an anecdote of his"sister" who was in love with
somebody, but they did not reciprocate the same feelings.
Ironically, Cesario leaves the encounter when Orsino asks
if she has died, not knowing that he is talking about his
actual form, Viola. At this point in the play, Shakespeare
uses this exceptional disguise of an androgynous male to
captivate their surroundings so that he can confess their
love for somebody in such a way that is indirect and
concealed.
MOTIFS
• What is a motif? Motifs are recurring structures,
contrasts, or literary devices that can help to develop
and inform the text’s major themes.

• A good example of a motif used in the play is

disguise. Disguise means altering one's appearance to
conceal one's identity (Oxford Dictionary). The main
character affected by the motif of disguise is Viola,
who is disguised as a male servant of duke Orsino
whose name is Cesario. Viola's decision to disguise
herself as Cesario highlights several of her character
traits such as; how resourceful she is, her resilience,
and independence, and also allows her to show her
ability to take on new roles in order to survive in her
new environment while coping with the possible death
of her twin brother, Sebastian.
 • As the breeze of love flows through the scene, Shakespeare uses many different dramatic elements to
enhance the deliverance of the emotions and stories of the characters as they aid in granting a deeper
understanding of the characters present in the scene. One such element that enhances the connotative
meaning of the scene is contrast. Contrast is a device that playwrights use to highlight a form of
difference by using subjects, places, or characters. Orsino, the Duke of Illyria, and Cesario/Viola are
two characters that have showcased the power contrast has on the development of the plot and the
revolving theme of unreciprocated affection towards another character and disguise.

In Act 2, Scene 4, we get to understand the clear contrast between Viola and Orsino as in lines 20-35,
Orsino asks Viola if he is in love with another, and Viola( dressed as Cesario) indicates that indeed he
is. When asked about the age and complexion of the said lover, Cesario responds that the complexion
and age are similar to Orsino's age. Orsino then responds by stating that such a woman is not worth
his time because men's passions are less stable than women's, and women quickly lose their beauty
with age. Men should always take younger wives. These lines heavily indicate that while Orsino is
looking for Olivia, whom we can assume to be younger than him, Viola/Cesario, who is hunting for
Orsino's love, is indirectly turned down as the descriptions Cesario gives to Orsino what Viola looks
like and therefore shows the contrast between the two's interest or type of lovers they want.

Between lines 90 and 120, Feste delivers a song while Orsino requests Cesario to try and win over Olivia once more. Cesario expresses
doubts about the prospects of success and recounts a personal tale of his sister's unreciprocated affection. This reveals Viola's feeings for
Orsino, despite his fixation on Olivia, highlighting the theme of unrequited love.
 Bibliography

•https://www.pinterest.com/pin/14496030036527721/
Image of Anne Hathaway playing Cesario

•Twelfth Night: Motifs | SparkNotes

definition of motif