Deception In Twelfth Night

1142 Words5 Pages
THESIS: Love has positive outcomes, but can lead to negative outcomes such as deception, confusion and lost identity. In Shakespeare’s play, Twelfth Night, deception is displayed as the central theme. In act I, scene two, Viola, a captain and sailors arrived in Illyria after a ship wreck. During the shipwreck Viola believed her brother, Sebastian, had drowned. However, the captain of the ship eased Viola’s worries by stating he saw Sebastian holding on to the mast of the ship. Once Viola’s worries had calmed, the captain filled Viola in on the higher ranked individuals that reign in Illyria. Duke Orsino, ruler of Illyria, is a bachelor who also has been chasing after Olivia. On the other hand, Olivia refuses to see anyone since her brother has passed. Seeing as her brother has also vanished, Viola states, “O that I served that lady, and might not be delivered to the world, till I had made mine own occasion mellow, what my…show more content…
In Act II, scene V, Maria, Sir Toby and Sir Andrews have prearranged a plan intended for Malvolio. In previous acts, it was made known that Malvolio had fancied Olivia. Due to Malvolio cutting short good fun from Maria, Sir Toby and Sir Andrews, Maria had schemed up a plan to write Malvolio a letter, making subtle hints it was written by Olivia. While on a walk, Malvolio notices the letter on the ground. After reading a few bits, he comes across M, O, A, I written on it. After studying these letters, he responds, “M, O, A, I; this simulation is not as the former: and yet, to crush this a little, it would bow to me, for every one of these letters are in my name” (Shakespeare 32). Convinced this is his initials, he finishes reading the letter, which in great detail states he shall dress in “yellow stockings and cross-gartered” (Shakespeare 33). In this scene, we understand how easily fooled Malvolio can be, which also indicates he has deceived

More about Deception In Twelfth Night

Open Document