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The Duke and ruler of Illyria. At the beginning of the play Orsino is obsessed by his unrequited love for Olivia. However, in the final scene, when Orsino discovers that Cesario is in fact the woman, Viola —and that Olivia has already married Viola's twin brother, Sebastian —he quickly proposes to Viola.
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Duke Orsino is a fictional character from William Shakespeare 's play Twelfth Night, believed to have been written around 1600-1602. Duke Orsino is the noble Duke of Illyria. He is a powerful nobleman who is trustworthy and kind to everyone he meets.
- Extended Character Analysis
- Orsino and Surfeiting Love
- Orsino’s Friendship with Cesario
- Orsino and Viola
Duke Orsino is the Duke of Illyria. He is mercurial and passionate, and heis more in love with the idea of being in love than he is with any person. Hepassionately pursues Lady Olivia for the majority of the play whilesimultaneously revealing his personal thoughts and emotions to Cesario.
Duke Orsino is so in love with Lady Olivia—or at least believes himself tobe—that he wishes to be drowned in Olivia’s love. The idea of satiety, or ofbeing surfeited in love, is something that Orsino longs for throughout theplay. He only wishes for his love-sickness to end, claiming, “If music be thefood of love, play on!” Orsino exemplifies love’s...
In Twelfth Night,Orsino is unaware that Cesario, his recentlyhired servant, is Viola in disguise. However, he does feel a certain attractiontoward Cesario because of Cesario’s “shrill” voice and feminine looks. Orsinoallows Cesario into his confidence within three days, which is a short periodin which to begin to trust a stranger. Furthermore, Orsi...
Orsino continues pursuing his unrequited love for Olivia until Viola castsoff her disguise and reveals that she is truly a young woman. Orsino thenhappily agrees to marry Viola, despite claiming to have been in love with LadyOlivia for almost the entire play. He sees that he can still gain somethingfrom the situation by marrying Viola, stating, “I ...
- Viola. A young woman of aristocratic birth, and the play’s protagonist. Washed up on the shore of Illyria when her ship is wrecked in a storm, Viola decides to make her own way in the world.
- Orsino. A powerful nobleman in the country of Illyria. Orsino is lovesick for the beautiful Lady Olivia, but becomes more and more fond of his handsome new page boy, Cesario, who is actually a woman—Viola.
- Olivia. A wealthy, beautiful, and noble Illyrian lady, Olivia is courted by Orsino and Sir Andrew Aguecheek, but to each of them she insists that she is in mourning for her brother, who has recently died, and will not marry for seven years.
- Sebastian. Viola’s lost twin brother. When he arrives in Illyria, traveling with Antonio, his close friend and protector, Sebastian discovers that many people think that they know him.
Orsino is a prominent character in William Shakespeare's famous play, Twelfth Night. He is a nobleman and the Duke of Illyria. Orsino is depicted as a romantic and passionate individual, constantly consumed by his love for the beautiful Countess Olivia.
Home. Literature Notes. Twelfth Night. Duke Orsino. Character Analysis Duke Orsino. The duke is basically characterized by the first line that he utters — "If music be the food of love, play on" — that is, he is the most (or one of the most) melancholy characters that Shakespeare ever created.
Orsino is angry and jealous to learn that Olivia is in love with Cesario, and threatens to harm or perhaps even kill Cesario as a kind of revenge. Orsino admits that he himself is very fond of Cesario, but it is more important that he have his revenge against Olivia.
