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Viola. Like most of Shakespeare’s heroines, Viola is a tremendously likable figure. She has no serious faults, and we can easily discount the peculiarity of her decision to dress as a man, since it sets the entire plot in motion. She is the character whose love seems the purest. The other characters’ passions are fickle: Orsino jumps from ...
- Orsino and Olivia
Orsino relates to Viola in a way that he never has to...
- Viola Quotes
Viola rebukes Olivia for rejecting Orsino, and for insisting...
- Character List
A list of all the characters in Twelfth Night. Twelfth Night...
- Themes
Twelfth Night, as with many of Shakespeare's comedies,...
- What Does The Ending Mean
What Does the Ending Mean? Viola and Sebastian’s reunion...
- Orsino and Olivia
- What Is Twelfth Night About?
- Viola Character Sketch
- Viola’s Role in Twelfth Night
- Viola and Gender Bending
Twelfth Night is a mature work, written around 1602, about the same time as Hamlet. It is a fast-paced romantic comedy with several interwoven plots of romance, mistaken identities and practical jokes. The play presents the confused romantic pursuits of a group of aristocrats in a small Italian state. After Viola, disguised as Cesario, enters the s...
All through the play Viola shows strength of character, a quick wit and enormous resourcefulness. Being disguised as a boy leads to an impossible position but in spite of that she maintains self-control and a dignity that contrasts with the excessive emotions of the other main characters. Viola is arguably the most delightful and engaging female ch...
Viola is the catalyst that drives the plot forward. Her arrival in Illyria begins the plot, and the two other main characters falling in love with her opens several plot lines in which her responses to both create more dramatic events. Viola is a dream role for an actor. Of all Shakespeare’s female roles it is Viola that provides the most scope and...
Shakespeare was interested in providing ways in which the audience could suspend their disbelief, giving them something they could easily relate to and become engaged with. Women did not appear on the stage in Shakespeare’s time. There was no specific law about that but the authorities would not have allowed it. Shakespeare found a solution, which ...
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Role in the play. Viola's actions produce all of the play's momentum. She is a young woman of Messaline. In the beginning, Viola is found shipwrecked on the shores of Illyria and separated from her twin brother, not knowing whether he is alive or dead, the Sea Captain tells her that this place is ruled by the Duke Orsino, who is in love with ...
- Viola was disguised as a man, with the name of Cesario
- William Shakespeare
- Sebastian (twin brother)
Viola rebukes Olivia for rejecting Orsino, and for insisting on remaining single. Viola says that since Olivia is so beautiful, it would be a shame for her to remain single (and thus, presumably childless). If Olivia never has children, her beauty will die with her, which Viola thinks would be a shame. The quote is important because Viola is ...
The protagonist of Twelfth Night. An aristocratic woman, she is tossed up on the coast of Illyria by a shipwreck at the beginning of the play and disguises herself as the pageboy, Cesario, to make her way. Throughout the play, Viola exhibits strength of character, quick wit, and resourcefulness. Although her disguise puts her in an impossible ...
What Does the Ending Mean? Viola and Sebastian’s reunion resolves the various confusions and deceptions amongst the Twelfth Night characters and restores society-approved heterosexual marriages and class distinctions. This “resolution”—a return to social order—is typical of Shakespearean comedies. Much of the play’s action has been ...
Plot. A quick overview of what happens in Twelfth Night. 1. Viola is washed up on the shore of Illyria after losing her twin brother in a shipwreck. She dresses as a boy, calls herself Cesario and goes to work for a rich Duke called Orsino.
