Themes (OCR A-Level English Literature): Revision Notes
Themes
Themes are the fundamental and often universal ideas explored in a literary work. In Shakespeare's Twelfth Night, several interconnected themes drive the narrative and reveal deeper meanings about human nature, society, and relationships.
Love as a cause of suffering
Although Twelfth Night is classified as a romantic comedy with a happy ending, Shakespeare presents love as a source of considerable pain and suffering throughout the play. Rather than being purely joyful, romantic love is depicted as something that strikes its victims suddenly and causes distress.
The paradox at the heart of Twelfth Night is that despite its classification as a romantic comedy—a genre typically associated with joy and celebration—Shakespeare devotes considerable attention to exploring the painful, distressing aspects of romantic love. This complexity elevates the play beyond simple entertainment.
Love as a violent force
Multiple characters describe their experience of love using violent imagery and metaphors. Orsino compares love to an insatiable appetite that he desperately wants to satisfy but cannot (1.1.1-3). He also describes his desires as 'fell and cruel hounds' (1.1.21), suggesting love pursues and torments him like predatory animals. Olivia is even more direct, calling love a 'plague' from which she suffers terribly (1.5.265). These descriptions paint those in love as victims of a random, uncontrollable force.
Even the relatively level-headed Viola expresses her desperation, sighing that 'My state is desperate for my master's love' (2.2.35). This desperation can escalate to dangerous extremes, as seen in Act 5, Scene 1, when Orsino threatens to kill Cesario because he believes Cesario has betrayed him for Olivia.
The escalation from metaphorical violence to actual threats of physical harm demonstrates how Shakespeare portrays love not merely as emotionally painful but as potentially dangerous. Orsino's threat to kill Cesario reveals how romantic obsession can override reason and morality, showing the darker side of passion that exists even within a comedy.
The exclusionary nature of love
Shakespeare also explores how love creates winners and losers. Whilst the main romantic couples find happiness by the play's conclusion, other characters are left unfulfilled. Malvolio must face the harsh reality that he is socially unsuitable for Olivia, whom he has pursued. His humiliation is complete when he realizes his aspirations were foolish.
Antonio faces an even more difficult situation. His apparently romantic feelings for Sebastian cannot be fulfilled because social norms of the period do not permit same-sex relationships. These characters remain deeply in love but must endure the pain of unrequited affection, perhaps suffering even more acutely than those who find romantic fulfilment.
When discussing love in Twelfth Night: Consider how Shakespeare balances the comedic elements with genuine emotional suffering. The play's genre as a 'romantic comedy' doesn't prevent it from exploring darker aspects of love. Pay attention to how the happy ending is selective—it only applies to certain characters while others are explicitly excluded from romantic fulfillment.
The uncertainty of gender
Gender identity and gender roles form one of the most prominent and frequently discussed themes in Twelfth Night. Shakespeare uses cross-dressing as a central narrative device, creating considerable confusion and ambiguity around gender and sexuality.
Cross-dressing and confusion
When Viola disguises herself as Cesario, she creates a complex love triangle. She falls in love with Orsino but cannot reveal her feelings because he believes she is male. Meanwhile, Olivia falls in love with Viola whilst she is disguised as Cesario.
This situation contains clear homoerotic elements: Olivia is attracted to someone who is actually a woman, even though she perceives Cesario as male. Similarly, Orsino frequently comments on Cesario's beauty and seems drawn to 'him', suggesting he may be attracted to Viola even before her true identity is revealed. These elements challenge the audience's assumptions about attraction and gender.
The character of Antonio makes this theme more explicit. He is clearly in love with Sebastian, his male friend, but his desires cannot be satisfied within the social conventions of the play. Whilst Orsino and Olivia eventually find heterosexual relationships once the deceptions are resolved, Antonio's feelings remain unfulfilled.
Continued ambiguity
Even after all identities are revealed, Shakespeare maintains some gender ambiguity, particularly in Orsino's relationship with Viola. When Orsino declares his love for Viola, he seems to enjoy continuing the pretence of her masculinity. He says to her: 'Boy, thou hast said to me a thousand times / Thou never should'st love woman like to me' (5.1.260-261), still addressing her by her male disguise even though he knows the truth.
In his final lines, Orsino declares: 'Cesario, come— / For so you shall be while you are a man; / But when in other habits you are seen, / Orsino's mistress, and his fancy's queen' (5.1.372-375). This continued use of Viola's male name raises questions about whether Orsino truly loves Viola herself or remains more attached to her masculine persona.
Key point: The theme of gender uncertainty challenges the rigid gender roles of Shakespeare's time and our own, whilst also creating much of the play's comedy and dramatic tension. The fact that Orsino continues to use Viola's male name even after the truth is revealed suggests that gender ambiguity is not simply a plot device to be resolved, but a fundamental aspect of the relationships in the play.
The folly of ambition
Shakespeare examines social ambition primarily through Malvolio, Olivia's steward. Whilst Malvolio initially appears to be a capable, if rather puritanical and humourless, servant, he is revealed to harbour enormous ambitions to rise above his social station.
Malvolio's delusions
Maria exploits Malvolio's ambitions by forging a letter that makes him believe Olivia is in love with him and wishes to marry him. The other characters find this fantasy absurdly funny, not only because of Malvolio's unappealing personality but because of the vast social gulf between them. In Shakespeare's time, a noblewoman marrying someone of lower social status would be scandalous and would damage her reputation significantly.
The Twelfth Night context
However, the play's setting during the feast of Twelfth Night complicates this theme. This festival was traditionally a time when normal social hierarchies were temporarily overturned and inverted. The spirit of this celebration is alive in Illyria, as demonstrated by Maria herself, who successfully improves her social position by marrying Sir Toby.
The key difference appears to be in approach. Maria succeeds because she embraces and promotes the anarchic, festive spirit that Sir Toby and the other revellers enjoy. Malvolio, in contrast, does not wholeheartedly embrace the upending of order and decorum; instead, he wants to blur class boundaries solely for his own benefit. His selective approach to social disruption leads to his humiliation.
Consider the Twelfth Night context: The festive setting affects the play's treatment of social ambition in important ways. The Twelfth Night context makes Malvolio's aspirations seem less outrageous than they might otherwise be—after all, the festival is specifically about inverting social hierarchies. Yet Malvolio's rigid personality makes him unable to participate in the genuine spirit of social inversion, which is communal and temporary rather than personal and permanent.
Love and desire
Love and desire function as powerful forces that drive the plot forward. They are portrayed as striking suddenly and unpredictably, leaving characters helpless to control or change their feelings.
Sudden and uncontrollable feelings
Olivia is startled and somewhat dismayed when she recognizes the desire she feels for Cesario. She doesn't choose these feelings; they simply happen to her. Viola echoes this sense of helplessness when she finds herself trapped in the love triangle with Olivia and Orsino. She recognizes that 'It is too hard a knot for me to untie' (2.2), acknowledging that she cannot resolve the situation through her own actions or will.
Fortune and destiny
Characters frequently attribute their romantic situations to fortune or fate. When Malvolio begins to believe that Olivia loves him, he reasons that 'Tis but fortune, all is fortune' (2.5). Even though it seems implausible that a high-ranking woman like Olivia would be romantically interested in her employee, Malvolio interprets this as evidence of his destiny.
Similarly, Sebastian doesn't seek a logical explanation for Olivia's strange behaviour towards him. Instead, he trusts that their relationship is an 'accident and flood of fortune' (4.3). For most characters (with the notable exception of Malvolio), this passive approach to love works well, as by the play's conclusion, everyone has found a partner with whom they are content.
Disguise and deception
Disguise serves multiple functions in Twelfth Night, acting as both a source of confusion and a means of liberation.
Viola's disguise
When Viola first finds herself stranded in Illyria, she decides to 'conceal me what I am' (1.2), entrusting only the Captain with her secret. As a young woman alone in an unfamiliar place, she would be vulnerable to attack or sexual assault, making masculine disguise a practical safety measure.
However, Viola quickly discovers the complications of maintaining a disguise. Her intentions and actions are constantly misunderstood, and she cannot correct these mistakes without revealing her secret. The disguise even threatens her life when Orsino falsely believes that Cesario has stolen Olivia from him.
Disguise as liberation
Despite these difficulties, the play suggests that disguise can serve positive purposes. In an era when women were expected to follow strict social rules and maintain proper decorum, Viola's masculine disguise grants her the freedom to speak her mind much more openly. This freedom is most apparent in the scene where Orsino and the disguised Viola debate how men and women behave in love. Viola boldly stands up for women, arguing that 'In faith, they are as true of heart as we' (2.4), a statement she might not have felt comfortable making as a woman speaking to a duke.
Key vocabulary:
- Disguise: The act of concealing one's true identity through costume or behaviour
- Deception: The act of causing someone to believe something that is not true
The distinction between these terms is important: disguise is about concealment, while deception involves actively misleading others. Viola's disguise inevitably leads to deception, even though she doesn't intend to deceive anyone except about her gender.
Gender and sexuality
Building on the theme of gender uncertainty, Shakespeare presents gender and sexuality as ambiguous, unstable, and sometimes fluid concepts rather than fixed categories.
Viola as eunuch
When Viola disguises herself, she requests to be presented to the Duke 'as an eunuch' (1.2). In various cultures and historical periods, young men were castrated to enter specific occupations, often as personal servants to high-ranking individuals or in positions requiring close contact with women. As a eunuch, Viola would occupy a liminal position—neither fully woman nor fully man. This ambiguous gender status makes her particularly intriguing to other characters.
Challenging binary gender
Both Orsino and Olivia recognize that Viola defies traditional binary gender categories. Orsino comments about Cesario that 'all is semblative a woman's part' (1.4), observing that Cesario seems womanly. Interestingly, Viola's ambiguous gender position only seems to increase her attractiveness to both characters.
Other storylines reinforce the idea of desire that isn't rooted in fixed gender categories. Orsino's relationship with Cesario could be interpreted as merely close friendship, but it also contains potentially romantic elements, such as when he refers to Cesario as one '...whom, by heaven I swear, I tender dearly' (5.1). The affection seems to exceed typical friendship.
Heteronormative resolution
Whilst the play introduces elements of fluidity and ambiguity regarding gender and sexuality, it ultimately concludes with firmly heterosexual pairings. All the romantic relationships that are consummated involve opposite-sex couples, restoring conventional gender and sexual norms. This resolution may reflect the social constraints of Shakespeare's time, even as the play explores more radical possibilities throughout its action.
When writing about gender and sexuality in Twelfth Night: Consider how Shakespeare both challenges and reinforces traditional gender norms. The play is progressive in its exploration of ambiguity but conservative in its resolution. This tension between radical exploration and conventional conclusion is crucial to understanding the play's treatment of gender and sexuality. You should address both aspects—the challenging of norms during the play and the restoration of norms at its end.
Key Points to Remember:
-
Love causes suffering: Despite being a comedy, Twelfth Night portrays love as a violent, uncontrollable force that causes pain. Characters use imagery of plague, hunting, and appetite to describe their romantic torment. Love is also exclusionary—some characters find happiness whilst others (Malvolio and Antonio) are left unfulfilled.
-
Gender is ambiguous: Viola's disguise as Cesario creates a complex web of romantic confusion with homoerotic undertones. Even after all is revealed, Orsino continues to address Viola by her male name, leaving questions about the true nature of his attraction.
-
Social ambition is mocked: Malvolio's attempt to rise above his social station is ridiculed, yet the play's Twelfth Night setting traditionally inverts social hierarchies. Maria succeeds in social climbing because she embraces the festive spirit, whilst Malvolio seeks personal advancement without embracing communal celebration.
-
Disguise offers freedom: Whilst Viola's disguise causes dangerous misunderstandings, it also grants her the freedom to speak more boldly than social conventions would normally allow a woman, particularly in her conversations with Orsino about love.
-
Desire is portrayed as fluid: Characters experience attraction that crosses or challenges gender boundaries, suggesting that desire is more complex than rigid categories allow. However, the play ultimately concludes with heterosexual pairings, restoring conventional social norms.