Twelfth Night

Twelfth Night is a comedic play written by William Shakespeare. The overall story is about the physiology of the love triangle that occurs between a Duke, a Countess and a woman named Viola and the hilarity that ensues as a result. The main characters of Act I are Viola, a woman who is shipwrecked off the coast of Illyria, which is the setting of the play; Olivia, a countess; Duke Orsino, the ruler of the region of Illyria; Malvolio, the captain who brings Viola to Illyria and to the Duke's palace; a clown; Sir Toby Belch, who is quite an amusing character and Olivia's uncle; Sir Andrew, a rich man who Sir Toby tries to help woo Olivia; Maria, Olivia's servant/maid; and Valentine and Curio, the Duke's servants.

The central focus of the first act is on Viola coming to Illyria and learning that Duke Orsino rules the region. Duke Orsino is a friend of Viola's father. Viola's father tried to woo Countess Olivia. This is evident by the exchange between the Captain (steward) Malvolio when he comments that the Duke is "now [a bachelor] or was so very late, for but a month ago I went from hence and then 'twas fresh is murmur, -as, you know, what great ones do the less will prattle of, that he did seek the love of fair Olivia" (Shakespeare). It would appear that the tension in the first act centers on the reader's understanding of Viola's assessment of the Duke, her love for him and his wooing of Olivia,  and with Viola dressing up as Cesario, a page, in order to see Olivia, who is dealing with the loss of her brother. It is an interesting triangle as Viola is in love with Orsino, Orsino is in love with Olivia and we discover that Olivia is falling for Cesario. Shakespeare makes it clear that Viola has donned man’s attire at the opening of Scene IV so there is no mystery to the reader of the play. The Duke seeks to use Cesario in order to continue trying to woo Olivia, even though Olivia is still in mourning. 

Some of the first questions that are raised in the first act are whether the Duke will be able to successfully get Cesario to woo Olivia for him and whether Olivia can progress as a Countess given her solemn state and seemingly falling for Cesario. There is also a question regarding Sir Andrew seeking the assistance of Olivia's uncle, Sir Toby Belch, to woo Olivia. 

The act has comical qualities as the reader cannot help but to wonder why Olivia does not recognize that Viola has donned man’s attire, why Sir Toby is trying to aid Sir Andrew, who does not feel suited for Olivia, woo her with the lines "faith, I'll be home to-morro, Sir Toby: your niece will not be seen, or if she bee, it's four to one, she'll none of me: the count himself here hard by woos her" and Sir Toby Belch responds with "she'll none o' the count: she'll not match above her degree, neither in estate, years, nor wit; I have heard her swear't. Tut, there's life in't man" (Shakespeare). Another amusing line in the play is when the Clown is speaking with Olivia about Olivia's brother having passed on. The clown says "Good madonna, why mournest thou?" and Olivia responds, "good fool, for my brother's death." The clown then replies "I think his soul is in hell, madonna" and Olivia retorts "I know his soul is in heaven, fool" (Shakespeare). 

Shakespeare seems to be mocking the ways in which humans go about obtaining love and the desperation they often have in doing so. What Olivia seems to want most is love, but because of her attitude towards strangers and because she is in mourning, she is seemingly shutting any potential suitor out of her life because she has started to become taken with Cesario, who has put on man’s attire at the urging of Duke Orsino. It is quite a tangled web that Shakespeare weaves with the first act of Twelfth Night. 

Work Cited

Shakespeare, William. "Twelfth Night." The Complete Works of William Shakespeare, Web. 31 Aug. 2013. <http://shakespeare.mit.edu/twelfth_night/full.html >.