Romantic Love In Twelfth Night

As an individual falls in love, they believe that they are ready to sacrifice anything for their loved ones. In reality, this is not true because it is said that love is created by own desires (unclear sentence). Romantic love in the play Twelfth Night, by William Shakespeare is a selfish act.

A person 's desires for love is so powerful that they want the loved one all to themselves. This is an act of selfishness seen through Duke Orsino he tells Curio and Valentine his messengers that he was the first one who had fallen in love with Olivia, and that Olivia is refusing him only because of her dead brother. For example “Why so I do, the noblest that I have. O, when my eyes did meet Olivia first, methought she purged the air of pestilence!

He grows rambunctious and upset when he says.” O’ she hath the heart of a fine frame, to pay the debt of love but to a dead brother.” ( Shakespeare page 11 33-34) He has no time for sympathy towards Olivia’s late brother, but he has time to listen to his own desires. Instead of grieving with her he goes and gives her his words of love. Duke Orsino knows that Olivia is not ready, this is an act of selfishness, he craves something he can’t have and that is Olivia’s Love. love is to crave to the extreme, it’s a hunger that we hope we can never fully

Selfish love often suffers from feeling inadequate. An individual 's feeling of inadequacy runs so deep that they end up feeling very ashamed. Giving makes them feel out of control and threatened. they hold onto their love very tightly because they don’t feel safe loosening up. Duke Orsino says “ Why should I not, had I the heart to do it, like to the Egyptian thief at point of death, kill what I love.- A savage jealousy” (Shakespeare pg 219 113-115) Orsino implies to the story of Thyamis and Chariclea/ Thyamis, a robber chief, kidnapped the princess Chariclea and retreated to a cave, where he was attacked by other robbers. He tried to kill Chariclea so that his attackers couldn’t have her; however since the cave was filled with darkness, he killed another woman instead. And he says to Olivia that he should have done that to her. Another example is Orsino says to Olivia to listen to him. He will take Cesario from her. Cesario knows that Duke loves Olivia, He’s going to take away Cesario to let Olivia feel how it hurts when you take something so precious away. “But hear me this: Since you to non regardance cast my faith, And that I partly know the instrument That screws me from my true place in your favor, Live you the marble-breasted tyrant still. But this your minion, whom I know you love, and whom, by heaven I swear, I tender dearly, him will I tear out of that cruel eye Where he sits crowned in his master’s spite. Come, boy, with me. My thoughts are ripe in mischief: