Shallow Love

Okay, I admit that Shakespeare's Twelfth Night is one of my favorite plays of all time and not because it is a Shakespearean play. From what we have read so far in Twelfth Night, almost every love interest is shallow. Romance and love are plot points that bring about great humor for the groundlings in that Viola loves Duke, Duke loves Olivia, Olivia loves Cesario, but Cesario is Violia pretending to be a Eunuch to be in Duke Orsino's court because Olivia's court is inaccessible. This neurotic love confusion is shallow in that there is no foundation for the romance to take place. The play immediately starts off with Duke Orsino's whining for Olivia's love and her refusal because of her mourning her dead brother. Malvolio appears to love Olivia solely to become Master of her home and to rule her servants and over her uncle. Olivia refuses Duke but in turn longs for Cesario after speaking only briefly. Love appears to be easily lost and obtained, going from "Hello, nice to meet you" to "I love you and don't want to live without you or I'll die"; in this sense, love has no bounds. I love that Shakespeare can make a play about love and having that love surrounded by lies. Today in modern America, love is about being honest and not lying, but love in Shakespeare's time was not exactly promoted. Many people of that time were married for social obligations or political negotiations, rarely for the pure attraction of love. Twelfth Night allows the characters to go beyond the surface in why they really loved and their journeys in trying to sustain or prevent love in their own lives and others.
This play is also about dealing with the unexpected. Many a time the characters encounter something or someone they wish to avoid and all respond differently. After arriving to Illyria, Viola disguises herself as a teenage boy to seek protection; Malvolio is annoyed with Sir Toby and Maria so he threatens to kick them out; rather than physically harming Malvolio, Sir Toby and Maria seek revenge by writing a love letter to Malvolio from Lady Olivia. The human dynamics of this play are truly incredible! Seeing this play performed was an amazing experience, each character fleshed out in Shakespeare's writings and physically presented was just beyond mere words. The characters all have something to loose on the line, but some risk it all for the sake of love. Aww, how romantic. :)