No Title :: Olivia Essays

No Title The lines selected for analysis are from act V, scene I, lines 115-129, when Orsino is talking to the love of his life, Olivia, about dueling with the love of her life, his servant Cesario (who is actually lady Viola in disguise, and who is secretly in love with Orsino!). From these lines I find Orsino to be a bitter, jaded, jealous man whose mindset is revenge against the woman who has played with his heart, bruised his feelings, and never returned his undying love, and the man who stole his woman away from him (though she never really was his). In these lines the reader can hear a change in Orsino’s voice—and in his mind. He feels betrayed by the one who was supposed to be loyal, and is now using a take-no-prisoners ideal to this duel. He feels Cesario will get what’s coming to him—how dare he let the woman his master is in love with fall in love with him?—though Cesario had vehemently denied Olivia’s advances. Orsino is blinded by thi s unnecessary and displaced anger towards Cesario, and firing terrible threats and promises to the woman he loves about the man she loves. He can’t see that Olivia is as unhappy as he is, because the one she loves doesn’t love her back. He sees her only as a tease who strings men along for years with no intention of being in a relationship with them. He doesn’t realize that his vicious actions will push her further away, rather than bring her into his heart—which is what Orsino is ultimately striving for. Ten points for psychological depth: 1. â€Å"†¦savage jealousy†¦Ã¢â‚¬ : these are biting words—â€Å"savage† shows that it is more than just immature, childish jealousy. It’s real, hard, nasty jealousy that could escalate to more than brooding and sulking in one’s room about it. This shows Orsino to be extremely emotional—when the one he loves is infatuated with someone else, and someone so close to him he doesn’t take it lightly. 2. â€Å"†¦savors nobly†¦Ã¢â‚¬ : there is some sick pleasure in enjoying what he is about to do. He can enjoy injuring or killing Olivia’s love, but he’ll make sure to do it with some grace. I think Orsino would see it as some kind of release—the ultimate punishment for the man who was supposed to be his servant and obey him forever.