Shakespeare's Concept of Love

Shakespeare’s Concept of Love Love is a strong emotion showing a feeling of attraction towards someone in either a romantic way or even a friendly way. Throughout time, love has been seen and felt differently for every person. In the Elizabethan era Shakespeare portrayed love in many ways during his play Twelfth Night. He introduced a romantic platonic love, a passionate love, a form of true love and a down to earth physical love. The first love we see is the one that Orsino has for Olivia. This type of love is an unrequited romantic love because we can see that the Duke is in love with the idea of love. He only has a connection of ideas and feelings but no real physical passion: “…that instant was I turn’d into a hart, and my desires, like fell and cruel hounds e’er since pursue me.” This concept of romantic love is from the medieval ages. He has never spoken to Olivia yet he seems to “love” her from a distance, even if she will never love him. He seems to be obsessing with the idea of love without actually bothering to see Olivia himself to prove he really does love her. Then, in the end of the play, we see how fast he forgets his love for Olivia when he finds out that Cesario is a woman. The next love we see is the one Olivia has for Cesario. This love is a passionate love that derives from Greek times. She’s infatuated with him. She finds him attractive because of his androgyny. She quotes: ‘’…Thy tongue, thy face, thy limbs, actions and spirit do give thee five-fold blazon…” After all of Cesario’s visits, Olivia falls in love with him because the two develop a connection which leads to her falling for him. Love comes from closeness that can lead to feelings. The two communicated with each other and talked together. Olivia doesn’t know it but they develop a connection because Cesario is a woman. As a woman, Cesario was able to express Orsino’s messages in the way a woman sees it. Also Shakespeare is saying that we are all capable of