In this essay, I will be writing on four of the main characters in Act 1 of the play twelfth night or what you will. They are: Orsino, Olivia, Viola, and Sir Toby Belch. I will try to show how they interact with other characters how they are displayed themselves.
I will start with Orsino. I do that mainly because of the way William Shakespeare started the play. Orsino says, “If music be the food of love, play on,” (1.1.1). He is showing us that Orsino is a desperate man when it comes to love.
If you think of Viola, she is a very caring person, especially as a sibling. She said, “O my poor brother! and so perchance may he be” (1.2.7). She was very worried about her brother Sebastian which shows how she really felt for him, how caring she was towards him. She is also a very desperate person just like Orsino the duke. “Thou shall present me as an eunuch to him: It may be worth thy pains; for I can sing. And speak to him in many sorts of music. That will allow me very worth his service” (1.2.56-59). It shows us how desperate she is to work under the duke or under Orsino.
Olivia on the other hand, is a very serious person and she is very strict when it came to how she spent her life. A great example was when they first introduced Feste. She was very strict with him. “Take the fool away” (1.5.36). This is what Olivia said when she heard what Feste or as they say in the play, the clown. She wasn’t really a happy person in this act atleast. She was wearing a veil in almost the entire act as well and a black one signaling sadness in her expressions mainly because of her brother’s death very lately.
Sir Toby Belch was a very encouraging person. But at times he was very disappointed at some things. “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” (1.3.106-109). He never believed in Olivia accepting to marry anyone and especially Sir Andrew.
Orsino had...