Twelfth Night: Character Quotations (Edexcel GCSE English Literature)

Twelfth Night: Character Quotations and Analysis 

Top-band responses require students to use “pertinent, direct references from across the text, including quotations” (AO1). To show your knowledge and understanding, it is important to provide quotations — but you can also summarise, paraphrase and reference plot events. Grade 9 responses will do a combination of these things by carefully using key quotations and connecting them to ideas from the wider play. For your extract question, it is especially important to be able to locate the extract within the play as a whole and show awareness of the events that precede and follow your extract. 

Below is a selection of helpful quotations accompanied by analysis of language, form, and structure. The analysis uses precise subject terminology to help you earn top marks for AO2.

Quotes are arranged by four of the most significant characters in the play:

• Viola 

• Duke Orsino 

• Olivia 

• Malvolio 

This is not an exhaustive list of key quotations from the play; it is simply a selection of some useful examples. As you continue to revise, you will acquire favourite lines of your own that allow you to show off your technical understanding.

Viola quotes

“Lady, you are the cruel’st she alive / If you will lead these graces to the grave / And leave the world no copy” — Viola (as Cesario), Act 1, Scene 5

Meaning and context:

• Viola (disguised as Cesario) is courting Olivia on behalf of Duke Orsino

• Here, Viola tells Olivia that, since Olivia is so beautiful, it would be cruel of her to remain single and therefore leave behind no equally beautiful children

Analysis:

• These lines reflect the social position of women in Shakespeare’s England:

  • Viola suggests that as Olivia does not have children, her beauty will die with her:

    • The implication is that the patriarchal society expects women to produce heirs, and failure to do so is the fault of the woman

    • This also suggests that children are the most valuable, and perhaps only, legacy that women are allowed to leave behind when they die 

  • The quote is also important because Viola is actually speaking to Olivia as another woman:

    • Her advice demonstrates that social pressure to conform to patriarchal expectations comes from women as much as it comes from men

    • The audience gets the impression that Viola is also preoccupied with this idea, especially because, now that her twin brother is presumed dead, she is without her own “copy”

• The alliteration and assonance of “grace” and “grave” connects the two ideas:

  • The connection emphasises the religious importance to women of having children:

    • Procreation is a form of worship, an act of “grace”, the refusal of which is akin to death

“Disguise, I see thou art a wickedness” — Viola, Act 2, Scene 2

​​Meaning and context:

• Viola realises that Olivia has fallen in love with Viola in her disguise as Cesario

• Viola is upset by the situation and pities Olivia for being tricked

Analysis:

• This line refers to the idea that women are easily duped:

  • The mention of “wickedness” has religious connotations:

    • It evokes the first wicked “disguise”: the devil’s deception of Eve in the garden of Eden

• The line is heavily ironic, especially given the nature of the speaker:

  • Disguise, after all, is ultimately a positive force in the play:

    • It is responsible for bringing together the central couples of the play in a happy resolution

  • The line is a self-referential joke about Shakespeare’s theatre:

    • Viola would have originally been played by a boy actor, disguised as a woman, disguised as a man

    • Lines such as this allow Shakespeare to winkingly mock the prudish objections to theatre by Puritans (who are represented in the play by Malvolio)

“O time, thou must untangle this, not I. / It is too hard a knot for me t’untie!” — Viola, Act 2, Scene 2

​​Meaning and context:

• Viola recognises the complications caused by her disguise: she is in love with Orsino, Orsino is in love with Olivia, and Olivia is now in love with Viola’s alter ego Cesario

• As such, Viola is unsure how to proceed

 Analysis:

• The line foreshadows the play’s eventual resolution:

  • Viola places her hope for the future in fate and the passing of time:

    • She is shown to be correct to do so and many of the events that follow this moment and lead to the play’s happy ending are the result of coincidence

    • Fate, it seems, is responsible for the course of true love

• The pun of “not”/”knot” gives an aural emphasis to Viola’s confusion

• These lines take the poetic form of a rhyming couplet:

  • It is ironic that Viola describes her chaotic circumstances in a neat iambic pentameter rhythm and with the satisfying full rhyme of “I”/”untie”:

    • This poetic quality juxtaposes Viola’s confusion with a sense of order, and thus implies that events may not be as hopeless as Viola imagines

“My father had a daughter loved a man / As it might be, perhaps, were I a woman / I should your lordship” — Viola (as Cesario), Act 2, Scene 4

​​Meaning and context:

• Here, Viola, as Cesario, discusses with Orsino the Duke’s unrequited love for Olivia

• Orsino believes that he is talking to a man, so does not realise when Viola nearly discloses her true feelings for him

Analysis:

• These heartfelt lines from Viola are powerfully ironic:

  • The audience knows that Cesario actually is a woman who loves the Duke

  • The only thing preventing these lines from being an open confession of love is the phrase, “were I a woman”: 

    • There are homoerotic connotations in the dialogue between the two “men”

    • The lines draw the audience's attention to the fluid approach to gender on display here: the boy actor playing a woman pretending to be a man

    • Shakespeare could appear to subtly endorse freedom of sexual expression; of characters doing “what you will”, the play’s alternative title

Orsino quotes

“My desires, like fell and cruel hounds / E’er since pursue me” — Orsino, Act 1, Scene 1

Meaning and context:

• The play begins with Orsino describing how he fell in love with Olivia

• He compares himself to a deer being hunted by hounds

Analysis:

• These lines show the extremity of Orsino’s feelings and his tendency to be melodramatic:

  • He uses the simile of being chased by hounds to describe the torment he suffers in loving someone who does not reciprocate his feelings

• The way that Orsino describes his relationship with Olivia is deeply ironic:

  • It is obvious that he is the one pursuing Olivia, yet he positions himself as the one being hunted in his simile

  • He uses passive phrasing to give the impression that he is not responsible for his feelings and they “pursue” him:

    • This demonstrates his tendency to make things about himself rather than considering the feelings of others

“No woman’s heart / So big, to hold so much. They lack retention” — Orsino, Act 2, Scene 4

Meaning and context

• Although Olivia has rejected Orsino’s romantic proposals, in these lines spoken by Orsino to Viola (as Cesario) he refuses to accept defeat 

• When Cesario suggests that he accepts Olivia’s rejection, Orsino explains that women are incapable of feeling love as strongly as men

Analysis:

• The irony of these lines is palpable given whom Orsino is addressing:

  • Orsino opines that no woman could ever love him as strongly as he loves Olivia:

    • But Orsino is unaware that he is talking to a woman, Viola, who is in love with him

• It is also deeply ironic that Orsino accuses women’s hearts of lacking “retention”:

  • In the comedic resolution, Orsino abruptly transfers his affections from Olivia to Viola without hesitation

• Orsino’s generalisation about all women is obviously incorrect, but it is somewhat applicable to Olivia:

  • Olivia forsakes her vow to keep her face veiled as soon as she becomes attracted to Cesario

  • Olivia’s love transfers from Cesario to Sebastian without Olivia even realising until the play’s conclusion 

“I’ll sacrifice the lamb that I do love / To spite a raven’s heart within a dove” — Orsino, Act 5, Scene 1

Meaning and context:

• In the final scene of the play, Orsino believes that Cesario has betrayed him by marrying Olivia 

• Olivia has in fact married Sebastian, and believes Cesario to be her new husband

• Orsino threatens to kill Cesario to spite Olivia

Analysis:

• These lines reveal a great deal about Orsino’s feelings for Cesario:

  • Orsino attaches the word “love” to Cesario rather than Olivia in this exchange:

    • This creates doubt as to the reason for Orsino’s broken heart

    • Again, Shakespeare hints at Orsino feeling romantic attraction towards his male friend

  • Although the Duke cares for Cesario, he believes that his feelings are less important than taking revenge on Olivia:

    • It is not clear whether he is motivated by anger at Olivia, or by a sense that if he cannot have Cesario, no one can

  • The admission of fondness for Cesario foreshadows the concluding moments of the play when he proposes to marry Viola

• The animal metaphors suggest how Orsino sees Olivia and Cesario:

  • The idea of a lamb connotes innocence, implying that Orsino blames Olivia

  • In melodramatic fashion, Orsino compares Olivia to a raven, a symbol of death:

    • His choice of image seems to place the blame for Cesario’s imminent death at Olivia’s feet

“Farewell, and take her; but direct thy feet / Where thou and I henceforth may never meet” — Orsino, Act 5 Scene 1

Meaning and context:

• In these lines spoken to Viola (as Cesario), Orsino is saddened by the apparent marriage of Cesario and Olivia

• He banishes Cesario forever, despite Cesario’s protests

Analysis:

• Structurally, Orsino’s rhyming couplet represents his love for Olivia and/or Cesario:

  • The use of iambic pentameter, a rhythm associated with romantic speeches, emphasises Orsino’s heartbreak:

    • Orsino’s deployment of the familiar “thy” and “thou” pronouns reflects the love he still feels for Cesario

• These lines represent an inversion of the initial relationship between Cesario and Orsino:

  • In Act 1, Orsino enlists Cesario to travel to Olivia with a message of unrequited love:

    • In Act 5, Scene 1, that unrequited love becomes the reason why Cesario must travel away with Olivia

  • These lines therefore demonstrate Orsino’s passive, self-absorbed nature:

    • Orsino deploys Cesario in Act 1 to do his wooing for him 

    • Now, Cesario and Olivia find themselves again at the mercy of Orsino’s changeable whims, and are forced to be active in their own banishment (“direct thy feet”) 

Olivia quotes 

“We will draw the curtain, and show you the picture. [...] Is't not well done?” — Olivia, Act 1, Scene 5

Meaning and context:

• Viola (as Cesario) has come to give Olivia, the wealthy heiress, Orsino’s love messages

• Olivia is attracted to the messenger and dismisses her attendants so that she and Viola can speak in private

Analysis:

• Olivia boldly flirts with Cesario, showing a controversial romantic forwardness:

  • In 1601, society denied women sexual agency, so Olivia’s behaviour deviates from social norms for comical effect:

    • It would have been especially controversial for a woman of Olivia’s status to flirt with an errand-boy 

    • The controversy and humour of the situation is heightened by dramatic irony, as the audience is aware that Olivia is flirting with a woman 

• Olivia demonstrates her impulsiveness:

  • She vowed to stay veiled while mourning her brother, but reveals her face to the first attractive “man” she sees

• Although she shows a sexual agency that defies patriarchal norms, Olivia also objectifies herself:

  • She describes herself as a piece of art and this also suggests vanity on Olivia’s part

“I have said too much unto a heart of stone / And laid mine honor too unchary on’t” — Olivia, Act 3, Scene 4

Meaning and context:

• Olivia laments that Cesario seems unmoved by Olivia’s confession of love

• She is embarrassed to have exposed herself carelessly, and is concerned about her reputation

Analysis:

• These lines highlight Olivia’s heartbreak through the use of iambic pentameter, a rhythm associated with love:

  • The first line is 11 syllables long rather than 10:

    • Her romantic upset has destabilised the conventional rhythm of her verse

    • This adds extra weight to the “heart of stone” metaphor, emphasising Olivia’s sad realisation that her love is unrequited

• It would have been considered improper for a noblewoman like Olivia to openly declare her love:

  • Olivia now regrets proclaiming her love in an “unchary” manner:

    • She recognises that she has risked her “honour” and her reputation

    • In this moment she may also realise that she has tarnished the name of her dead brother, whose reputation she should have honoured

• She resembles Orsino in that she is impulsive and melodramatic about her feelings

“I would not have him miscarry for the half of my dowry” — Olivia, Act 3, Scene 4

Meaning and context:

• Earlier in the play, Maria and Sir Toby tricked Malvolio into believing that Olivia was in love with him

• In Act 3, Scene 4, Malvolio declares his love to Olivia, and Olivia believes that he is suffering from madness

• In these lines, Olivia charges Maria with taking care of Malvolio

Analysis:

• This line demonstrates Olivia's caring side:

  • She shows genuine concern for her seemingly mad steward, despite the impropriety of his declaration to her

  • The reference to her substantial dowry demonstrates the extent of Malvolio’s value to her:

    • She relies on Malvolio to manage her household

• The reference to the dowry also shows that, in Olivia’s mind, Malvolio is connected to her brother:

  • Her brother’s death is part of the reason for Olivia’s large dowry:

    • To take care of Malvolio, a valuable servant of her house, might be considered a way of honouring her brother’s memory 

    • Olivia may recognise Malvolio’s usual serious, austere manner as appropriate behaviour for a household in mourning 

“Fear not, Cesario. Take thy fortunes up” — Olivia, Act 5, Scene 1

Meaning and context:

• Here, Olivia thinks that Cesario is afraid of admitting to Orsino that the two of them have secretly married

• Olivia has mistaken Cesario for Sebastian

Analysis: 

• The phrase “fortunes up” is a double entendre:

  • Olivia indicates that the marriage has elevated her husband from a relatively humble position to a higher social station:

    • He now has access to greater wealth and power 

  • “Up” may also be a lewd reference to Olivia planning to enjoy their wedding night:

    • This innuendo reflects Olivia’s sexual agency and headstrong characterisation

    • The comedy is heightened by the dramatic irony created by the audience’s awareness of Olivia’s mistake and Cesario’s real identity

Malvolio quotes

“Oh, you are sick of self-love, Malvolio, and taste / with a distempered appetite” — Olivia, Act 1, Scene 5

Meaning and context: 

• Here, Olivia reproves Malvolio for his pride and humourlessness when he criticises Feste’s joking

• She offers an accurate description of Malvolio’s character

Analysis:

• This description of Malvolio is designed to stay in the audience’s mind:

  • Olivia makes clear that Malvolio is an enemy of pleasure who takes himself too seriously:

    • This foreshadows the trick that will be played on Malvolio later in the play

    • Maria’s letter uses the characteristics that Olivia identifies against Malvolio by convincing him to change and, in doing so, appear mad

• The accuracy of this description also demonstrates Olivia’s intelligence and appreciation of good humour

“Some are born great, some achieve greatness, and some have greatness thrust upon ’em” — Malvolio, Act 2, Scene 5

Meaning and context: 

• Malvolio finds a love poem and letter that convinces him that Olivia is in love with him

• The letter has actually been written by Maria in order to trick Malvolio into embarrassing himself

Analysis:

• The author of the letter writes that fate itself has chosen Malvolio for greater things:

  • The message runs counter to Malvolio’s characterisation as a stickler for propriety:

    • He is encouraged to take the initiative despite Olivia’s position as his social superior

  • The letter tells Malvolio that he should not be content with his position as a mere steward:

    • His readiness to accept this advice suggests his hypocrisy

    • Despite his puritanism, he is evidently unsatisfied with his post as a servant (even a high-ranking one), which indicates his sizeable ego

• The threefold repetition in this quotation has a cumulative effect:  

  • Each mention of “great” gives the impression of inflating Malvolio’s ego:

    • It also gives the audience cause to question whether Malvolio’s intentions with Olivia are truly romantic in nature, or if he is perhaps driven more by the desire to rise above his station

Paired Quotations:

"Toby approaches; curtsies there to me" — Malvolio, Act 2, Scene 5

“She did commend my yellow stockings of late, she did praise my leg, being cross-gartered” — Malvolio, Act 2, Scene 5

Meaning and context: 

• After reading the love letter that he believes is from Olivia, Malvolio plans to follow its advice 

• In a monologue, he describes his plans to treat Sir Toby with contempt and dress according to what he believes is Olivia’s taste

Analysis:

• The first quotation creates humour by emphasising Malvolio’s pride and ego:

  • He fantasises about the social power that would come from marrying Olivia

  • He imagines Sir Toby, whose gregariousness he despises, being forced to bow to him, and seems to love the idea:

    • This egotism is hypocritical to his ostensibly Puritan values, which are now revealed to be a façade

    • This makes him seem even more ridiculous to the audience, and it is satisfying when his ambition leads to his embarrassment in Act 5, Scene 1

• In the second quotation, Malvolio displays both vanity and foolishness:

  • Shakespeare’s audience would have considered yellow stockings and cross garters to be laughably unfashionable:

    • The image of Malvolio, known for wearing black, garbed in these ridiculous clothes is innately funny

    • The joke also portrays Puritans in general as comically out of touch with society 

    • The audience can easily anticipate that Malvolio will make a fool of himself 

  • His sudden interest in fashion is a drastic change from his earlier portrayal:

    • In previous scenes, he was shown to have no enthusiasms or desires beyond decorum and an orderly house

• Although Shakespeare’s audience would have found it hilarious to mock the Puritan Malvolio, we might also feel pity for him:

  • He is, after all, tricked into succumbing to pride and ego, and the vanity he displays in this speech leads to his undoing

  • He is mocked for his joylessness in earlier scenes, but when he finally does take joy in something, he is punished for it:

    • Moreover, his only pleasure in the play comes from what the audience knows to be a lie

“I’ll be revenged on the whole pack of you” — Malvolio,, Act 5, Scene 1

Meaning and context: 

• In the play’s final scene, Olivia reveals to Malvolio that he has been duped by the rest of her household

• Olivia expresses pity for Malvolio; the other characters mock him until he storms out, swearing revenge

Analysis:

• Malvolio’s response to being tricked demonstrates that he does not learn any lessons about his own character:

  • Indeed, his anger and resentment suggests that he holds on to the pride that led to his downfall:

    • In that sense, he ends the play as an even less pleasant figure than he was presented as at the start

• A modern audience might feel sympathy for Malvolio:

  • He is left outside of the play’s harmonious conclusion, and is mocked instead of being brought into the fold with everyone else:

    • He does not receive any recompense for his suffering

    • He has no part in the play’s final celebration, and no one offers him a real apology

• Malvolio’s final appearance anticipates the oddly melancholy note on which the play ends:

  • After the other characters have left to make merry, Feste, the play’s clown, sings a final song:

    • The bittersweet song comments on humanity’s foolishness, the relentless passage of time, and the “wind and the rain”