The Language of Love in Twelfth Night Essay - 2005 Words

Language of Love Throughout the history of literature and writing, love has been one of few constant human experiences and themes. Love can be expressed, viewed, and taken in many different ways. According to Webster’s Dictionary, the term love is defined as, â€Å"a feeling of strong or constant affection for a person; attraction that can include sexual desire or the strong affection felt by people who have a romantic relationship; and/or a warm attachment, enthusiasm, or devotion† (Webster). It is difficult to decipher an exact meaning of love or situation where love is shown since this word has such a broad definition. In Shakespeare’s play, Twelfth Night, love is expressed frequently and in quite a specific way. Particularly, throughout†¦show more content†¦Shakespeare uses a specific language through his writing technique that builds this vision of love and provokes power and dominance over his characters. Carolin Biewer, in â€Å"The Semantics of Passion in Shake speare’s Comedies: An Interdisciplinary Study,† explains Elizabethan psychology and how the terminology and concepts of this psychology are used within Shakespeare’s plays to reveal not only true, but artificial feelings. Elizabethan psychology was devised by, â€Å"†¦philosophers Plato and Aristotle and the physicians Hippocrates and Galen,† (Biewer 507) and viewed the passions as an inner body feeling and any verbal expression of feelings will allude to the physical complement of that passion. Biewer explores Elizabethan psychology and found that, â€Å"Central among these psychological doctrines of the Elizabethan era was the doctrine of the three degrees of love† (508). These degrees of love parallel the ideas that one may experience love driven by senses, love driven by thoughts, and love driven by the brain, each possessing a deeper meaning. These degrees help to show how certain levels of love can be more genuine and real in comparison t o another. For example, humans can experience love driven by thoughts or in other words, lust: a desire for something one does not have. Biewer better describes this by stating, â€Å"A love that was dominated by senses was seen as false and risky. Love dominated by imagination was seen as more valuable†¦Ã¢â‚¬  (508). TheseShow MoreRelatedPlot And Action In Twelfth Night By Shakespeare1527 Words   |  7 Pagesplay Twelfth Night, there are a couple of key aspects within the dramaturgy of that play that, to this day, still confuse me. William Shakespeare. And what may those be? Molià ¨re. For starters, in Twelfth Night, there seems to be no unity of time, place, or action. William Shakespeare. Go on. What’s your point? Molià ¨re. My point is that the characters are so unpredictable. They all have their own agendas, each on their own journey of self-discovery. 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