Viola
Play
Summary
Viola is the play's shipwrecked heroine, separated from her twin brother Sebastian on the coast of Illyria. Resourceful and quick-witted, she disguises herself as a young man named Cesario and enters the service of Duke Orsino, whom she falls deeply in love with — even as she dutifully woos Olivia on his behalf, causing Olivia to fall for her. Viola navigates this impossible tangle with grace, courage, and tender feeling; she is widely considered one of Shakespeare's most fully realized and emotionally affecting heroines.
Notable Quotations
"She never told her love, / But let concealment, like a worm i' the bud, / Feed on her damask cheek." *(II.iv)*
"I am all the daughters of my father's house, / And all the brothers too." *(II.iv)*
"Make me a willow cabin at your gate, / And call upon my soul within the house." *(I.v)*
"What country, friends, is this?" *(I.ii)*
Cross-references
- Twelfth Night — the play
- Comedies — genre
- character_orsino — the Duke she serves and loves
- character_olivia — the countess who falls in love with her disguise
- character_sebastian_twelfth — her twin brother whose appearance resolves the comedy
- character_feste — the fool who perceives her situation with characteristic sharpness