Thursday, February 25, 2010

I really need to stop procrastinating.....

Viola: Then think you right. I am not what I am.
Olivia: I would you were as I would have you be. (III.i. 148-9)

Viola is agreeing with Olivia, but not in the same way. Viola means that she is not the man (literally) that Olivia thinks she is. Olivia means that he/she is hiding something from her.

Olivia then saids that since she loves him she would have him be whatever she wanted him to be so that they could be together. She wishes that he would feel the same way about her as she does about him but no luck for her!

People in general tend to hope that they can change a person who they love into what they want them to be. Shakespeare recognized this common human characteristic and chose to incorporate it into this scene, which in my opinion, makes these lines very relatble.

1 comment:

  1. I like that you drew a conclusion about human nature at the end of your analysis. I think your conclusion is very accurate. When people want something very badly, especially the love of another, they do not care how, where, or when they get it, as long as they get it. Yes, the fact that Olivia wanted to change Viola into someone that would love her is a common theme in human nature.

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