Loutskou 1

George Loutskou
Mrs. Chapman
ENG 1DG-12
21 December 2016
Viola - Why She is Smart
In Shakespeares Twelfth Night, havoc and misrule seem to run the land of
Illyria. This play is about a girl, Viola, who is lost at sea, rescued by a Sea Captain,
dresses like a boy to be free to walk the streets of Illyria without protection and then
successfully wins the heart of the man she loves. Throughout Twelfth Night Viola
proves to be quite smart and very capable though her actions and words. Viola proves
this by being charming, good-hearted, and astute.
Viola shows that she is charming by winning over Orsinos trust using her wit,
loyalty and a lot charm in only 3 days. She does this again when she is
dressed like her brother and she accidentally attracts Olivias love while attempting to
represent Orsinos love for Olivia. Viola also gained the Sea Captains trust and loyalty
with almost no effort, showing yet again another example of how enchanting she can
be. As shown here, Viola can almost effortlessly charm just about anyone.
Viola is also very good-hearted and this is shown when she is in a position
of power, she doesnt abuse it or use it for her own personal gain. She does this in act
3 scene 4 where she, dressed as her brother, says to Antonio Ill lend you something.
My having is not much; / Ill make division of my present with you. / Hold, theres half my
coffer. (3.4.318-320). This shows that yet again she only wants the best for everyone,
including Antonio who calls her Sebastian and requests a purse that she does not have.

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Viola does this again when she represents Orsinos love for Olivia and does so without
being biased, even though she herself loves Orsino. These examples show that Viola
has everyones best interests at heart, even when it does not benefit her.
Throughout Twelfth Night Viola proves to be astute in many ways. She is a great
judge of character and uses this to her advantage throughout the play. At the start of
the play Viola notices the trustworthy qualities of the Sea Captain and relies on him to
successfully get into the Duke Orsinos service. From that point she used a similar
method to gain the Dukes trust eventually gaining his hand in marriage. Viola also
shows that she is clever when she is able to convince Olivia to dismiss her attendants
and have a private hearing with her, even though Viola appears to be a man. This
shows that Viola is astute and can truly bend others to her will.
Viola a very capable, intelligent woman. She is charming and she shows it by
winning over people whether intends to or not. She is good-hearted and shows this by
how she makes choices that she thinks will benefit everyone. She also shows that she
is astute by correctly judging others and using this to her advantage in many situations.
Viola is charming, good-hearted, and astute, all of which prove that she is smart.

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Work Cited
Shakespeare, William. Twelfth Night, Oxford, 1992.