Orsino

Orsino is a very powerful nobelman in Illyria who wants to marry the Countess Olivia despite her steadfast rejection of his attempts to woo her. However, just how powerful he is remains uncertain. Until Act 1 Scene 4 he is consistently called a ‘duke’, but after this he is referred to as a ‘count’ by the other characters while still being a duke according to the stage directions. If he is a count, then he is on an equal footing in terms of status and political influence as Olivia; if he is a duke then he is significantly more important. Why the confusion? Some scholars believe that the source for Twelfth Night was in fact Shakespeare’s last draft of the play, known as ‘foul papers,’ and thus is riddled with mistakes and inaccuracies.