Twelfth Night

"I have been used to consider poetry as the food of love," said Darcy." (pg. 45)

In including an allusion to one of William Shakespeare's most beloved comedies, Twelfth Night, Jane Austen makes a sly reference to false first impressions. In Twelfth Night, the female protagonist, Viola, must dress as a man and in serving her master, the Duke, she falls in love with him. Just like The Duke only sees Viola's outward and male appearance, Elizabeth only sees the selfish and cold exterior Darcy puts forth and not the true and compassionate Darcy.