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twelfth night - love and desire - Coggle Diagram
twelfth night - love and desire
quotes
" if music be the food of love , play on ,
give me excess of it ; that surfeiting ,
The appetite may sicken , and so die "
" Enough ; no more : Tis not so sweet now as it was before "
meaning and context
Audiences are introduced to the theme of love in a soliloquy delivered by the lovesick Orsino, Duke of Illyria, a nobleman sickened with desire and unrequited love for the Lady Olivia
The duke commands his musicians to play so much music it will satisfy the ‘hunger’ he feels for Olivia
However, Orsino quickly asks the musicians to stop playing as it has stopped working
analysis
One of the most famous lines of Twelfth Night, the metaphor conveys the melancholic emotions of unrequited love, which the duke believes will be satisfied by music:
Associations between music and the expression of thwarted love introduce the theme of madness and excess as a consequence of desire
Within the same soliloquy, Orsino commands that the musicians stop
The contrasting instructions to the musicians portray Orsino as both a man with status and power as well as a man who does not know his own mind
Shakespeare conveys ideas about fickle desire and love for the idea of love through Orsino’s character
“Make me a willow cabin at your gate
And call upon my soul within the house”
meaning and context
In this scene Viola, in her disguise as Cesario, is sent by Orsino to carry his messages of love to Olivia
Viola (disguised as Cesario) delivers a speech to Olivia on Orsino’s behalf. However, her passionate words initiate Olivia’s desire for Cesario instead
Here, Viola describes the determination Orsino would show if Olivia loved him in return:
He would stay outside Olivia’s gate night and day, proclaiming love until Olivia relented
Although the words are spoken on behalf of Orsino and proclaim the depth of his love for Olivia, the audience knows that Viola is really speaking about her love for Orsino
analysis
Viola as Cesario speaks openly and passionately about love:
The metaphor is sophisticated and shows Viola’s wisdom and sincerity
The line is ironic because the audience has already seen how Orsino fights for his love: he stays at home and pines to music
Dramatic irony increases the tension of the scene as the audience is aware Viola is speaking from the heart about her longing for Orsino:
The speech begins to raise questions about genuine love
Perspective shifts from third-person “he” to first-person “me” signal the coming confusions within the love triangle:
Orsino is in love with Olivia, who is fast falling in love with Cesario, who in turn is in love with Orsino
Shakespeare presents, in this scene, the way in which love and desire is complicated by disguise and deception:
Viola, disguised as a man, illustrates here her suffering as a result of hiding her real identity, unable to voice her love for Orsino
In this way the play explores societal attitudes to sexuality
The intensity of this speech highlights the way love is thwarted by societal norms regarding sexuality:
In Elizabethan society, homosexuality was considered a sin as it was said to oppose Christian values:
When Olivia falls in love with a woman while believing her to be a man, Shakespeare raises questions about the nature of love
“What is love? Tis not hereafter;
Present mirth hath present laughter”- feste
"Our fancies are more giddy and unfirm,
More longing, wavering, sooner lost and worn " - Orsino
She sat like patience on a monument,
Smiling at grief. Was not this love indeed ?"- viola