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Shakespeare's language in Twelfth Night is among his richest and most varied. This lesson analyses the play's key imagery patterns, the use of prose versus verse, Feste's wordplay, dramatic irony, and provides close analysis of six important quotations.
Music is woven into the fabric of Twelfth Night more than almost any other Shakespeare play. The very first word of the play is about music:
"If music be the food of love, play on, / Give me excess of it; that surfeiting, / The appetite may sicken, and so die." (1.1.1--3)
| Function | Example |
|---|---|
| Expresses emotion | Orsino uses music to feed his lovesickness (1.1) |
| Comments on themes | Feste's "Come away, come away, death" (2.4) reflects unrequited love |
| Creates atmosphere | Songs establish the mood of scenes (festive, melancholy) |
| Bridges plot and theme | Feste's final song closes the play on a note of realism |
| Marks social occasions | The drinking songs (2.3) embody festive misrule |
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