'If music exist the food of love, play on': these 9 words are amidst the nigh famous opening lines in all of Shakespeare, but how many people who recognise them could proper name the character who speaks them, or even the play which they begin?

With that in mind, allow's take a closer look at Duke Orsino'south 'If music exist the food of love, play on' spoken language from William Shakespeare'southward Twelfth Night, offering a summary and analysis of the Duke's meaning as we go. Only first, here's the speech in full:

If music be the nutrient of love, play on;
Give me excess of it, that, surfeiting,
The appetite may sicken, and then die.
That strain once again! it had a dying autumn:
O, information technology came o'er my ear similar the sweet sound
That breathes upon a bank of violets,
Stealing and giving odour! Plenty; no more:
'Tis not then sweet at present as it was before.
O spirit of love! how quick and fresh fine art chiliad,
That, notwithstanding thy capacity
Receiveth as the body of water, nought enters at that place,
Of what validity and pitch soe'er,
But falls into abatement and low price,
Fifty-fifty in a minute: so full of shapes is fancy
That information technology lone is loftier fantastical.

So, that's the speech. Now, let's go back through it and gloss and analyse the meaning of Orsino'southward words. To set the scene: 12th Night opens with the Knuckles of Illyria, Orsino, pining away with dear for Olivia, a countess whose father died a year agone and whose blood brother has recently died. Olivia has vowed to shut herself abroad from society for 7 years as a consequence of these deaths. (Nosotros have analysed the play in item in a separate mail.) Orsino begins:

If music be the food of love, play on;
Give me backlog of it, that, surfeiting,
The appetite may sicken, and then die.

These opening lines are mayhap the most famous lines ('cakes and ale' nevertheless) in all of 12th Nighttime, but information technology'southward easy to overlook just how easily they tin can be misinterpreted. For by 'appetite', as the corking Shakespeare critic John Dover Wilson saw, does not refer to dearest itself (our ambition for honey), but to love's ambition for music. In other words, Orsino is maxim, 'If music feeds our desire to love, then play on, musician; play and then much music that I go stuffed with it, and then love'south ambition for hearing music grows ill and dies.'

The lines are often interpreted every bit expressing Orsino's desire to finish loving (Olivia), but things are not so simple as all that. He's only talking of the way that beingness in love (particularly harbouring unrequited love for someone) makes us desire to listen to music all day and have solace in information technology. Merely beloved, every bit the rest of the spoken communication makes clear, tin can never settle: it's restless, and constantly moving the mind (and heart) onto some new pursuit. Orsino seems to be enlightened that he's got no take a chance of stopping himself being in love. When you're struck by Cupid's arrow, that's it.

That strain once more! it had a dying fall:

Here we have the Shakespearean version of 'play it again, Sam': Orsino commands his musician to play that particular role of the song once more, because its cadence (or 'dying fall') sounded suitably melancholy.

O, information technology came o'er my ear like the sugariness sound
That breathes upon a bank of violets,
Stealing and giving smell! Enough; no more:
'Tis non and then sweet now as information technology was before

Orsino likens the audio of the music to the sound (of wind) upon a bank of fragrant-smelling violets, carrying their odour away with it. But and then he immediately grows tired of this strain of music, and tells the musician to stop playing it, equally information technology'south already lost its attraction.

The First Page of 1623 had 'current of air' rather than 'sound', which perchance makes more sense considering otherwise Orsino is substantially maxim, 'That audio came over my ear like a sweet audio', as J. M. Lothian and T. Westward. Craik point out in their notes to the Arden edition, 12th Night (Arden Shakespeare). Only we reprint 'audio' hither considering, despite this objection, it is the discussion that is usually printed in editions of the play (Alexander Pope thought 'sound' should be 'south', every bit in 'south wind', but most people ignore that suggestion).

O spirit of honey! how quick and fresh art thou,
That, notwithstanding thy capacity
Receiveth as the sea, nought enters there,
Of what validity and pitch soe'er,
But falls into abatement and depression price,
Even in a minute: so total of shapes is fancy
That information technology solitary is loftier fantastical.

The 'spirit of love' ('spirit' calling back to the idea of the wind breathing) is as hungry as the sea. Everything it takes in, no affair how thousand and valuable, becomes debased and devalued because, within a minute, you lot're sick of them. Dearest is the but truly imaginative ('fantastical') being in the whole earth, because it keeps creating new 'shapes' or images (on account of the fact that, equally soon as it'south invented i, it grows sick of information technology and moves on).

And then, Orsino'southward 'If music exist the nutrient of dearest' speech doesn't so much say 'I want to stop existence in love' equally 'since I know I cannot cease myself from being in love, all I can do is permit myself exist carried along on a tide of desires and emotions which are constantly shifting to something else'. Orsino's beloved makes him unable to alight on one thing – such every bit 1 piece of music – which will allow his mind to be at rest. Honey is greedy and consumes everything you throw at information technology, saying, 'No, that won't practice: next.' All you lot tin do is stuff yourself total of music and hope that love is (temporarily) full.