Twelfth Night, By William Shakespeare

Throughout numerous theatre productions and writings, music acts as the portrayal of a performances atmosphere and/or condition. The melodic compositions that enhance a production often attract an audience’s attention as well as connect fabricated characters to genuine people. While the character’s emotions depicted throughout a performance attain an audience’s response, the musical score written during the process of a play receives a greater acknowledgment. Viewing Twelfth Night from a analytical musical perspective, Shakespeare underscores how the expression of various genres of music reveals the inner feelings of characters and foreshadows the progress of the characters. William Shakespeare organized his style of writing through a series of periods; the first of four periods was written prior to 1595. Shakespeare’s writings throughout this period contained material with a optimistic and youthful view point. The second period held the bulk of
Duke Orsino, expresses his passion for music as well as his devotion for love for the duration of Twelfth Night. Thomson states that “As he listens to the music, Orsino experiences the longing for release from love… as well as a premonition of the emptiness that follows release.” This depicts the importance music holds within Orsino emotions; music not only heightens his feelings towards others, it assists the growth of his vacancy. Music serves as Duke Orsino's source of comfort and tranquility during his periods of frustration. As Orsino states, “If music be the food of love, play on” (1.1.1), he is dissatisfied with his courtship of Olivia, an aristocratic and wealthy woman from Illyria. While Orsino’s emotions are displayed throughout the music played within the play, Feste, the jester, performs the majority of the music that affect the other characters as well as