ACT ONE TWELFTH NIGHT- METAPHORICAL LANGUAGE

9/12/2013

ORSINO:
If music be the food of love, play on,
Give me excess of it, that, surfeiting,
The appetite may sicken and so die.
That strain again! It had a dying fall.
O, it came o'er my ear like the sweet sound
That breathes upon a bank of violets,
Stealing, and giving odour. Enough, no more!
'Tis not so sweet now as it was before.
O spirit of love, 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 low price
Even in a minute. So full of shapes is fancy
That it alone is high fantastical.

CURIO:
Will you go hunt, my Lord?
ORSINO:
What, Curio?
CURIO:
The hart?

Often times the seeds of Shakespeare's message are posited in the very beginning of the play. Here is an excerpt that is metaphorical.
Please identify one metaphor that has been discussed in class about this opening scene and comment on its effectiveness. ( The metaphor is usually effective because it reveals plot, theme or character) Please give details.

26 Comments

Cheyenne M

9/14/2013 03:54:23 am

"That instant I was turned into a hart". Here we see a metaphor which was brought about by Curio's previous question, "Will you go hunt, my lord?" The word hart acts both as a pun and a metaphor. A hart is a male deer and the Duke is comparing himself to one. We see the idea of role reversal. He, like a deer is the one now being hunted, he's the prey. He has fallen 'prey' to Olivia's love. We see that he is vulnerable. "And my desires like fell and cruel hounds". In reality, hounds sniff, they kill the deer. He is comparing his desires to Olivia, where he has fallen victim to her love. This metaphor with the simple word hart, has given light to the insight of the Duke's character, showing his feelings. We also see the theme of love and the basis of the plot "hunting" where he is seeking something he's in need of.

Miss B

9/15/2013 05:26:05 am

Very good! Cheyenne...
the explanation is clear and you used in-text quotes to make your point. good !

Kavita Dass link

9/14/2013 04:47:29 am

Shipwreck, Love is being compared to shipwreck in Duke Orsino's case.
Shipwreck is part of the play, that's when Viola is shipwreck & lost her brother at sea (Act One, Scene Two), but Love is compared to Shipwreck because Duke Orsino is in love with the fair maiden Olivia who denies Duke Orsino, and because of Olivia's rejection, Duke Orsino feels lost, sad, depressed, confused, lonely and hopeless. He feels sad & depressed because Olivia doesn't return the same feelings, and he's lost, confused & hopeless because he doesn't know how to get Olivia to love him.

9/15/2013 05:28:37 am

Good work Kavita! Pay attention to comma use! Mabe you may want to use a conjunction 'and' Shipwreck and love? But Good analysis so far!!!

Nirmala Singh

9/14/2013 09:25:12 am

"If music be the food of love, play on" In this metaphor, music is compared to the food of love. Food is said to be comforting, pleasurable , satisfying and strengthening. But it can also be poisonous to system and must be in balanced proportion. Taking this into consideration, we can understand the character of Duke Orsino:how obsessed he is with his unbalanced, unhealthy emotions that he feels for Olivia. He is obsess with the feeling of loving even though Olivia doesn't love him. It also gives the message that Love, one of the themes in twelfth night, should be in measurable amounts to make sure there isn't obsession.

9/15/2013 05:30:14 am

Very good insight and analysis! good Job Nirmala!

Sushmita Ramjohn

9/15/2013 07:26:33 am

'If music be the food of love, play on.
Give me excess of it that, surfeiting,
The appetite may sicken, and so die.'
This metaphor is used by Duke Orsino in the first few lines of the play. In this metaphor music is being compared to food; it is shown as the source of love and what enables love to grow. The Duke wants to overindulge in music so he can become weary of it and his love would die. It is the same as someone overindulging in food until they become sick of it and can't eat it anymore. Food is healthy and satisfying at a certain amount but can be sickening and unhealthy in excess. He is miserable because he is in love with Olivia who shows no interest in him or his proclamations of love since she is in mourning for her dead brother. Though his love has him in misery he revels in it since he continues to think about it and he still tries to woo Olivia which shows that he has an obsession with her. It seems like he has imbalanced emotions and he blurs the lines between obsession and love. He portrays what should not be considered love which is one theme of the play.

9/17/2013 09:11:37 pm

Good Job!

Raicyne

9/16/2013 06:18:44 am

The first metaphor used is ,"If music be the food of Love". Food is something that nourishes the body, satisfies a want or the immediate needs of an individual, it can also add comfort to some. Taken in excess however, it goes against its purpose and sickens the body.In spite of the potential harm, the duke, Orsino insists, "give me excess of it". He uses food - music- to fill a chasm created by Lady Olivia's unrequited love.

Miss B.

9/17/2013 09:12:43 pm

Good insight Raicyne... I like the choice of word 'unrequited'

Celeste link

9/16/2013 08:23:33 am

The first metaphor used is ''If music be the food of love, play on''.
Food strengthens, nourishes and satisfies but in balanced amounts. The Duke however says "Give me excess of it.'' He is obsessed with Olivia and longs for her love. Although anything in excess is not healthy, Orsino says '' That appetite may sicken, and so die'' Music is the food of love and it is Olivia's love that he desperately wants.

9/16/2013 08:32:13 am

Oops forgot the last piece. The metaphor above was effective because it revealed both theme and plot. Right at the beginning of the play, the theme of ''Love'' was revealed. We see the Duke who is madly in love with Olivia being rejected by her. At the same time plot is also shown because Orsino's confict is shown as he is depressed and lonely and in need of love.

9/17/2013 09:13:54 pm

Good work!

Nathalia

9/16/2013 09:24:31 am

Ok well the first metaphor I encountered was seen in the line 'If music be the food of love, play on, give me excess of it,' Shakespeare cleverly compares love with food , metaphorically of course, to explain its importance to the Duke .... since food nourishes and satisfies" hunger " the Duke believes that if he hears music in excess it would some how comfort him since he is in awe of Olivia and wishes her to be his ... also he says "....give me excess of it" this shows his obsession and his extreme desires for Olivia to love him as he loves her .

9/17/2013 09:14:30 pm

Very good Nathalia!

Nathalia M.

9/16/2013 09:36:49 am

The second metaphor I came across in this scene is found in the line where Curio asks the Duke if he will go hunt.. now on the literal side this means hunt a hart or male deer, if you will, in accordance to Curio ... however metaphorically speaking the Duke has to go "hunt" for his desired love i.e Olivia and not an actual deer ..and again i say Shakespeare has us thinking with his cleverness... he makes us question for a moment if in fact he really is referring to a deer... but we know that normally men go insearch or as Curio said "hunt" their desired female ... and according to Miss B. The Duke believes if he pursues Olivia and is successful it will offer some sort of completion and satisfaction to his thirst and hunger for love.

9/17/2013 09:15:34 pm

good insight!

9/17/2013 09:16:46 pm

I like how clear your explanation of the metaphor is, continue to work hard to achieve clarity in expression...

Shanelle Baldeo link

9/16/2013 12:17:49 pm

The metaphor i chose would be "If music be the food of love, play on". The music seen here is used as a metaphor. Although it may literally refer to actually playing music the phrase or shall i say the use of words is a metaphor. This love that Orsino is talking about is his obsession for Olivia. He is madly in love with her and the sweet sounds of the music reminds him of her. Its as if the sweet notes and his daydreaming of her nourishes his soul and makes him feel satisfied. He wants to always feel like this so he says "play on". From this metaphor it revealed the theme of love and shows how love struck Orsino's character is.

9/17/2013 09:19:06 pm

Love is a funny sort of thing eh! From balance to obsession! I hope the Duke finds some balance by the end of this play! Good work!

MALIKA MENDOZA link

9/18/2013 05:04:03 am

'That instant was I turned into a hart, And my desires like fell and cruel hounds, E'er since pursue me?

9/18/2013 05:05:20 am

oops will funish this 2moro have to run

9/27/2013 03:52:13 am

'That instant was I turned into a hart, and my desires, like fell and cruel hounds, e'er since pursue me.' In this metaphor, Orsino is equating himself to a hart(male deer). This is an effective metaphor as a hart is something that is vulnerable and desperate which are the moods that Orsino is feeling at this point. His emotions prey upon him just as hounds prey upon a deer. The strong feelings of love he has for Olivia is a predator to him. The theme of love is revealed here.

Bruh

12/12/2017 02:31:39 pm

Tnx

yuh link

10/28/2020 03:32:36 am

this is cute

deez link

2/7/2022 08:55:41 pm

ACT ONE TWELFTH NIGHT- METAPHORICAL LANGUAGE

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