Twelfth Night by William Shakespeare

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Twelfth Night by William Shakespeare
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Comedy

• Definition a comedic play has at least one
  humorous character, and a successful or happy
  ending.
• Characteristics of
• The main action is about love.
• The would-be lovers must overcome obstacles and
  misunderstandings before being united in
  harmonious union. The ending frequently involves
  a parade of couples to the altar and a festive
  mood or actual celebration (expressed in dance,
  song, feast, etc.)  Twelfth Night has three such
  couples.
• Frequently (but not always), it contains elements
  of the improbable, the fantastic, the
  supernatural, or the miraculous, e.g.
  unbelievable coincidences, improbable scenes of
  recognition/lack of recognition, willful
  disregard of the social order (nobles marrying
  commoners, beggars changed to lords),
  instantaneous conversions (the wicked repent),
  enchanted or idealized settings, supernatural
  beings (witches, fairies, Gods and Goddesses).
  The happy ending may be brought about through
  supernatural or divine intervention (comparable
  to the deus ex machina in classical comedy, where
  a God appears to resolve the conflict) or may
  merely involve improbable turns of events.
• In the best of the mature comedies, there is
  frequently a philosophical aspect involving
  weightier issues and themes personal identity
  the importance of love in human existence the
  power of language to help or hinder
  communication the transforming power of poetry
  and art the disjunction between appearance and
  reality the power of dreams and illusions).

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Twelfth Night What does the title refer to?

• The play was written as a Christmas season
  production for presentation on Epiphany the
  twelfth night after Christmas, when, according to
  religious tradition, Jesus was introduced to the
  world.
• It is a time for celebrating, gifts are
  exchanged, and parties and other celebrations
  occur.
• The full title of the play is Twelfth Night, or,
  What You Will i.e. Call it anything you
  choose.

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Twelfth Night

• Type of work play (Shakespeare also wrote
  poetry)
• Genre comedy
• Time written between 1600-1602
• Place written England
• Tone Light, cheerful, comic occasionally
  frantic and melodramatic, especially in the
  speeches of Orsino and Olivia.
• Tense Present (the entire story is told through
  dialogue)
• Setting (time) Unknown
• Setting (place) The mythical land of Illyria
  (Illyria is a real place, corresponding to the
  coast of present-day Yugoslavia, but Twelfth
  Night is clearly set in a fictional kingdom
  rather than a real one.)

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Twelfth Night Characters

• Viola (a.k.a. Cesario)
• Duke Orsino
• Olivia
• Sebastian
• Malvolio
• Feste

• Sir Toby Belch
• Maria
• Sir Andrew Aguecheek
• Antonio

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1. Viola

• A young ___________ of aristocratic birth.
  Washes up on the shore of Illyria when her ship
  is ___________ in a storm, she decides to maker
  her own way in the world. She disguises herself
  as a _______, calling herself Cesario, and
  becomes a page to Duke Orsino. She ends up
  ___________ with Orsino, while the woman Orsino
  loves, falls in love with Cesario. Now she finds
  herself trapped she cannot tell Orsino that she
  loves him and she cannot tell Olivia why she, as
  Cesario, cannot lover her. Her dilemma is the
  central conflict to the play.

woman
wrecked
man
falling in love
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2. Duke Orsino

• A __________ nobleman in the country of
  __________. He is lovesick for the beautiful
  Lady Olivia, but finds herself more and more fond
  of his handsome new page, Cesario, who is
  actually a __________ - Viola. He mopes around
  complaining how heartsick he is over Olivia, when
  it is clear that he is chiefly in love with the
  _________ of _______________ and enjoys making a
  spectacle of himself.

romantic
Illyria
woman
idea
being in love
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3. Olivia

• A _____________, beautiful, and noble Illyrian
  lady, she is __________ by Orsino and Sir Andrew
  Aguecheeck, but to each of them she insists that
  she is in __________ for her __________, who has
  recently __________ and will not __________ for
  _____ years. She and Orsino are similar
  characters in that each seems to enjoy wallowing
  in his or her own __________. Violas arrival in
  the masculine disguise of Cesario enables Olivia
  to break free of her self-indulgent melancholy.
  Olivia seems to have no difficulty transferring
  her affections from one _______________ to the
  next, however, suggesting that her romantic
  feelings like most emotions in the play do
  not run terribly deep.

witty/intelligent
disgusted
mourning
brother
died
marry
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misery
love interest
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4. Sebastian

• Violas lost ____________. When he arrives in
  Illyria, traveling with Antonio, his close friend
  and protector, he discovers how many people seem
  to think that they ____________. Furthermore,
  the beautiful Lady Olivia, whom he has never met,
  wants to ____________.

twin brother
know him
marry him
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5. Malvolio

• The straitlaced head servant in the household of
  Lady Olivia. He is very efficient but also very
  ____________, and he has a poor opinion of
  drinking, __________, and __________. His
  haughty attitude earn him the enemies of Sir
  Toby, Sir Andrew, and Maria who play a cruel
  __________ on him, making believe that Olivia
  __________________. In his dreams about marrying
  his mistress, he reveals a powerful ambition to
  rise above his _________________.

self-righteous
singing
joking
trick
is in love with him
social standing
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6. Feste

• The _________ or __________ of Olivias
  household he moves between Olivias and Orsinos
  homes. He ________________ by making pointed
  jokes, singing old songs, being generally witty,
  and offering ___________ cloaked under a layer of
  __________. In spite of being a professional
  __________, he often seems the wisest character
  in the play.

clown
fool
makes his money
good advice
sarcasm
fool
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7. Sir Toby Belch

• Olivias __________. Olivia lets ___________
  Belch lives with her, but she does not __________
  of his rowdy behavior, __________, heavy
  drinking, late-night carousing, or friends
  (specifically the idiotic Sir Andrew). He also
  earns the anger of Malvolio, but he has an ally,
  and eventually a __________, in Olivias
  __________ serving-woman Maria. Together they
  bring about the __________ of the controlling,
  self-righteous Malvolio.

Sir Toby
uncle
approve
dancing/singing
mate
witty
demise/downfall
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8. Maria

• Olivias __________, __________, young
  serving-woman. She is remarkably similar to her
  antagonist, Malvolio, who harbors aspirations of
  _______________ through __________. She succeeds
  where Malvolio fails.

loyal
witty
rising in social class
marriage
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9. Sir Andrew Aguecheek

• A __________ of Sir Tobys. He attempts to
  __________ Olivia but he doesnt _______________.
  He thinks he is witty, __________, __________,
  and good at languages and __________, but he is
  actually an __________.

friend
court
stand a chance
strong
smart
dancing
idiot
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10. Antonio

• A man who rescues Sebastian after Sebastians
  __________. He is very fond of Sebastian, caring
  for him, accompanying him to Illyria, and
  furnishing him with __________. He is also an
  enemy of Duke Orsino.

shipwreck
money
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Other characters

• Fabian servant to Olivia friend to Maria, Sir
  Toby, and Andrew. Assists in the practical joke
  on Malvolio.
• Valentine gentleman attending to the Duke
• Curio gentleman attending to the Duke
• Priest - (named Sir Topas) he marries Olivia to
  Cesario he is impersonated by Feste.
• Captain (sea captain) assists Viola (helps
  disguise Viola as Cesario)

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A Closer Look at the play

• Plot Summary In Twelfth Night, as in most of
  his works, Shakespeare has several different
  plot-lines going on at the same time. He expertly
  weaves these separate stories together throughout
  the play. As the play begins to move towards its
  conclusion the different stories begin to
  converge until they all come together for a
  resolution in the final scenes.

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Dramatic Structure

• Major Conflict (__________) Viola is in love
  with Orsino, who is in love with Olivia, who is
  in love with Violas male disguise, Cesario.
  This __________ is complicated by the fact that
  neither Orsino nor Olivia knows that Cesario is
  really a __________ (Viola).
• _____________ The mounting __________,
  ___________________, and _______________, leading
  up to Act V.
• __________ __________ and ________ are ________,
  and everyone realizes that Cesario is a woman.
• ___________ Viola _______________ Orsino
  Malvolio is freed and _______________.
• __________________ Everyone goes off to
  celebrate.

Problem
love triangle
woman
Rising Action
confusion
mistaken identities
professions of love
Climax
Sebastian
Viola
reunited
Falling Action
prepares to marry
vows revenge
Denouement/Resolution
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Themes

• __________ as a cause of _________
• The uncertainty of gender
• The _____ of __________

suffering
Love
folly
ambition
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As you read the play, explore the Common Motifs
(Patterns in Shakespeares plays)

• Contrasting worlds
• Rise of one person at the expense of another
• Disguise and deceptions
• The supernatural
• Redemption / reconciliation
• Disorder yields to order
• Comic relief scene
• Parallel characters / foils
• Eavesdropping
• Explore how each device occurs in the play?
• What significance does it have in the overall
  plot or to the overall theme?

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Shakespeares Language

• The language Shakespeare used is an early form of
  Modern English that is different from todays
  English in a variety of ways. The following
  list, with examples from Twelfth Night, describes
  some characteristics of Shakespeares English.
  Whereas some of the following practices were
  observed in everyday speech, others were poetic
  conventions. Shakespeare often used contractions
  or omitted syllables in order to maintain the
  meter.

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Shakespeares Language contd.

• 1. Shakespeare frequently made contractions of
  words that we write separately today. He also
  dropped letters, particularly vowels, at the ends
  of words and in the ending est.
• Orsino Tis it is not so sweet now as it was
  before. (1.1.8)
• Toby Shell none o of th the Count.
  (1.3.104)
• Toby O knight, thou lackst lackest a cup of
  canary! (1.3.79)
• Andrew And you love me, lets dot do it. I
  am dog at a catch. (2.3.61)
• Remember if you see the apostrophe ( ), then
  something has been omitted.

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Shakespeares Language contd.

• Shakespeare omitted entire unstressed syllables
  or consonants from the beginning or middle of
  words.
• Viola Whoeer whoever I woo, myself would be
  his wife. (1.4.42)
• Malvolio Were not evn even now with the
  Countess Olivia? (2.2.1)

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Shakespeares Language contd.

• 3. Shakespeare used many words (such as the
  adverbs hence, thence, whence, hither, thither,
  and whither and the pronouns thy, thou, thee, and
  thine) that we no longer or rarely use today.
  Words that have dropped out of the language are
  called archaic.
• Olivia Whence from what place came you, sir?
  (1.5.175)
• Duke Then let thy your love be younger than
  thyself yourself, ( 2.4.36)
• hence from now thence from that time or
  place whence from what place? hither to
  this place, nearer, from here thither there
  whither from where? thy your thou you
  thee you thine yours prithee please Ay
  yes ho look there

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Shakespeares Language contd.

• 4. Archaic words include forms of verbs with
  endings such as th and st, as well as irregular
  verb forms such as spake (spoke).
• Olivia Why, how dost do thou, man? What is
  the matter with thee? (3.4.24-25)

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Shakespeares Language contd.

• 5. Shakespeare freely used words as different
  parts of speech, sometimes inventing words in the
  process.
• The following slides are words and phrases
  credited to Shakespeare

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The human condition can be difficult to capture
through words, especially when the English
language is limited. In Shakespeares time,
there simply wasn't a single word for "lonely" or
"generous." So Shakespeare did what any person
in search of the right word does in times of
crisis He made them up. He is credited for
making up over 3,000 words. Here are some words
that Shakespeare is credited with inventing

• daunting
• dawn
• deafening
• demure
• discontent
• dishearten
• dislocate
• dwindle
• educate
• elbow
• entomb
• epileptic
• equivocal
• excitement
• exposure
• eyeball
• fashionable
• fixture
• flawed

• accused
• addiction
• advertising
• aerial
• alligator
• amazement
• arouse
• articulate
• assassination
• bandit
• beached
• bedroom
• befriend
• besmirch
• birthplace
• blanket
• blushing
• bloodstained
• bump

• impartial
• impede
• investment
• invulnerable
• jaded
• label
• lackluster
• lapse
• laughable
• leapfrog
• lonely
• lower
• luggage
• majestic
• marketable
• metamorphize
• mimic
• misplaced
• monumental

• pander
• pedant
• premeditated
• radiance
• rant
• remorseless
• savagery
• scuffle
• secure
• submerge
• summit
• swagger
• torture
• tranquil
• trickling
• undress
• unreal
• varied
• vaulting

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Shakespeare also spent many of his hours trying
to come up with that almost agonizingly
appropriate phrase for some of his thoughts.
After all, what are words but minds at play?
Below is a long laundry list of the common
phrases Shakespeare is credited with inventing
(yes, he invented every phrase he wrote, but
these are the ones that have lasted into current
slang/prose/language)

• all corners of the world
• All that glitters is not gold
• as ____ as the day is long
• as luck would have it
• band of brothers
• blinking idiot
• budge an inch (or not)
• catch cold
• charmed life
• dead as a doornail
• devil incarnate
• didn't sleep a wink
• eat me out of house and home
• fair play
• fancy free
• flaming youth
• fool's paradise
• forever and a day
• for goodness' sake

• make haste
• method to one's madness
• neither here nor there
• no rhyme or reason
• off with his head!
• Oh woe is me
• one fell swoop
• play fast and loose
• primrose path
• rotten to the core
• seen better days
• send one packing
• short shrift
• sink or swim
• Some are born great, some achieve greatness, and
  some have greatness thrust upon them
• sorry sight
• sweets to the sweet
• the game is afoot
• the game is up

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Shakespeares Language contd.

• 6. Shakespeare also inverted his sentences (that
  is, he rearranged the parts of a sentence).
  Presently, the normal sentence structure is
  Subject Predicate Subject verb
  complements.
• Shakespeare rearranged the parts of the sentence
  (i.e. by placing the complements before the
  subject or verb) in order to meet the meter or to
  emphasize one word or part of the sentence over
  another also it was common practice in his day.
• For example
• Olivia (Shakespeare) Under your hard
  construction must I sit, / To force that on you
  in a shameful cunning / Which you knew none of
  yours. 3.1.117-119
• Olivia (Rearranged) I must sit under your hard
  construction harsh interpretation to force that
  on you in a shameful cunning which you knew none
  of yours.
• Modern translation You probably think poorly
  of me after I forced that ring on you with such
  outrageous trickery.

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Lets practice translating Shakespeares Language
to todays English

• Rewrite these lines from Othello in todays
  English, replacing the italicized, archaic words
  and spellings with more modern forms.
• 1. Andrew By my troth, the fool has an excellent
  breast. ... Twas very good i faith. I sent
  thee sixpence for thy leman. Hadst it?
  (2.3.19-26)
• 2. Toby Th art i th right. (2.3.118)
• 3. Olivia I prithee tell me what thou thinkst
  of me. (3.1.140)
• 4. Clown Nay, Ill neer believe a madman till I
  see his brains. (4.2.119-120)
• 5. Sebastian Fearst thou that, Antonio?
  (5.1.222)

By my truth (I swear), the fool as an excellent
breastIt was very good in faith. I sent you
sixpence for your leman. Did you have/get it?
You are in the right.
Please tell me what you think of me,
No, I will never believe a madman until I see his
brains.
Do you fear that, Antonio?
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Tools for The Text Paraphrase

• Reading a Shakespeare play can be a daunting
  task. Shakespeare's language can make it
  difficult to lose yourself within its pages.
  However, there are a few tools you can use to
  help break down the text into something more
  understandable and enjoyable.
• The first tool is called Paraphrasing. This is
  when you take the text and put it into your own
  words. This is not only a useful tool for reading
  the language, but it is the primary method of
  deconstructing the text by the Shakespeare
  Festival's artists. Although the words used 400
  years ago are similar, their meaning was quite
  different.
• Examine the following lines from the very
  beginning of Twelfth Night, when Duke Orsino
  demands more music, hoping it will cure his
  lovesickness.
• 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 odor. Enough, no more.
• 'Tis not so sweet now as it was before.
• One possible paraphrase might read
• If it's true that music is the food of love, keep
  playing. Give me too much so I'll be stuffed and
  I won't want it any more. Play that bit again! It
  definitely had the right sound to make my
  appetite die. It sounded as sweet as a breeze
  that blows across a patch of violets. Taking
  their scent and giving it to me. Stop, that's
  enough. It's not as sweet as it was before.

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Tools for the Text Imagery

• Another great tool to further and deepen your
  understanding of Shakespeare is imagery. These
  are the pictures that Shakespeare paints with
  specific words. Just as pictures go through your
  mind when you read a book, Shakespeare used even
  more profound words to create very powerful
  images.
• Let's look at Duke Orsino's monologue again
• 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,
• Take a look at the words in bold. Step one is to
  write down the first few images that come into
  your mind
• Food_____________________________________________
  ______________
• Love_____________________________________________
  ______________
• Excess___________________________________________
  ______________
• Sicken___________________________________________
  ______________
• Dying____________________________________________
  _____________
• Sweet____________________________________________
  _____________
• Breathes_________________________________________
  ______________
• Violets__________________________________________
  _______________
• Now ask yourself what those images mean to you.
  How do they make you feel? What kind of actions
  do they make you want to do? What words effect
  you most?
• Now that you've found some personal connection to
  these words, say the monologue out loud and allow
  those images to fill your mind. Allow them to
  effect you and your audience as you speak.

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Tools for the Text Iambic Pentameter

• Take a look at the monologue we used in the
  previous two examples. Did you notice a rhythm to
  the lines when you said them? Did you notice that
  the first letter of every line is capitalized?
  This is because Shakespeare chose to write much
  of his text in Iambic Pentameter. You'll find
  many explanations for what this means, but one
  simple way is to say that each line has 10
  syllables - 5 stressed and 5 unstressed. Here is
  an example
• If music be the food of love, play on,
• Count the syllables. You can see that it has 10
  syllables. Now we will break the line up into
  smaller sections that have two syllables. These
  sections are called feet
• If mu sic be the food of love,
  play on,
• Watch out when breaking a line into feet. You'll
  notice that sometimes a word can be broken up
  (like mu-sic). Now, within each foot there is
  usually one stressed and one unstressed syllable.
  In Iambic Pentameter, the second syllable in a
  foot usually gets the strong stress.
• If mu sic be the food of love, play on,

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Tools for the Text Iambic Pentameter contd.

• One easy way to remember how the stresses work in
  Iambic Pentameter is that is sounds like you were
  to say "eye-am" five times. Try it
• I am I am I am I am I am
• There are several reasons why Shakespeare used
  this form for his writing. One was because of
  it's beautiful sound and the strong rhythm which
  is similar to the beating of the human heart.
  Another was that Iambic Pentameter is very close
  to the normal rhythm of every day conversation.
  This helped the actors memorize their lines
  since, 400 years ago, they only had a few days of
  rehearsal before performing a play. Another was
  that it gives the actor the choice as to which
  words are more important. When an actor goes
  through his/her script to mark the feet and
  decide what syllables get the stresses it is
  called scanning the script. Try it
• If mu sic be the food of love, play on,
• Give me ex cess of it, that, sur feit
  ing,
• The app et ite may sick en, and so die.
• That strain ag ain. It had a dy ing fall
• Did you make every other syllable strong? Or did
  you decide that some syllables were more
  important than others? This is one thing that
  makes acting Shakespeare so unique. The actor
  gets to choose what words and phrases are
  important.

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Tools for the Text Variations to Iambic Lines

• Not all Shakespeare lines are alike! He loved to
  break the rules in order to give instruction to
  the actors or make the lines more interesting.
  Sometimes you'll find line of text that has less
  than 10 syllables. If you look closely you might
  find a line right after it that is short as well.
  When you combine them, do they make 10 syllables?
  Here is an example where Olivia confesses her
  love to Viola.
• Viola I pity you.
• Olivia That's a degree to love.
• This is an example of a shared line. The
  combination of the syllables suggests to the
  actors that these two lines really work as one.
  Therefore the actor knows the stage direction is
  that the actor playing Olivia should speak right
  away after Viola's line without pausing- she
  should "jump her cue".
• But what about a line with more than 10
  syllables?
• Viola I am all the daughters of my father's
  house.
• A line with 11 syllables contains what we call a
  feminine ending. This suggests that the character
  is in such a heightened emotional state that they
  are trying to cram extra words into their line.
• FYI There are many different theories about how
  Iambic Pentameter should be used. Some scholars
  believe that there can only be five strong or
  stressed beats per line. Many classical actors
  and directors believe that you can scan a line in
  any way you want and that the only way to tell is
  by trying it out loud. Basically what scanning
  comes down to is What works for you? What makes
  the most sense to you and gives you the best
  connection? Hopefully you can use these tricks to
  help bridge the 400 years between Shakespeare and
  you.

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Modern Translation of Twelfth Night

• Sparknotes has a modern translation of
  Shakespeare on-line No Fear Shakespeare.
• http//nfs.sparknotes.com/twelfthnight/
• Its a good idea to re-read the sections that
  were read in class using the Modern translation.
• From Act I, Scene 1, it looks like this

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Original Modern (paraphrase)

• 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.
• Oh, it came o'er my ear like the sweet sound,
• That breathes upon a bank of violets,
• Stealing and giving odor. 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.

• ORSINO If its true that music makes people more
  in love, keep playing. Give me too much of it, so
  Ill get sick of it and stop loving. Play that
  part again! It sounded sad. Oh, it sounded like a
  sweet breeze blowing gently over a bank of
  violets, taking their scent with it. Thats
  enough. Stop. It doesnt sound as sweet as it did
  before. Oh, love is so restless! It makes you
  want everything, but it makes you sick of things
  a minute later, no matter how good they are. Love
  is so vivid and fantastical that nothing compares
  to it.

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Quotations Who said it?

• If music be the food of love, play on
• Give me excess of it, that, surfeiting,
• The appetite may sicken, and so die.
• So full of shapes is fancy
• That it alone is high fantastical.
• The element itself, till seven years' heat,
• Shall not behold her face at ample view
• What country, friends, is this?
• Be you his eunuch, and your mute I'll be
• When my tongue blabs, then let mine eyes not see.
• By my troth, Sir Toby, you must come in earlier
  o' nights
• Confine! I'll confine myself no finer than I am
• these clothes are good enough to drink in

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Quotations Who said it? contd.

• I left no ring with her what means this lady?
• Fortune forbid my outside have not charm'd her!
• O time! thou must untangle this, not I
• It is too hard a knot for me to untie!
• Come hither, boy if ever thou shalt love,
• In the sweet pangs of it remember me
• It gives a very echo to the seat
• Where Love is throned.
• There is no woman's sides
• Can bide the beating of so strong a passion
• As love doth give my heart
• I am all the daughters of my father's house,
• And all the brothers too