Studies in English Language and Literature

  “If music be the food of love, play on…” Explain/ Elucidate/ Comment The given excerpt has been taken from William Shakespeare’s five-act comedy Twelfth Night or What You Will . This expression occurs in the opening line of the play. That is to say, it has been extracted from Act 1 Scene 1 of the said comedy. These words have been uttered by Orsino, the Duke of Illyria, to Curio, one of the two male attendants of the Duke, the other one being Valentine. It is known to all that the purpose of our taking food is to keep ourselves alive. Yes, food keeps us alive by nourishing our entire physical process. It provides us with lots of energy alongside quenching our hunger. Similarly, we need some nourishment for our mental process as well. How can that be done? Broadly speaking, it can be done by taking in “the food of love”, that is, “music”. We all know that “love” and “music” are associated with each other in some way or the other. Moreover, it is distinctly discernible that ...

  We come across the character called Malvolio in William Shakespeare’s five-act comedy Twelfth Night or What You Will . Malvolio is the main character in the subplot of this comedy. Broadly speaking, he venerates his dreams, though they are usually melancholic or gloomy by nature and in character. In course of the play, we come to find that Orsino, the Duke of Illyria, dreams of Olivia’s hand. In this connection, we must note that Malvolio, the steward to Olivia, also, dreams the same as the Duke. However, it has to be mentioned that both of them are ensnared due to their own mistakes. Yes, they mistakenly confuse dreams to be real. Malvolio has been alleged of being too sick of loving himself. Most conspicuously, this remark has been made by none other than Olivia. As we see, he is self-obsessed through and through. Apart from that, Malvolio is an advocate of untrue puritanism. He is usually too serious to bear with the revelry of Sir Toby Belch and of his comrades. He finds M...