Twelfth Night is believed to be the most entertaining play by
Shakespeare. Numerous premier Shakespearean critics consent to it
including Harold Bloom. The entire tone of the play is set by how it
starts. The play starts with the pride of Orsino which he keeps up as
far as possible. The arrogance is the obsession of Orsino. He is
addicted to himself yet it is him who Shakespeare decides to say, "if
music is the food of love, play on" and start the play. The starting
scene is set in Duke Orsino's royal residence wherein his court Curio
and different Lords are sitting with musicians. Orsino's first discourse
is unexpected because he is, maybe intentionally, expressing out loud
whatever he is in a real sense going to do in Olivia's case. He requests
that his performers play specific music that he heard before. He is
mulling over the idea of love which before all else stays exceptionally
sweet however in overabundance, it begins sickening. Shakespeare
compares love with the feeling of cadenced music and violets blooming.
The sluggish music which Orsino requests to be played again will before
long sickening to him. The aroma which emerges from a bank of violets is
so new yet before long becomes scent. The soul of adoration is moreover
"fast and new" at the outset however it can't endure its ability lastly,
its intensity begins to decrease slowly, and the quality begins to
degrade. Orsino talks about the dream which lies in the human creative
mind and how inconsistently it develops and passes on. Eventually, we
see that Orsino wasn't in any event, cherishing Olivia in the manner in
which he continues to guarantee all through the play. It takes him a
second to take the hands of Viola. At this absolute starting point of
the play, Shakespeare provides us with the possibility of human love and
its deceptions.
