Setting the Tone: Music, Melancholy, and Excess

Act 1, Scene 1 of Shakespeare's Twelfth Night immediately plunges the audience into the languid, melancholic atmosphere of Illyria, specifically the court of Duke Orsino. The scene opens not with action, but with music, establishing a key motif for the play. Orsino's famous first line, "If music be the food of love, play on," instantly introduces the central theme of love, but presents it through a lens of excess and almost self-indulgent sorrow.

Characterisation: Duke Orsino

Orsino is presented as a nobleman consumed by unrequited love for the Countess Olivia. However, his love feels more like an elaborate performance of melancholy than genuine passion.

• Lovesickness as Performance: His demand for music, first asking for it and then immediately wishing it to cease ("Enough; no more: / 'Tis not so sweet now as it was before"), suggests a changeable, almost fickle nature. He seems more in love with the idea of being in love, enjoying the poetic suffering it allows him.

• Idealised Love: Orsino's description of his passion is rich with sensory imagery ("O spirit of love! how quick and fresh art thou"), yet it lacks specificity regarding Olivia herself. He focuses on the overwhelming nature of his feelings, comparing love's capacity to the sea which "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". This suggests an abstract, perhaps unattainable ideal rather than a connection with a real person.

• Appetite and Surfeit: The opening lines link love directly to appetite ("food," "surfeiting," "sickens," "die"). Orsino desires an excess of music to cure his lovesickness by over-saturation, hoping the "appetite may sicken, and so die." This introduces the theme of excess and the potential dangers of overindulgence, whether in love, grief, or revelry, which resonates throughout the play.

Introducing Olivia (by Report)

Olivia does not appear in this scene, but she is introduced through the report of Valentine, Orsino's messenger. This indirect introduction shapes our initial perception of her.

• Grief and Seclusion: We learn she is in deep mourning for her deceased brother and has vowed to remain veiled and secluded for seven years ("like a cloistress, she will veiled walk"). This establishes her as a figure of sorrow and piety, creating a parallel (and potential obstacle) to Orsino's lovesickness.

• Setting up Conflict: Her refusal to entertain Orsino's suit ("The element itself, till seven years' heat, / Shall not behold her face at ample view") establishes the central romantic conflict for the Duke and sets the plot in motion. Her extreme grief mirrors Orsino's extreme love, hinting at the emotional excesses prevalent in Illyria.

• Orsino's Reaction: Orsino's response to this news is telling. Instead of being deterred, he seems almost further inflamed, romanticising her capacity for grief as proof of her capacity for love: "O, she that hath a heart of that fine frame / To pay this debt of love but to a brother, / How will she love, when the rich golden shaft / Hath kill'd the flock of all affections else / That live in her..." This reinforces his tendency to idealise and project his own desires onto her.

Dramatic Function and Themes

This opening scene masterfully achieves several key dramatic functions:

1. Establishes Atmosphere: It sets a mood of romantic melancholy, tinged with poetic languor and a hint of the absurdity of excessive emotion.

2. Introduces Key Characters: It presents Orsino directly and Olivia indirectly, outlining their initial emotional states and motivations.

3. Sets up the Plot: It establishes the core romantic pursuit (Orsino for Olivia) and the initial obstacle (Olivia's mourning and rejection).

4. Introduces Major Themes: It foregrounds the themes of love (idealised, unrequited, excessive), melancholy, music, appetite, and excess.

Language and Imagery

The language is rich, poetic, and highly figurative, characteristic of Shakespearean romance. Key imagery includes:

• Music and Sound: Used as a metaphor for love and emotion.

• The Senses: Love is described in terms of taste ("food"), smell ("sweet sound / That breathes upon a bank of violets"), and sight (though Olivia remains unseen).

• The Sea: Represents the vast, all-consuming nature of love.

• Hunting: Orsino recalls seeing Olivia once, comparing his instant infatuation to Actaeon being transformed into a stag hunted by his own hounds ("That instant was I turn'd into a hart; / And my desires, like fell and cruel hounds, / E'er since pursue me."). This classical allusion adds depth and hints at the potentially destructive nature of his desires.

Conclusion

Act 1, Scene 1 serves as an elegant and evocative entry point into the world of Twelfth Night. It establishes the emotional landscape of Illyria, dominated by Orsino's theatrical lovesickness and Olivia's profound grief. Through rich language and potent imagery, Shakespeare introduces the play's central themes and conflicts, preparing the audience for the arrival of Viola and the ensuing complications of mistaken identity, disguise, and the unpredictable nature of love. The scene highlights a world steeped in feeling, yet perhaps detached from reality, setting the stage perfectly for the comedic and romantic developments to come.