Jul 23, 2008

Twelfth Night | Act I, Scene 1 Summary and Analysis

New Characters:
Orsino: the Duke of Illyria, who is madly in love with Olivia

Curio: one of the Duke’s attendants

Valentine: another gentleman attending the Duke

Summary
The play opens at the Duke’s palace in Illyria. The Duke is lovesick, and so the first 15 lines express his powerful love for the Countess Olivia. He pours forth sweet words of passion for his love object.

He desires to have music feed his appetite for love. He feels at first that he can’t get enough of the energizing “food of love,” but abruptly urges the musicians to stop playing:...