Love Gender Madness Melancholy Festivity Excess Ambition Order
pg Character Quote Theme Analysis
1 A1 Orsino “If music be food of love, play on/ Music is compared to food, suggesting that just as food sustains the body, music
S1 Give me excess of it, that, sustains and intensifies love and emotion. The hyperbolic nature of this opening
surfeiting/ The appetite they soliloquy established Orsiono as emotionally self absorbed and melancholic, urging the
sicken and so die” audience to question its authenticity, as love is presented as theatrical and performative
rather than grounded in reality.
10 A1 Viola “Conceal me what i am… thou The imperative verb “conceal foregrounds the theme of disguise and identity,
S2 shall present me as an eunuch to immediately establishing disguise as a driving force of the play. Through her "eunuch"
him” statue (a castrated man) Viola assumes a liminal gender identity. Furthermore, Viola's
self-erasure emphasises the loss of female agency required in order for survival in a
patriarchal society. This is furthered by continued references to Viola as an “effeminate
man” with Shakespeare suggesting that gender is something based on influence rather
than biology.
15 A1 Andrew “But i am a great eater of beef, Sir Andrew's confession exposes his own intellectual inadequacy, which Shakespeare
S3 and i / believe that does harm to utilises to mock the idle gentry, implying that wealth and status do not equate to
my wit” intelligence or merit. Furthermore, this food imagery likens appetite to mental capacity,
suggesting the overindulgence dulls intelligence. This parallels how excess undermines
reason elsewhere in the play. During the Shakespearean period, it was believed that
eating too much meat made an individual stupid or foolish, additionalising the drunken
revelness here.
15 A1 Andrew “Had bestowed that time in the The juxtaposition between the “tongues” (which symbolise language and intellect and
S3 tongues that I have in / fencing, physical pursuits (dancing, fencing ect.) highlights the tension between
dancing, and bearebating, O, had appearance-based masculinity. Shakespeare uses this social satire to expose how
I but/ followed the arts!” wealth allows characters like Sir Andrew to fail without consequence, mocking the
hollowness of inherited privilege. Bearbating was a popular spectacle during
Shakespearean tomes, where a bear was attacked by dogs.
20 A1 Orsino “Thy small pipe/ Is as the Orisno draws on musical symbols (pipe, organ) to eroticise sound, suggesting that
S4 maiden’s organ, shrill and sound/ music can become a vehicle for desire and gendered perception. “As the maiden’s
And all is semblative a woman's organ” feminises the male body, contributing to the play's destabilisation of gender
, Love Gender Madness Melancholy Festivity Excess Ambition Order
part” norms, reinforcing the notion of fluidity and identity in Illeryia. Through this, Shakespeare
uses vulgar wit to provoke laughter while simultaneously exposing how easily gender
can be reduced to surface appearance.
22 A1 Feste “Better a witty Fool than a foolish Semantic inversion challenges social norms, exposing how status (Andrew, Toby) do
S5 wit” not equate to wisdom, a recurring satirical target. Spoken by Feste (THE CLOWN), this
line asserts the moral and intellectual authority of him, who is licensed to ‘speak the
truth’ under the guise of humour. “Witty fool” is an oxymoron, perhaps this furthers the
Fools emphasised moral and philosophical understanding
23 A1 Feste “Virtue that transgresses is/ but The metaphor of “patching” presents virtue and sin as external ‘garments’ rather than
S5 patched with sin, and sin that fixed inner qualities. This suggests that morality is constructed, repaired and visually
amends is but patched with imperfect. Furthermore “patched” implies concealment rather than transformation, under
virtue” this framework Shakespeare reinforces morality as performative rather than inherently
possessed.
25 A1 Olivia “O, you are sick of self love, The verb “sick” frames love as a pathological condition, aligning with narcissism rather
S5 (about Malvolio” than illness. This reflects the play's tendency to prevent excessive emotion as diseased.
Malvolio) Malvolio's “self love” exposes Malvolio's fixation on status, order and self importance
above morality. In doing this, Shakespeare satirises Puritanical self regard, implying that
Malvolio's belief in his own virtue is a form of moral vanity. In this sense, Olivia accuses
Malvolio’s discipline and sobriety as egotism masquerading as righteousness. Note that
the Royal Shakespeare company production of the play directed by Peter Gill in 1974
made a clear point of this by having the stage dominated with a huge mural of
Narcissus.
28 A1 Malvolio “Tis switches him in standing The liminal imagery of “standing water” evokes a sense of stagnation and suspension,
S5 (about water, between boy and man…. as is Viola in her state of gender ambiguity. The adverb “shrewishly” also invokes
viola) He speaks very shrewishly” contemporary stereotypes of female speech as sharp and disrupted, further enhancing
the audience's dramatic irony of Cesario actually being Viola in disguise. By implying
this misogynistic insult to Cesario, Shakespeare creates a layered critique of how
language was weaponised to control behaviour
33 A1 Olivia “Make me a willow cabin at your The “willow tree” is traditionally associated with unrequited love and melancholy while a
S5 gate/ And call upon my soul within "cabin" suggests impermanence. Through this symbolism Shakespeare presents love
pg Character Quote Theme Analysis
1 A1 Orsino “If music be food of love, play on/ Music is compared to food, suggesting that just as food sustains the body, music
S1 Give me excess of it, that, sustains and intensifies love and emotion. The hyperbolic nature of this opening
surfeiting/ The appetite they soliloquy established Orsiono as emotionally self absorbed and melancholic, urging the
sicken and so die” audience to question its authenticity, as love is presented as theatrical and performative
rather than grounded in reality.
10 A1 Viola “Conceal me what i am… thou The imperative verb “conceal foregrounds the theme of disguise and identity,
S2 shall present me as an eunuch to immediately establishing disguise as a driving force of the play. Through her "eunuch"
him” statue (a castrated man) Viola assumes a liminal gender identity. Furthermore, Viola's
self-erasure emphasises the loss of female agency required in order for survival in a
patriarchal society. This is furthered by continued references to Viola as an “effeminate
man” with Shakespeare suggesting that gender is something based on influence rather
than biology.
15 A1 Andrew “But i am a great eater of beef, Sir Andrew's confession exposes his own intellectual inadequacy, which Shakespeare
S3 and i / believe that does harm to utilises to mock the idle gentry, implying that wealth and status do not equate to
my wit” intelligence or merit. Furthermore, this food imagery likens appetite to mental capacity,
suggesting the overindulgence dulls intelligence. This parallels how excess undermines
reason elsewhere in the play. During the Shakespearean period, it was believed that
eating too much meat made an individual stupid or foolish, additionalising the drunken
revelness here.
15 A1 Andrew “Had bestowed that time in the The juxtaposition between the “tongues” (which symbolise language and intellect and
S3 tongues that I have in / fencing, physical pursuits (dancing, fencing ect.) highlights the tension between
dancing, and bearebating, O, had appearance-based masculinity. Shakespeare uses this social satire to expose how
I but/ followed the arts!” wealth allows characters like Sir Andrew to fail without consequence, mocking the
hollowness of inherited privilege. Bearbating was a popular spectacle during
Shakespearean tomes, where a bear was attacked by dogs.
20 A1 Orsino “Thy small pipe/ Is as the Orisno draws on musical symbols (pipe, organ) to eroticise sound, suggesting that
S4 maiden’s organ, shrill and sound/ music can become a vehicle for desire and gendered perception. “As the maiden’s
And all is semblative a woman's organ” feminises the male body, contributing to the play's destabilisation of gender
, Love Gender Madness Melancholy Festivity Excess Ambition Order
part” norms, reinforcing the notion of fluidity and identity in Illeryia. Through this, Shakespeare
uses vulgar wit to provoke laughter while simultaneously exposing how easily gender
can be reduced to surface appearance.
22 A1 Feste “Better a witty Fool than a foolish Semantic inversion challenges social norms, exposing how status (Andrew, Toby) do
S5 wit” not equate to wisdom, a recurring satirical target. Spoken by Feste (THE CLOWN), this
line asserts the moral and intellectual authority of him, who is licensed to ‘speak the
truth’ under the guise of humour. “Witty fool” is an oxymoron, perhaps this furthers the
Fools emphasised moral and philosophical understanding
23 A1 Feste “Virtue that transgresses is/ but The metaphor of “patching” presents virtue and sin as external ‘garments’ rather than
S5 patched with sin, and sin that fixed inner qualities. This suggests that morality is constructed, repaired and visually
amends is but patched with imperfect. Furthermore “patched” implies concealment rather than transformation, under
virtue” this framework Shakespeare reinforces morality as performative rather than inherently
possessed.
25 A1 Olivia “O, you are sick of self love, The verb “sick” frames love as a pathological condition, aligning with narcissism rather
S5 (about Malvolio” than illness. This reflects the play's tendency to prevent excessive emotion as diseased.
Malvolio) Malvolio's “self love” exposes Malvolio's fixation on status, order and self importance
above morality. In doing this, Shakespeare satirises Puritanical self regard, implying that
Malvolio's belief in his own virtue is a form of moral vanity. In this sense, Olivia accuses
Malvolio’s discipline and sobriety as egotism masquerading as righteousness. Note that
the Royal Shakespeare company production of the play directed by Peter Gill in 1974
made a clear point of this by having the stage dominated with a huge mural of
Narcissus.
28 A1 Malvolio “Tis switches him in standing The liminal imagery of “standing water” evokes a sense of stagnation and suspension,
S5 (about water, between boy and man…. as is Viola in her state of gender ambiguity. The adverb “shrewishly” also invokes
viola) He speaks very shrewishly” contemporary stereotypes of female speech as sharp and disrupted, further enhancing
the audience's dramatic irony of Cesario actually being Viola in disguise. By implying
this misogynistic insult to Cesario, Shakespeare creates a layered critique of how
language was weaponised to control behaviour
33 A1 Olivia “Make me a willow cabin at your The “willow tree” is traditionally associated with unrequited love and melancholy while a
S5 gate/ And call upon my soul within "cabin" suggests impermanence. Through this symbolism Shakespeare presents love
