The Dramatic Importance of Act 1 Scenes 1 and 2 of William...

The Dramatic Importance of Act 1 Scenes 1 and 2 of William Shakespeares Twelfth Night The title Twelfth Night seems to suggest that Shakespeare, who wrote the play around 1602, wanted it to be performed on the twelfth day after Christmas; the festival of the Epiphany. This day formally marked the end of the Christmas season, which at the time was celebrated as a special festival. In addition to eating, drinking and generally over indulging, the performance of plays was a common feature on this day. He may have written this romantic comedy whilst keeping this festive spirit in mind. The title therefore may have had some bearing on the actual plot or characters. The secondary title What You†¦show more content†¦On the whole the opening scenes tend to be of major significance and this is certainly true for Twelfth Night. Violas plans for disguising herself in Act 1 scene 2 introduce one of the main motifs of the play: disguise and the identity confusion related to it. Similarly, Orsinos mournful speech in Act 1 scene 1 indicates that the play will deal with m atters of love, emotion, desire and rejection. Put together, the two scenes suggest the extra twist that is the hallmark of Twelfth Night: mistaken gender identity. In this essay these first two scenes are analysed for their dramatic importance. The opening scene of the play is short. It dramatically starts off with a speech written in blank verse which addresses love, the main theme of the play. In this Duke Orsino claims that if music be the food of love play on which reveals his tendency towards excess and shows how love has conquered him. His speech on this subject is rather complicated, because of the use of metaphors, as he tries to gain some control over love. He asks the musicians to give him so much music that he will have experienced a surfeit and will no longer be hungry for love. 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