Shakespeare Concordance Q's - Working with Data

1. What thematic strands have you located?
Music, song, sing, sound, tune, verse, pitch, ear, dying fall, Illyria.

2. Where is the data you retrieved from? What is happening in context when Shakespeare employs this particular theme or image?
Most of our concordance themes come from Acts I and II. The character that mentions these recurring themes the most is Orsino, probably because of his love for music in general. Orsino often demands music to be played for him. He loves his music so much that he practically wants to drown in it. The Duke's obsession with music is almost violent. Instead of wanting to hear songs for pleasure, Orsino uses music as an escape from life and love.

The characters that mention these themes the next most often are Sir Toby and Sir Andrew. The reason Toby and Andrew talk about music is most likely because their love of food and drink goes hand-in-hand with music. Music is their refuge, their fun, and their folly.

Viola refers to music because she compares her love to a sort of melodic song. She mentions in a couple of instances that instead of talking to someone, she wishes to sing to them and asks for their ears throughout the play. She is very audio-focused when speaking of love and life, as is Orsino.

3. How does the data you retrieved support your first thoughts on Shakespeare's obsessive use of a particular image? What can you argue about Shakespeare's figuration?
I took for granted all of Shakespeare's hidden meaning and symbolism in his writing. I never would have guessed that music was a motif in his writing if I didn't take a closer look at the text in class. Our research on the motif of music revealed that it was in fact, a deliberate doing on Shakespeare's part. Music, song, and singing are constantly being referenced throughout the play. For instance, Duke Orsino's character is purposefully obsessed with music to the point where it almost becomes a sick compulsion. Shakespeare had Orsino mention music so much in order to communicate his motif of music. Orsino also uses Viola (who's name suggests an instrument in and of itself) as an instrument. She serves as the messenger between Orsino and Olivia. Viola is also the receiving end of a lot of Orsino's lamentations and venting sessions. He plays Viola like an instrument. Shakespeare also had a lot of mentions of music appear in scenes with Sir Toby and Sir Andrew. This contends that music and drinking went hand in hand; they are part of the mens' very lax lifestyle.