Shakespeare used this quote at the beginning of the play to set the tone for what’s to come. Why Did Shakespeare Use “If music be the food of love play on?” His love is not as powerful as he suggests. The first thing he asks Valentine as he enters the scene is, “what news from her?” But, readers who are aware of the plot of the play will know that he is soon to fall in love with someone else. Methought she purged the air of pestilence.Īnd my desires, like fell and cruel hounds, As the quote progresses, he indulges himself and his emotions.Īfter these opening lines, Orsino speaks a few more about Olivia. With too much music, maybe the opposite will happen.Īlthough Orsino claims to want his love to abate in the first lines, he doesn’t really mean it. Music, in most contexts, promotes love or makes it feel more powerful in the moment. Through these lines, Orsino is expressing his hope that through an overabundance of music, he might get sick and be turned off of his love. He’s a young man, in love, and unable to deal with his emotions. This quote in context reveals much about Orsino’s love and character. Receiveth as the sea, naught enters there,Įven in a minute. O spirit of love, how quick and fresh art thou, O, it came o’er my ear like the sweet sound Readers can find it in line one of Act I, Scene 1. This makes it one of the best-known quotes from the comedy. “If music be the food of love play on” appears at the beginning of the play. Where Does Shakespeare Use “If music be the food of love play on?” He hopes that with more music, his “appetite may sicken and so die.” But, in the context of the play and the entire quote, it becomes clear that the speaker is asking for more music because he hopes that it will cure him of his obsessive love for Countess Olivia. On its own, as it is commonly quoted, speakers interpret it as promoting love in one’s life as one might seek out more food to sate one’s appetite. “If music be the food of love play on,” by itself, is interpreted as equating music to food for love. “If music be the food of love play on” Meaning