UW THEATRE AND PERFORMANCE
No Such Thing As Enough: A Look Into Excess and Desire in Twelfth Night, or What You Will
If music be the food of love, play on, Give me excess of it, that, surfeiting, The appetite may sicken, and so die"
Fafa Wormenor
In Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night, or What You Will, Orsino and Olivia represent a satirically unique dynamic, in which they serve as a vehicle to dissect self-indulgence, bodily appetite, and the performative nature of desire.
Desire as we know it, is a complicated term to define. At a baseline, it is the craving of the soul for some real or supposed good. In this definition however, feeling and morality are omitted. The supposed good here, represents anything which will satisfy the craving, and from the possession of which it is believed that pleasure, enjoyment, satisfaction, or happiness will be derived (Putnam 211). This idea of physical overindulgence is what I aim to explore in the characters of Orsino and Olivia.
In many of his works, Shakespeare utilises metaphors and themes to critique and dissect the socio-economic and geopolitical state of Elizabethan society, and this play is no different. However, at this specific time, England had begun emerging from the “great famine” of 1594-1598 (Bramley) at the time of Shakespeare’s writing. Twelfth Night, or What You Will as a romantic comedy, utilises a plethora of references to excessive eating and drinking, based on the traditions of the Feast of the Epiphany. Lexical choices such as “drinking“, ”baking”, and “appetite”, serve not only as a metaphor for love and desire, but as a direct peek into the raw anxieties about class privilege and hunger. Characters like Orsino and Olivia have the access to pursue their appetite for love, while other characters represent a class of society that have been denied this same access, failing to even be granted the basic necessity of food. These characters aim to fill that void with other things.
Orsino, as a character, is played as a lovesick young man, pining for lady Olivia; however, his language and attitudes toward consumption, give insight into his gluttonous mindset. He uses visceral culinary metaphors, with his opening monologue stating that "If music be the food of love, play on, Give me excess of it, that, surfeiting, The appetite may sicken, and so die" (Shakespeare 1.1.1-3). The mindset Orsino holds, is a prime example of how desire operates when detached from tangible human connection, and is liberated to reveal insatiable cravings. It is interesting, because while the play is a romantic comedy, Orsino frames love through consumption and hunger without reference to a spiritual union. This attitude to love serves as a mirror to the literary troupe of Petrarchan courtly love (Writory editorial team). According to such love, aristocratic suitors had an expectation to suffer for an unreachable lady, writing poetry, and feeling physical side effects. However, the more he expresses his “love”, the more it is a performance is revealed. Through acts such as sending Caesario as a messenger and his limited direct interactions with Olivia, gives us the idea he isn’t in love with her, but instead with the dramatic act of his own craving. This is what plays into his dilemma with his love for Caesario, as he grapples with these new feelings of love and his familiar feelings of bodily excess.
This same idea can be applied to Olivia, mirroring the emotional volatility Orsino presents. After vowing to remain weeping in her chamber for 7 years to honour her deceased brother, she changes drastically, after her first meeting with Cesario. She approaches this meeting with a visceral sense of desire, emphasising the sensory nature of their interaction; "Methinks I feel this youth’s perfections / With an invisible and subtle stealth / To creep in at mine eyes." (Shakespeare 1.5.282–284). Olivia’s love for Cesario is entirely through her eyes, with this physical stimulation breaching her capacity think clearly about what she sees in Cesario. Moreover, her loving gaze becomes incredibly ironic as her eyes have fooled her. She initially utilises a physical veil to reject the public world: "The element itself, till seven years' heat, / Shall not behold her face at ample view; / But like a cloistress, she will veiled walk" (Shakespeare 1.1.25-27). But unveils, replacing it with a lens of desire through which she can observe Cesario. This reliance on sight and visibility, leads her to misplace her feelings, and leaves her restricted from the truth. This is seen in many instances, from her mistaking Cesario for a young man and Sebastian for Cesario.
The concept of food, consumption and desire play into some of the biggest themes of the play, providing both evocative social commentaries, and a glance into the Elizabethan historical past. In Twelfth Night, or What You Will, Shakespeare offers a remarkable satirical dynamic between Orsino and Olivia, as they serve as a darkly humorous duet in the dissection of self-indulgence, bodily appetite, and the performative nature of desire.
Bramley, Anne. ‘NPR Choice Page’. Npr.Org, 2019, https://www.npr.org/sections/thesalt/2016/04/23/475291416/in-shakespeares- day-hunger-tore-through-england-his-plays-tell-the-tale. Accessed 12 Oct. 2026.
Putnam, Daniel. ‘APA PsycNet’. Apa.Org, 1961, psycnet.apa.org/record/2009-07328-012. Accessed 12 Oct. 2026.
Shakespeare, William. Twelfth Night from The Folger Shakespeare. Edited by Barbara Mowat, Paul Werstine, Michael Poston, and Rebecca Niles, Folger Shakespeare Library, 12 Oct. 2026,
https://www.folger.edu/explore/shakespeares-works/twelfth-night/.
Shakespeare, William. ‘Twelfth Night: Entire Play’. Shakespeare.Mit.Edu, shakespeare.mit.edu/twelfth_night/full.html. Accessed 12 Oct. 2026.
Writory editorial team. ‘What Is a Petrarchan Lover?’. Writory Poetry Contest, Writory, 2 Sept. 2026, writoryofficial.com/poetry-questions/what-is-a-
petrarchan-lover. Accessed 12 Oct. 2026.