“Daffodils,
That come before the swallow dares, and take
The winds of March with beauty; violets dim,
But sweeter than the lids of Juno's eyes
Or Cytherea's breath; pale primroses,
That die unmarried ere they can behold
Bright Phoebus in his strength, a malady
Most incident to maids; bold oxlips, and
The crown-imperial; lilies of all kinds,
The flower-de-luce being one”;
or Arviragus' praise of Imogen:
“Thou shalt not lack
The flower that's like thy face, pale primrose, nor
The azured harebell like thy veins; no, nor
The leaf of eglantine, whom not to slander
Outsweetened not thy breath.”
Shakespeare praises music so frequently and so enthusiastically that we must regard the trait as characteristic of his deepest nature. Take this play which we are handling now. Not only the Duke, but both the heroines, Viola and Olivia, love music. Viola can sing “in many sorts of music,” and Olivia admits that she would rather hear Viola solicit love than “music from the spheres.” Romeo almost confounds music with love, as does Duke Orsino:
“How silver-sweet sound lovers' tongues by night,
Like softest music to attending ears!”
And again:
“And let rich music's tongue
Unfold the imagin'd happiness that both
Receive in either by this dear encounter.”
It is a curious and characteristic fact that Shakespeare gives almost the same words to Ferdinand in the “Tempest” that he gave ten years earlier to the Duke in “Twelfth Night.” In both passages music goes with passion to allay its madness:
“This music crept by me upon the waters,
Allaying both their fury and my passion
With its sweet air”
and Duke Orsino says: