Annotated Bibliography: How Music Orders the World of Twelfth Night

Working Paper Title: Achieving Musical Harmony in Twelfth Night

Working Thesis Statement: My goal in this paper is to show that the Renaissance idea of musical harmony being produced through a combination of sweet and jarring sounds explains the conflicting resolved and unresolved plots in Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night.

Duffin, Ross W. Shakespeare’s Songbook. New York: W. W. Norton & Company, 2004. Print.

Duffin combines the music and text of the ballads used and referenced in Shakespeare’s plays in addition to some criticism and how they are integrated into the text. One of my main points is to link certain characters and plots with the idea of “sweet” (consonant) and “jarring” (dissonant) musical intervals. These aspects of their characters come out more readily through the ballads that they sing and reference, so I’ll refer to this book throughout my paper.

Wilson, Christopher R. Shakespeare’s Musical Imagery. London: Bloomsbury Publishing, 2011. EBSCO. Web. 22 Nov. 2015. <http://web.a.ebscohost.com.erl.lib.byu.edu/ehost/ebookviewer/ebook/bmxlYmtfXzU5NTUwM19fQU41?sid=f93d4e70-907a-4d2f-abf5-1b2a837fae15@sessionmgr4003&vid=0&format=EB&rid=1>

Wilson’s book is a comprehensive look at Shakespeare’s use of musical techniques and imagery throughout his plays, and particularly sets forth a connection between Shakespeare and the musical idea of Concordia discor, tensions produce harmony. I will use this idea in my first couple of paragraphs to explain how Shakespeare follows it to create a fulfilling ending to Twelfth Night.

Ko, Yu Jin. “The Comic Close of Twelfth Night and Viola’s Noli me tangere.” Shakespeare Quarterly 48.4 (1997): 391-405. JSTOR. Web. 22 Nov. 2015. <http://www.jstor.org.erl.lib.byu.edu/stable/2871251?origin=crossref&seq=1#page_scan_tab_contents>

This paper does not deal with music but stresses how sustaining desire to achieve pleasure is the main point of Twelfth Night. I will use this paper to help prove Concordia Discors is being used in the play, because this is a result of that tension.

Neill, Michael. “‘Noises, / Sounds, and Sweet Airs’: The Burden of Shakespeare’s ‘Tempest.’” Shakespeare Quarterly 59.1 (2008): 35-59. JSTOR. Web. 1 Dec. 2015. <http://www.jstor.org.erl.lib.byu.edu/stable/40210245?seq=1#page_scan_tab_contents>

Neill gives an indepth analysis of the difference between noise and music in The Tempest and how it emphasises the themes of the play. I will use it to compare and contrast it to Twelfth Night, which is one of the most musical of Shakespeare’s plays after The Tempest.

Feste’s “‘Whirligig’ and the Comic Providence of Twelfth Night.’” ELH 40.4 (1973): 501-513. JSTOR. Web. 1 Dec. 2015. <http://www.jstor.org.erl.lib.byu.edu/stable/2872556?origin=crossref&seq=1#page_scan_tab_contents>

This essay focuses on how Maria and Feste’s plot against Malvolio is human control and the main plot is resolved because of otherworldly control. I will use this in my body paragraphs to show how Maria and her cohorts connect with the musical idea of jarring and the main plot characters produce sweet harmony.

West, E. J. “Bradleyan Reprise: On the Fool in ‘Twelfth Night.’” The Shakespeare Association Bulletin 24.4 (1949): 264-274. JSTOR. Web. 1 Dec. 2015. <http://www.jstor.org.erl.lib.byu.edu/stable/23675133?seq=1#page_scan_tab_contents>

This is an extended analysis of Feste but also mentions his songs as well. Mostly I will use it for one quote that talks about how Shakespeare gives his own opinion on the action through the songs. It is important because I will be using the songs a lot in my analysis to describe the characters sweet or jarring-ness in the play.