Five Claims

1. 
   Although many scholars believe that Feste only sings “Come Away Death” as a result of a practical revision made by Shakespeare, having Feste sing the song links Viola as a listener with Orsino, and suggests a negative critique of her love in addition to Orsino’s. (Causal Claim)
2. Although the songs in Twelfth Night initially seem as superfluous and light-hearted as the rest of the play, they serve as a bridge to the more serious themes in Shakespeare’s later comedies and tragedies, because of their real-life commentary on the characters and the emphasis Shakespeare places on this commentary through the prominent placement of the songs in the play. (Definition Claim).
3. Even though creating new music often satisfies an audience’ expectations for a new interpretation of a Shakespeare play, it is better to use popular melodies that people are aware of in most adaptations of Shakespeare’s songs since Shakespeare often used melodies from popular ballads that people were familiar with in order to create effects in his plays that would be lost without this familiarity. (Evaluation Claim)
4. Although some of the words may be cut, all the songs in Twelfth Night should be preserved in an adaptation, because cutting any of them would lose the serious messages that separate Twelfth Night from Shakespeare’s more light-hearted comedies.
5. The songs in Twelfth Night function for Shakespeare as soliloquies do for his characters, allowing him to make authorial comments about the shallowness of the comedic genre.