1. While the meaning of the song is essentially friend zoning, the lyrics better align with an important aspect of Orsino’s characteristic: his persistence for Olivia’s love. Anne-Marie accurately describes his desperateness through this bar:
“Have you got no shame? You looking insane
Turning up at my door
It’s two in the morning, the rain is pouring
Haven’t we been here before?”
This resonates with Orsino’s character because after sending messenger and messenger to her door, she still has no interest in him. Furthermore, the repetitiveness of this sequence is characterized by “Haven’t we been here before?” Lastly, his want for Olivia’s love surpasses moral precedence, going beyond societal norms and disregarding her despair and sorrow. “Have you got no shame?” can refer to his massive ego that blinds him from the consequences of his pursuit, as well as Cesario’s true identity.
2. Ed Sheeran expresses his want for a woman’s love in this piece, which is exactly what Orsino wants with Olivia. We can feel the pain that he expresses through this verse:
“Give me love like never before
‘Cause lately I’ve been craving more
And it’s been a while but I still feel the same
Maybe I should let you go
You know I’ll fight my corner
And that tonight I’ll call ya
After my blood is drowning in alcohol
No I just wanna hold ya”
This excerpt is a testament to Ed Sheeran’s desperateness for love and relates directly to Orsino’s obsession for Olivia: “And my desires, like fell and cruel hounds, E’er since pursue me” (1.1.23-24). Furthermore, the imagery in the music video for this song visualizes the feeling of wanting something that you can’t have–the characters portrayed are all lonely and isolated from the rest of society. This is tangential to Orsino’s position for Olivia, and the jealousy portrayed by the female lead in the music video is similar to his realization of Olivia’s attraction to Cesario: “I’ll sacrifice the lamb that I do love” (5.1.119).
3. This visual masterpiece is unique in the sense that the music video is completely black and white, symbolizing the absence of a fulfilling life. In Selena Gomez’s case, this is unrequited love that she cannot get even if her heart pushes her to continue trying:
“The bed’s getting cold and you’re not here
The future that we hold is so unclear
But I’m not alive until you call
And I’ll bet the odds against it all
Save your advice ’cause I won’t hear
You might be right, but I don’t care
There’s a million reasons why I should give you up
But the heart wants what it wants”
This meaning is synonymous to what Orsino feels to Olivia, especially the lack of fulfillment he feels without Olivia’s love exhibited by “But I’m not alive until you call.” All the red flags in his pursuit is resembled with “There’s a million reasons why I should give you up,” but his persistence is conveyed through her following line “But the heart wants what it wants.” Regardless of this recurring theme, I choose this song specifically because of the imagery and despair that the music video shows to the audience. Through this lens, the audience begins to feel sympathy for Orsino’s predisposition, which is something that the play largely avoids.
4. This Korean pop song by Day6 encapsulates the post-rejection feeling and realization of the bounds of your relationship with someone. To Orsino’s story, this represents how he can never have Olivia’s love and her constant rejections–even though she plays with him by seeing “how he [Orsino] takes it” (1.5.252). The following verse captures a possible thought process that may have been going through his mind post-rejection–him questioning reality and going through the stages of grief, specifically denial:
“여태 받던 싸늘한 느낌 (The cold feeling that I’ve received so far)
그저 착각일지도 (Maybe it’s just an illusion)
여기서 알아야 갈 수 있어 (We need to know from here before we can get there)
Do you even love me now?”
The first line represents Olivia rejecting Orsino, followed by him questioning the reality of that situation, hoping that “it’s just an illusion.” The third line is him wanting to hear back from her again – essentially asking for another rejection – to get a more direct rejection. The English line of this song is rhetorical in the context of the entire song, and is more or less a plea for reconciliation.
5. This Chinese single details infatuation and crushing on someone, which is another aspect of Orsino’s character towards Olivia. This is summarized well by the following verse:
“眼色 是幻觉泳池边你的身影勾成线 (The way you look at me is like an illusion by the swimming pool)
温热 蔓延 (Warmth spreading out)
多少个午夜 肆无忌惮 醉梦酣欢无意追逐 无法止步热度 包围了我
(How many times at midnight will I drink to my heart’s content, without any intention to chase or stop?)
All I wanna do is fool around”
I interpreted the first line as a take on how Orsino never speaks to Olivia directly, despite being completely infatuated and in love with her. The illusion is that he loves someone that he never even seen or spoke too. I also interpret the second line as Olivia reaching beyond her state of mourning and spreading out to Cesario, building on the illusion that Orsino exhibits with Cesario’s true identity. The next line is a rendition of Orsino’s persistence yet he never “chases” her and goes directly to where she lives, instead resorting to messengers and alternate methods of communication. Along with his ego, this almost hysterical romance could also be seen as him messing around and not valuing Olivia’s space.
6. This Japanese song by the duo YOASOBI is stylized as a love letter, relating to the importance of them in various Shakespeare plays and the role of messengers in Twelfth Night. I chose this song to focus on the consequences that Orsino faces personally due to his indirect communication and use of messengers to seek Olivia’s hand; the following excerpt emphasizes these:
“ねえもっと触れていたいよ (Hey, I want to feel you more)
ずっとそばにいてほしいよ (I want you to always stay by my side)
いつまでも大好きなあなたが (I hope you, who I love)
響いていますように (will always resound forever)
こんなたくさんの気持ちぎゅっと詰め込んだ想い
(So much emotions I have, and these tightly packed feelings)
ちゃんと伝えられたかな (I wonder if I can properly convey them to you?)
ちょっとだけ不安だけど (Although, I’m a bit worried)
きっと届いてくれたよね (But they would surely reach you, right?)
The first three lines outline Orsino’s wants towards Olivia, following with his infatuation. The next two lines depict the downsides of him going through other people to communicate his feelings, and the worriedness is a foreshadowing for how Olivia fell in love with Cesario, while communicating Orsino’s love to her. This comedic interplay is something that Orsino isn’t aware or worried about, but to the audience’s perspective, it is a definite possibility because of the true identity that Cesario really is.
7. This song by Harry Styles is the definition of infatuation, with this verse ¬– or similar renditions of it – being repeated throughout the song:
“Honey (ah)
I’d walk through fire for you
Just let me adore you
Oh, honey (ah)
I’d walk through fire for you
Just let me adore you
Like it’s the only thing I’ll ever do
Like it’s the only thing I’ll ever do”
Aligning with all the past songs, this again represents his persistence and unbridled love for Olivia. I believe that if he had to choose her or anything else in the world, he would choose Olivia, which is synonymous to the last two repeated lines of the verse stating “Like it’s the only thing I’ll ever do.” However, the addition of this song to the playlist is unique in the sense that the music video sets place in a mythical and magical world, similar to Illyria in Twelfth Night. The narrative portrayed alongside the music video is eccentric but tells the story of letting go and finding a new path in life, which is contemporary advice offered to those going through Orsino’s situation today.