1. 911/Mr. Lonely, a two part song by Tyler, captures the loneliness and the fabricated relationships that Feste experiences through the play. When Tyler sings “911, call me some time” , he suggests that his phone number is similar to 911 because he only picks up for emergencies, further implying that people only call him to ask him for things rather than to genuinely talk to him and check up on him. This is analogous to Feste because he is only called upon for his role as a fool. Even Tyler’s later references to his riches not meaning anything without someone to share it with him is comparable to Feste being dissatisfied with his role as a fool, and his implied leave of absence before the play even starts. Moreover, Feste’s role as a loud, witty comedian eventually turning him bitter and him not being able to do anything about it corresponds to Tyler singing “They say the loudest in the room is weak…I say the loudest in the room is probably the loneliest one in the room.” Finally, the gloomy mood of the song is similar to Feste’s spiraling to bitterness and him being left alone at the end.
2. Heard ’em say by Kanye depicts Feste’s battle between job insecurity and identity crisis. When Olivia asks where he has been and Feste gets his job back, there is an implication that due to his liminal role and identity crisis he simply did not care (at the time) if Olivia replaced him permanently. When Kanye asserts that “this is in the name of love like Robert say”, he utilizes a pun referencing R. Kelly’s song but also referencing “robbers” and how they steal to support themselves and their families (“in the name of love”). Not only is this phrase characteristic of Feste’s wittiness and wordplay, but also Feste’s “tricking” Olivia into believing she is a fool in order to get his job back. Moreover, he exclaims when he sees Olivia for the first time after coming back “Wit, an’t be thy will, put me into good fooling!” in hopes of keeping his job. Similarly, Kanye’s melancholy tone throughout the song and chorus of “I heard ‘em say, Nothing’s ever promised tomorrow today” describes his belief that there are no guarantees in life and is analogous to Feste’s job insecurities as shown by Feste’s attempts to keep his job and his silence when Malvolio comments on his loss of wit.
3. We don’t care by Kanye encapsulates Feste’s roles and decisions throughout his life and the play.
The entire song is about not caring what anybody thinks in order to “get by”, a direct connection to Feste’s participation in his job—his and others’ amusement— in order to get by and his indifference in the outcome of his actions (like his tricking Malvolio). Moreover, In the opening of the song, Kanye sings, “Drug dealin’ just to get by, stack your money till it get sky high”; this is analogous to Feste’s role as a fool and despite his omniscience, his inability to express truths to fulfill his duty of serving Olivia and ultimately keep his job. Finally, Feste states “cucullus non facit monachum”, or in other words, I may dress as a fool but I am not one, which is similar to Kanye’s twisted reverence of the hustlers and even drug dealers in his childhood neighborhood; while society may judge Kanye and those figures for dealing, Kanye asserts that they will never understand as they were the “only adult man that I knew wasn’t broke, man.”
4. Is there anybody here? by the Dear Hunter highlights the loneliness and bitterness that may result from Feste’s liminal role as the fool. The Dear Hunter cries out for an explanation of his loneliness, saying, “Who can tell me where I am? Or at least where I have been? Because I fear I’m lost, and I cannot be found again.” Similar to Feste’s inability to change his identity and his potential loss of identity, the Dear Hunter longs for an answer as to what they truly are and have been. Not only does Feste’s liminal role of never belonging to a group and not being particularly affected by outcomes despite his constant instigation of events, but his limitations in expressing his true self in order to remain a servant of Olivia’s leads to him losing genuine emotions.
5. The song itself—the tone, hurried rhythm and voice—comes off as extremely fast, anxious, and paranoid, which is relevant to Feste’s constant need to come up with jokes in order to keep his job. Moreover, Kanye pours disdain into his voice as he describes a cousin who stole his laptop with sensitive material as a “dirty motherf*cker”, similar to Feste’s grudge against Malvolio when Malvolio doubts his wit and Feste has no reply. Moreover, Kanye describes his lavish lifestyle and his desire to partake in entertainment throughout the song, which directly correlates to Feste’s role and the very definition of him being a fool. Directly after his verse describing his desire, Kanye says that fans doubted him rapping again “but the writer’s block is over”, similar to Feste relentlessly finding amusement and creating ways to torment Malvolio.
6. Everything I am by Kanye represents Feste’s role because Feste himself is one who obtains a magnitude of information, and yet isn’t allowed to convey any of his knowledge to anybody else without risk of losing his job or his societal role as a fool. For instance, the fact that he has an idea of who Viola is. Kanye describes his similar role as a societal outcast and asserts in his song that “Everything I’m not made me everything I am.” Furthermore, he describes how he’ll “never be picture-perfect Beyonce, be as black as Al B or light as Chauncey”, similar to Feste’s liminal ground as neither a lowly servant nor an upperclassman, and these characteristics make him who he is—a servant of Olivia, the fool. Moreover, Kanye talks about how many killings Chicago had in the past year, and the fact that no other people seem to realize or want to state—that killing is some “wack shit” unless people are rapping about it, similar to Feste’s omniscience throughout the play and his twisting various situations into humor.
7. Heavy by Linkin Park represents Feste’s role as a fool because of Feste’s unique role in the play of being a Fool. As a Fool, Feste’s entire role is to amuse his masters with his wit and humor; moreover, he is granted freedoms and privileges that others aren’t. Yet, he is constrained in many aspects: for instance, while he is able to get close to almost all of the characters, he is subservient to people of higher status like Olivia, and above servants like Malvolio. It’s even implied that Feste leaves and comes back at the beginning of the play because he needed a break from his liminal role, directly expressed by the verse “I keep dragging around what’s bringing me down, if I’d just let go I’d be set free.” Feste “dragging around” his state of liminality turns him into a bitter person, as shown by his mannerisms and even Shakespeare’s decision to have Feste alone at the end of the play.