12th night

A great while ago the world begun,
with hey, ho, the wind and the rain
but that's all one, our play is done,
And we'll strive to please you every day.

-feste

when I read this part of the poem it makes me think about the book of Ecclesiastes. It is a short book in the bible that is similar to this poem. At the end of Ecclesiastes King Solomon sums up life by saying that he searched the world and tried everything he could to try to please himself but through life he figured out that the only thing that was really pleasing and really mattered was to please God. Is it ironic or what that Feste would say and we'll strive to please you? yes I think he's talking to the audience but if the song is taken from Ecclesiastes then what Feste( Shakespeare) is really saying is what really matters is to please God. Another reason why I think this is because the poem is about a man's life and so is Ecclesiastes. Solomon talks about how he searched the world to find pleasure but there is nothing new under the sun. there is a season(time) for everything and he goes on to list these things. I wish I had my bible with me right now and I could give you some real examples of how Feste's song and Ecclesiastes are parallel to each other. I guess what scholars say about carnival vs. religion would be right. why else would this song be so much like Ecclesiastes unless he was trying to tie it all back to lent.