Question

Read the excerpt from Twelfth Night, by William Shakespeare. If music be the food of love, play on; Give me excess of it, that, surfeiting, The appetite may sicken, and so die. That strain again! it had a dying fall: O, it came o'er my ear like the sweet sound, That breathes upon a bank of violets, Stealing and giving odour! Now read the excerpt from "The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock." For I have known them all already, known them all: Have known the evenings, mornings, afternoons, I have measured out my life with coffee spoons; I know the voices dying with a dying fall Beneath the music from a farther room. What does the phrase “dying fall” most likely mean in both excerpts?

Answer 1

The phrase 'dying fall' symbolizes a decrease in sound or feeling until it fades away, used to portray fleeting emotions in both 'Twelfth Night' and 'The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock.'

Step-by-step explanation:

The phrase “dying fall” in both Twelfth Night by William Shakespeare and "The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock" by T.S. Eliot carries a similar connotation. It suggests a diminuendo or a decrease in the sound or feeling until it fades to silence, which in the context of these works, may reflect a waning of emotion or passion as well. In Twelfth Night, the phrase indicates the fleeting nature of the musical notes and possibly of love's satisfaction. In contrast, Prufrock's use of the phrase reflects the speaker's sense of life's monotony and the repetitive, uneventful passing of time, as indicated by the reference of measuring his life with spoons.

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Answer 2

My best guess is that it means "slowly faded away." i'm not sure though. The 12th night is a great play though.