TWELFTH NIGHT - Questions and Activities
LONGMAN STUDY TEXT:
Keep a profile of each character, using the following format:
· Name
· Social Position
· First appearance/gut reaction
· Appearances in the play
· Memorable things he/she says
· What others say about him/her
· Probable costume/appearance
· Role in the plot
· Relationship with others.
ACT 1
1-What is Orsino talking about at the start of the play, and what has prompted his words?
2-How does Viola arrive on the island of Illyria, and who comes with her?
3-How is Sir Andrew Aguecheek described by Toby Belch and Maria before he appears on the stage?
4-What job does Viola have in Orsino’s household? How does she disguise herself?
5-How does Malvolio treat Olivia and Feste when he first appears?
6-How does Olivia behave towards the disguised Viola?
7-What does Olivia say about Viola after she has left?
Activities
1-Note down your impressions of the love felt by Orsino for Olivia, Viola for Sebastian, Viola for Orsino, and Olivia for Cesario/Viola. Who do you feel loves the most sincerely, and why? What do you think would happen if Orsino knew of Viola’s love?
2-What qualities did the Elizabethans look for in perfect love? Are they important to modern lovers?
ACT 2
1-How does Sebastian come onto the island of Illyria, and who comes with him?
2-What does Malvolio give to Viola, and what is her reaction to the gift?
3-What song does Feste sing to Sir Andrew and Sir Toby? How do they respond to his singing?
4-Why does Maria come out of the house to see Andrew and Toby?
5-Why does Malvolio come out of the house to see them?
6-What plot does Maria plan to use against Malvolio?
7-When Orsino asks the disguised Viola if she has ever been in love, how does she reply?
8-What song does Feste sing at Orsino’s request?
9-What differences does Orsino note between the way that men and women behave when they are in love?
10-What does Malvolio find in Olivia’s garden? How does he react to it?
Activities
Malvolio is one of the key characters in this act. We hear his inner thoughts in Act 2, Scene 3, and we see him falling for Maria’s joke upon him. Look at the scenes in which he appears, and answer these questions:
1-What does Malvolio’s conversation with Viola in Act 2, Scene 2 lines 1-15 tell us about his character?
2-Malvolio is awakened by Sir Toby’s loud singing in II.iii.85-124. What does this scene tell us about Malvolio’s behavior and Toby’s opinion of him?
3-What adjectives would you use to describe his character in reference to his speculations about becoming Olivia’s husband in II.iii.?
4-Looking at the act as a whole, what do you think of his character? What is his opinion of himself?
5-What do you think will happen when Malvolio goes to Olivia?
6-What do you think will happen when Malvolio discovers the letter was only a joke?
7-Toby calls Maria “thou most excellent devil of wit” (II.v.204-5) for designing the joke which they play on Malvolio. Do you think it is a good joke? What do you think the audience would find funny about the joke? About the act as a whole?
ACT 3
1-Who does Viola meet in Olivia’s garden on the way to see Olivia?
2-How does Olivia behave towards Viola when Viola goes to see her?
3-What do Fabian and Toby persuade Andrew to do?
4-Why is it dangerous for Antonio to be seen walking in the streets of Illyria?
5-What does Antonio give to Sebastian before he leaves him, and where do they plan to meet?
6-What is Malvolio wearing when he comes to see Olivia in her garden? How does he behave to Toby and Olivia?
7-What does Olivia think is wrong with Malvolio, and what does she suggest should be done about this?
8-What does Olivia give Viola?
9-Who does Viola meet on leaving Olivia’s garden, and how does this person behave towards her?
10-What happens to Antonio at the end of the act? Why does he blame Viola for what happens?
Activities
1-Toby sets up a fight between Cesario/Viola and Andrew in which he profits (by getting Andrew’s horse and enjoying the joke), and which provides comic action for the audience. In what ways is this trick similar to the joke played on Malvolio in Act II? How do you think the audience would respond to this scene? Do you think this is a good joke?
2-In III.iv.337-390, Viola thinks she hears news of her twin brother Sebastian. How does she react, and what does this scene as a whole tell us about Viola’s character, her feelings for Sebastian, and her position as Cesario?
ACT 4
1-Who does Feste think Sebastian is at the beginning of the act? Why has he made this mistake?
2-Why does Olivia defend Sebastian when he is about to fight with Toby?
3-Who does Feste disguise himself as, and why?
4-What does Malvolio ask Feste for?
5-What precious gift does Olivia give to Sebastian?
6-What request does Olivia make of Sebastian?
7-What does Sebastian think is wrong with Olivia or himself?
Activities
1-Make a note of all the characters who have hidden their true selves from one another, either through a direct disguise or pretending that they are something that they are not. Make a diagram about the different kinds of deceit in the play. What are the good and bad motives of those who deceive? What would the audience’s reaction be to each of the different deceptions?
2-One of the unusual things about Twelfth Night, as compared to other Shakespearean plays, is the lack of family relationships, particularly between parents and children. In Twelfth Night, we see the relationships between uncle and niece, and between twins. What do you learn of Shakespeare’s view of family from these two relationships?
3-There are several friendships in this play, some of which are happy and healthy, and others which are not. Note down the positive and negative aspects of the friendships of Toby and Andrew; Antonio and Sebastian; Maria and Toby; Maria and Andrew; Fabian and Toby; Maria and Feste.
ACT 5
1-What doe Fabian want Feste to give him?
2-When did Orsino last see Antonio, and what was his impression of him then?
3-Viola and Orsino are about to leave Olivia when Olivia calls Viola something. What does she call her, and what effect does the word have on Orsino?
4-What does the priest reveal, on Olivia’s instructions?
5-What has happened to Andrew and Toby just before they come onto the stage?
6-When Sebastian enters, what does he say to Olivia and then to Antonio?
7-What is the reaction of the other characters when Sebastian comes on stage?
8-What is the general gist of the letter which Fabian reads to Olivia? Who is it from?
9-What does Mavolio give to Olivia when he comes on stage? How does she react to this?
10-What does Feste sing at the end of the play?
Activity
By the end of the play, three couples have ended up married. What does the play and, in particular, this act teach us about the following aspects of love:
· Unrequited love
· Love in marriage
· Bother and sister love
· Love of servant and master
· Self-love
· The difference in how and man and a woman love
· The way in which people m idolize their loved ones.
TEXT EXAMINATION:
Stylistic features:
I.v.274-282
I.i.1-15
II.ii.24-31
II.iv.15-22,29-34
Style and imagery: II.iv.73-9; III.i.34-45; III.i.129-40; V.i.114-125.
Compare these passages to the following sonnets:
I.v.244-8,256-9,270-4 to 139
I.v.236-55 to sonnet 2
II.iv.14-41, 94-119 to 116.
Essay: Discuss the various types of love found in Twelfth Night.