STUDY QUESTIONS FOR TWELFTH NIGHT

 

  1. What is a "twelfth night"? What is the significance of the title?
  2. Back in the olden times (pre-WWI), when poets were supposed to be sources for wisdom, a favorite topic for readers of the play was "Shakespeare's attitude toward pleasure." What is Shakespeare's wisdom on pleasure? Is it a significant theme in the play?
  3. In considering your answer to question #1, you might want to consider the theme of friends in the play. What does the play tell us about Shakespeare's concept of friends? How does Shakespeare view the relationship between friendship and society? What is Shakespeare suggesting about the ideal of friendship and the realities of society? You might want to research, a little, how different Elizabethan classes viewed the nature and function of friendship.
  4. A closely related theme to friendship is love. What does the play suggest about the nature of love? Also, more specifically, what might Shakespeare be suggesting about the relationship between love and friendship by blurring the sex roles in the play?
  5. A closely related theme to love is sexual identity. Is Shakespeare attempting to tell us something provocative about sex roles, especially in relation to same-sex relationships and androgyny?
  6. What are four characteristics that would make this a Renaissance play?
  7. What are four characteristics that would make this an English play?
  8. The play's opening lines cite music. How many songs are there in the play? In which scenes do they appear? Is there a pattern in their a) placement, b) content/subject, or c) theme?
  9. What is the role of madness in the play? A) Why is Malvolio classified as mad? B) What was the Elizabethan definition of madness? C) Is Shakespeare, significantly, suggesting that Malvolio is actually mad? D) How does madness relate to the other characters?

10.To benefit fully from reading Shakespeare, you should read accurately and creatively:

  1. Accurately:

i.Where is the setting of the play? What is its significance?

ii.Who was Sebastian's father?

iii. Why is Fabian angry at Malvolio?

iv.Why is Antonio in danger?

v. What identity does Feste assume, to interrogate Malvolio?

  1. Creatively

i).How can you, by reading creatively, argue that the play's central characters are despicable? Why would Shakespeare include such a possible reading in a comedy?

ii).The play was supposedly first staged in 1602. How does it function as a prophecy of the 17th Century?

11.Shakespeare is known, of course, for his language. Cite at least two memorable passages. In fact, you might want to memorize them!