Name____________________________________
Date__________________________Period______
Twelfth Night; Or, What You Will
ACT I Scene I - An apartment in the Duke’s palace
1.
Define the words “surfeiting” and “hart.” What evidence is there that the Duke’s love for
Olivia is idealistic and he is enjoying the idea of being in love with her?
_________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________
2. One of the continuing motifs in this play is the idea of excess. The Duke seems to be
carrying his desire to be in love to excess. What excessive behavior is Olivia pursuing?
What is the Duke’s reaction to this behavior?
_________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________
3. Where is the Duke going at the end of Scene I? Since he claims to be overcome with love
for Olivia, why do you think he does not go to see her himself?
_________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________
Scene II - The sea-coast
1.
Define “Elysium.” What does the Captain say that gives Viola some hope that her brother
survived the shipwreck?
_________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________
2. Define “eunuch.” List the two plans Viola conceives to help her conceal her name and
rank in this strange land. Which one does she decide to follow?
_________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________
3. One of the overall themes of this play is the confusion between appearance and reality.
In Elizabethan theaters there were no actresses; all of the women’s parts were played by
young boys. How does this fact help to enhance this theme?
_________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________
Scene III - Olivia’s house
1.
The word “confine” in Shakespeare’s time meant “to clothe,” in addition to meaning “to
restrict.” Why is the following passage from the play an example of a pun?
Confine? I’ll confine myself no finer than I am: these clothes are good enough to drink
in; and so be these boots too:-an they be not, let them hang themselves in their own
straps. (I, iii)
_________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________
2. List four of the unfavorable traits Maria attributes to Sir Andrew Aguecheek? What does
Sir Toby say in Andrew’s defense?
_________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________
3. Discuss the relationship between Sir Toby and Sir Andrew. Why does Sir Toby want Sir
Andrew to remain a guest in Olivia’s house?
_________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________
4. In Shakespeare’s time there were basically only two classes of people: the nobility and
everyone else; in his plays the nobility usually speak in verse, but the servants use prose.
If this rule is generally true, why then do you think Sir Toby and Sir Andrew speak in
prose, just like Olivia’s servant Maria?
_________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________
Scene IV - The Duke’s palace
1.
Why does the Duke believe that Viola/Cesario will be more successful than the other
messengers at getting in to see Olivia?
_________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________
2. What does Viola say in the aside at the end of this scene that adds a complication to
the plot?
_________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________
3.
Find a line in this scene demonstrating that the Duke treats Cesario with a great deal of
trust and affection.
_________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________
Scene V - Olivia’s house
1.
What does the Clown reveal about Maria and Sir Toby in the following passage from
this scene?
“If Sir Toby would leave drinking, thou wert as witty a piece of Eve’s flesh as any in
Illyria.” (I, v)
_________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________
2. The following line from this scene is spoken by the Clown when he is alone on stage.
What do you think Shakespeare is telling the audience about the importance of the
Clown’s role in the play?
“Better a witty fool than a foolish wit.” (I, v)
_________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________
3. How does the Clown show Olivia her own foolish behavior? Why doesn’t she punish
him for pointing out the flaws in her behavior?
_________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________
4. What is Olivia’s opinion of Malvolio?
_________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________
5. List the three levels of a drunken man, as explained by Feste. What evidence is there
that Olivia cares about Sir Toby’s well-being despite his drunkenness?
_________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________
6. Why does Olivia agree to see the messenger?
_________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________
7. What concessions does Viola/Cesario manage to get from Olivia before delivering
Orsino’s message?
_________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________
8. In what way can the following line from this scene be interpreted as both a compliment
and an insult? What other insult does Viola/Cesario give to Olivia in this scene?
Excellently done, if God did all. (I,v)
_________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________
9. List the ways Viola/Cesario would try to win Olivia’s heart if he/she were the Duke.
_________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________
10. What evidence is there that Olivia likes Viola? How does she make sure that she will see
the messenger again?
_________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________
11.
At the end of this scene why do you think Olivia is willing to turn her life over to fate?
I do I know not what, and fear to find
Mine eye too great a flatterer for my mind.
Fate, show thy force: ourselves we do not owe;
What is decreed must be, and be this so. (I, v)
_________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________
12. Why do you think Olivia speaks in both prose and verse in this scene?
_________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________
13. Identify the speaker of each of the following quotes from Act I
a. “If music be the food of love, play on;”
______________________________________________________________________
b. “Thou shalt present me as an eunuch to him,”
______________________________________________________________________
c. “You mistake, knight; ‘accost’ is front her, board her, woo her, assail her.”
______________________________________________________________________
d. “Be clamorous and leap all civil bounds,”
______________________________________________________________________
e. “Whoe’er I woo, myself would be his wife.”
______________________________________________________________________
f. “By my troth, Sir Toby, you must come in earlier o’ nights: your cousin, my lady,
takes great exceptions to your ill hours.”
______________________________________________________________________
g. “Better a witty fool than a foolish wit.”
______________________________________________________________________
h. “He is very well-favoured, and he speaks very shrewishly; one would think his
mother’s milk were scarce out of him.”
______________________________________________________________________
i. “Excellently done, if God did all.”
______________________________________________________________________
j. “If that the youth will come this way tomorrow,
I’ll give him reasons for ‘t: hie thee, Malvolio.”
______________________________________________________________________