Twelfth Night
Reading Questions: Act 1
Act I, scene 1: Orsino’s palace
1. What is Orsino asking for in the first few lines? Why?(1-3)
2. Why does Orsino tell the musicians to stop playing? (7-8)
3. What words does Orsino use to describe love?
4. What does this speech show us about Orsino’s feelings about love?
5. Explain the pun with “hart” and “heart” in lines 19-24.
6. What does the author mean by “eye-offending brine? (32)
7. Why will Olivia hide her face and cry for seven years? (30-33)
8. Do you find this overdramatic? Why?
9. Why is Orsino impressed with Olivia’s behavior?(35-38)
10. What is “the rich golden shaft” and what is it going to do to Olivia?
11. Who is the “one self king”?
12. What words does Orsino use to describe love?
13. What does this scene show us about Orsino’s feelings about love?
**Discussion:
What are your first impressions of Olivia? Orsino?
How is the Duke’s version of love strange?
How is the Duke different from the Duke in A Midsummer Night’s Dream?
What is the setting of the play?
What barriers do you see so far?
Act I, scene 2: The sea-coast of Illyria
1. What happened to Viola’s brother?(4-5)
2. How does the Captain try to reassure Viola?(11-16)
3. Why does the name Orsino sound familiar to Viola?(30-31)
4. What does the Captain tell us about Olivia? (38-43)
5. Why does Viola want to serve Olivia?(44-47)
6. What does Viola mean by her metaphor: “And though that nature with a beauteous
wall / Doth oft close in pollution?
7. What does Viola ask of the Captain? (55-59)
8. Why does Viola want to be presented as a eunuch?
**Discussion:
What is strange about Olivia’s excuse for not accepting the Duke’s proposals?
Is Viola sincere in her sadness after losing her brother?
How is Viola’s reaction to her brother’s death different than Olivia’s?
The Disguise:
Why would Viola want to disguise herself ?
How is this a logical plan after being shipwrecked?
Why does she want to work for the Duke?
Why doesn’t Viola just ask the Duke for help instead of disguising?
How does this scene answer the questions, “how do you get what you want” (theme)?
Do you think it would have made more sense to place Sc. 2 before sc. 1? Why?
Twelfth Night Questions
Act I, scene 3: Olivia’s house
1. What is Sir Toby’s complaint about Olivia (lines 1-3)?
2. Why does Maria reprimand Toby? (14-17)
3. What do we learn about Andrew Aguecheek? (204. Explain the misunderstanding in lines (48-58).
5. What does Sir Andrew mean by “But what’s your jest”? (74)
6. Why does Sir Andrew get frustrated? (90-93)
7. Why is Sir Andrew going to stay a month longer? (106-111).
8. How does Sir Toby convince him to stay? (106-108)
9. What do you think the galliard, the coranto and the sink-a-pace are? Why does
Toby ask Andrew if he is familiar with them? (124-125).
***Discussion
What do we learn about Toby, Maria, and Andrew Aguecheek in this scene?
What is Maria’s opinion of Sir Andrew? What is Toby’s?
Puns: How many did we see in this scene?
What is the purpose of this subplot?
Act I. Scene 4: The Duke’s Palace
1. How do the Duke and Viola get along? (1-4)
2. Who is Cesario? (11)
3. Where does Orsino want Viola to go? (15-17)
4. According to Orsino, why is Viola a better candidate to go see Olivia? (32-36)
5. Why is Viola’s duty a “barful strife”? (44-45)
***Discussion:
What do you think about the manner in which the Duke’s speaks to Viola/Cesario?
How do you think Viola would react to lines 32-36?
Why doesn’t Orsino go see Olivia himself?
What is the dramatic irony in this scene?
What do you think Viola sees in Orsino?
Act I. Scene 5 : Olivia’s house
1. Why will Olivia be angry with Feste?
2. Maria and Feste are like a comedy duo, scoring points off each other in quick-fire
exchanges. How does Feste insult Maria? (26-28)
3. What does Olivia mean when she says, “You are a dry fool”? (41)
4. How does Feste use a pun on “dry” to change its meaning? (44)
5. What “truth” does Feste divulge in his pun about “mending”? (47-50)
6. What does Feste mean when he says, “cucullus non facit monachum”? (57)
7. What does Olivia challenge Feste to do? (62)
8. How does he do it? (73)
9. Why does Malvolio think Feste is such a good fool? (76-78)
10. How does Olivia react when Feste insults Malvolio? (83, 93-95)
11. What is ironic about Malvolio’s description of Viola/Cesario? (159-165)
12. Explain the irony in line 186.
13. Why does Olivia take off her veil?
14. Why do you think Viola speaks in verse and Olivia speaks in prose?
15. Why does Olivia ask Cesario what his parentage is?
16. What message does Olivia send back to Orsino?
17. What does Olivia mean by her aside, “Even so quickly may one catch the
plague”? (301)
18. Why does Olivia give Malvolio a ring to give to Cesario? (309-313)
19. Why does Olivia appeal to Fate at the end of this scene?
Discussion:
Being the fool. Who are the fools in this scene? How?
What kind of person is Malvolio? What do you notice about the way he speaks?
What do you notice about Feste’s puns?
Why does Feste get away with speaking the way he does to people?
What themes / motifs do you see forming?
Compare Olivia and Viola’s personalities.
Twice in this scene, the subtitle of the play is echoed. Can you find it? Why do you
think Shakespeare includes these subtle references?