Character Analysis Paper—Twelfth Night
None of the characters in the play are flat. They are all—even the ones with the fewest lines, like Antonio—multifaceted. Think about the characters traits sheet you did in Act 2. To assign traits to the characters, you had to analyze
them—you had to think about what they said and did, and make inferences about what those words and actions showed
about the characters. It was words and actions that made you decide that Orsino was egotistical, or that Andrew was
cowardly, or that Toby, as blustery as he was, really was soft-hearted, or that the Fool, despite his “fooling around” all the
time was very perceptive.
For this essay, you will choose a character in the play that interests you to analyze. What makes this character tick? What
kind of person is s/he? What is s/he motivated by? Do all of the pre-writing activities (on a separate sheet) to help you
come to some conclusions about your character.
You will then write an essay of at least 500 words, typed, double-spaced, using MLA format (see the back of this sheet for
reminders about MLA formatting), discussing your findings about your character. All opinions must be supported with
textual evidence. You can organize your essay in whatever way seems appropriate to you, although however you
organize it, be sure to have an interesting introduction and satisfying conclusion as well as many important things to say in
the middle.
REQUIREMENTS:
*An interesting introduction, which mentions the author and title of the work (play titles are put in italics), and ends with
your (insightful) thesis statement. This statement should probably be a complex sentence to express a complex idea
about the character.
*Each paragraph needs a topic sentence and be supported with many specific details (including at least one quote—
several would probably be better).
*Two or three conclusions about your character, backed up with textual evidence. (These will make the “body”
paragraphs of your essay. You might include changes your character undergoes during the course of the play, and the
most important moment(s) in the play for your character as part of the support for your conclusions.
*A satisfying conclusion, which wraps up your discussion and leaves the reader with something interesting to think about.
*Typed, double-spaced, using MLA format.
QUESTIONS ABOUT USING “TEXTUAL EVIDENCE”
What is textual evidence? Textual evidence is lines from the play which demonstrate what you want to show. For
example, if you wanted to show that Orsino had really liked Viola all along, you might use the lines “whom, by heaven I
swear, I tender dearly”(5.1.128) and “I have unclasped/To thee the book even of my secret soul”(1.4.14-15).
How do I use “textual evidence” to prove my point? The lines you have chosen to show your ideas must be worked
into your own sentences. Each quote must be 1) introduced—i.e. placed in its proper context, 2) given, worked into your
own sentence, and then 3) explained how that quote shows what you want it to show.
For example, you could use the lines above like this:
Although Orsino appears to switch his allegiance rapidly
between Olivia and Viola, he has been fond of Viola all
along. At the beginning of the play, after knowing Viola
(as Cesario) for only three days, he already says to her
that he has “unclasped to [her] the book even of
[his]secret soul”(1.4.14-15). He confides in her, which
shows that he trusts her.
At the end of the play, when Olivia still refuses to have
anything to do with him and he wants to get even with
Olivia through Cesario, he tells Olivia that he “tenders”
Cesario “dearly”(5.1.128), which is frankly admitting his
affection.
How do I document the lines I use? Every quote must be followed by the act, scene and line number(s). Different
editions of the plays may have different page numbers, but the line numbers should all be the same. The parentheses go
after the quotation mark, but before the final punctuation. See the above examples.
DUE DATE:
Staple all preliminary work (preliminary answers, free-write, conclusion sheets with quotes) behind your final paper.
It will be graded according to:
*understanding of character
*backing up of ideas with specific textual references,
*development of ideas
*organizing of ideas
+proof-reading
MLA FORMAT:
Last Name, page #
Your name
word count
Ms. Martin
Advanced English 10
Date
Interesting Title (same size and font as rest of paper)
Start typing here. Everything is double-spaced, with no extra spaces between
paragraphs. Paragraph should be indented one tab space.