Twelfth Night Study Guide

How does Duke Orsino characterize love? Duke Orsino says “If music be the food of love, play on.” Love is painful to bear, vivid, and fantastical.
Why does Olivia veil herself and avoid society? Olivia veils herself for 7 years in honor of her deceased brother, she is in mourning over him.
Why does Duke Orsino suppose that Olivia is capable of great passion? She has so much love and dedication to caring about her brother that passed. Duke Orsino thinks that Olivia will care for him in the same way.
How does the captain give Viola hope that her brother didn’t perish in the shipwreck? The captain says he saw her brother tie himself to a part of the mast of the ship to keep him from drowning.
Why does Viola chose to serve the Duke? Why does she assume a disguise? She wants to hide herself from the world until she is ready to reveal herself. She disguise herself as a eunuch.
How do Maria and Sir Toby disagree about the character of Sir Andrew Aquecheek? Maria thinks Sir Andrew is a fool with no future. Sir Toby disagrees saying he plays the violin and speaks many different languages, and is better than she thinks he is.
Why does Maria try to ridicule Sir Andrew? Sir Andrew is trying to chat her up in a foolish way.
What task does the Duke give Viola (Cesario)? To express the Dukes love to Olivia.
Why does the Duke trust Viola (Cesario)? Duke Orsino is fond of Cesario because he thinks Cesario is a young and attractive man.
What does Viola mean in the rhymed couplet that ends scene 4, what she says, “To woo your lady. Yet a barful strife!/who’er I woo, myself would be his wife”? Viola says it would be hard to get a lady to love Duke Orsino when she can’t even get a match for herself.
Why does Olivia tell Malvolio, “There is no slander in a allowed fool….”? If a fool mocks you, it’s not offensive, it’s his job.
Why does Viola pretend not to recognize Olivia as the lady of the house? To demolish her self/esteem.
In what subtle way does Viola contempt for the Duke’s manner of courting Olivia? Viola says if she was the Duke she would plant herself inside Olivia’s house and, would not leave until Olivia said yes.
What does Olivia reveal when she says, “Even so quickly may one catch the plague.”? She fell in love with him so quickly, she didn’t even know it was possible. (Quickly as catching the plague)
What does Olivia believe about love and destiny? Olivia believes that love is up to fate, not people and personalities.
Viola Viola—A young woman of aristocratic birth, and the plays protagonist. Washed up on the shore of Illyria when her ship is wrecked in a storm, Viola decides to make her own way in the world. She disguises herself as a young man, calling herself Cesario, and becomes a page to Duke Orsino. She ends up falling in love with Orsino—even as Olivia, the woman Orsino is courting, falls in love with Cesario. Thus, Viola finds that her clever disguise has entrapped her: she cannot tell Orsino that she loves him, and she cannot tell Olivia why she, as Cesario, cannot love her. Viola’s poignant plight is the central conflict in the play.
Orsino A powerful nobleman in the country of IIIyria. Orsino is lovesick for the beautiful Lady Olivia, but finds himself becoming more and more fond of his handsome new page boy, Cesario, who is actually a woman—Viola. Orsino is a vehicle through whom Shakespeare explores the absurdity of love. A supreme egotist, Orsino mopes around complaining how heartsick he is over Olivia, when it is clear that he is chiefly in love with the idea of being in love and enjoys making a spectacle of himself.
Olivia A wealthy, beautiful, and noble Illyrian lady. Olivia is courted by Orsino and Sir Andrew Aguecheek, but to each of them she insists that she is in mourning for her recently deceased brother and will not marry for seven years. Olivia and Orsino are similar characters in that each seems to enjoy wallowing in his or her own misery. Viola’s arrival in the masculine guise of Cesario enables Olivia to break free of her self-indulgent melancholy.
Sebastian Viola’s lost twin brother. When Sebastian arrives in Illyria, traveling with Antonio, his close friend and protector, he discovers that many people seem to think that they know him. Furthermore, the beautiful Lady Olivia, whom Sebastian has never met, wants to marry him.
Mavolio The straitlaced steward—or head servant—in the household of Lady Olivia. Malvolio is very efficient but also very self-righteous, and he has a poor opinion of drinking, singing, and fun. His priggishness and haughty attitude earn him the enmity of Sir Toby, Sir Andrew, and Maria, who play a cruel trick on him, making him believe that Olivia is in love with him. In his fantasies about marrying his mistress, Malvolio reveals a powerful ambition to rise above his social class.
Fool The clown, or court jester, of Olivia’s household. The Fool, also known as Feste, moves between Olivia’s and Orsino’s homes, earning his living by making pointed jokes, singing old songs, being generally witty, and offering good advice cloaked under a layer of foolishness. In spite of being a professional fool, Feste often seems the wisest character in the play.
Sir Toby Belch Olivia’s uncle. Olivia lets Sir Toby live with her but does not approve of his rowdy behavior, practical jokes, heavy drinking, late-night carousing, or friends (specifically the idiotic Sir Andrew). But Sir Toby has an ally—and eventually a mate—in Olivia’s sharp-witted servingwoman, Maria. Together, they bring about the triumph of fun and disorder, which Sir Toby embodies, and the humiliation of the controlling, self-righteous Malvolio.
Maria Olivia’s clever, daring young serving-woman. Maria is remarkably similar to her antagonist, Malvolio, who harbors aspirations of rising in the world through marriage. However, Maria succeeds where Malvolio fails—perhaps because she is more in tune than Malvolio with the anarchic, topsy-turvy spirit that animates the play.
Sir Andrew A friend of Sir Toby’s. Sir Andrew Aguecheek attempts to court Olivia, but he doesn’t stand a chance. He thinks that he is witty, brave, young, and good at languages and dancing, but he is actually a complete idiot.
Antonio A man who rescues Sebastian after his shipwreck. Antonio has become very fond of Sebastian, caring for him, accompanying him to Illyria, and furnishing him with money—all because of a love so strong that it seems to be romantic in nature. When the principal characters marry at the end of the play, Antonio is left out, his love for Sebastian unrequited.
Valentine and Curio Two gentlemen who work for Duke Orsino.
Fabian A servant in Olivia’s household. He assists Maria and Sir Toby in their plot to humiliate Malvolio.
Captain The sea captain who rescues Viola after the shipwreck. He helps Viola become a page to Duke Orsino and keeps her identity a secret.
Why does Sebastian send Antonio away? Sebastian thinks his bad luck will rub off on Antonio.
Why does Sebastian reproach Antonio for saving his life? Sebastian rather be dead with his sister.
Why does Viola refer to herself as a “poor monster”? She calls herself a “poor monster” implying that she is half way between man and woman.
Why doesn’t Viola (Cesario) simply tell Malvolio that she never gave Olivia a ring? What does this behavior reveal about Viola? Shows that Viola is very kind and doesn’t want Olivia to look like a fool.
What is the Fool’s song in this act? Love is now, not in a future.
Why does the Fool suddenly begin to speak nonsense such as “impeticos thy gratillity”? The fool is trying to amuse Sir Andrew.
How does Maria plan to punish Malvolio for his pride and conceit? Maria decides to write a letter to Malvolio in Olivia’s name.
What clues does Viola (Cesario) give the Duke as to her true identity? Viola tells Duke Orsino that she is all the daughter’s in her family implying that she is a girl.
What convinces Malvolio that truly is the author of the letter? Maria wrote in the exact same hand writing as Olivia and because the letter say MAOI and those letters are in Mavolio’s name.
How will obeying instructions in the letter cause Malovolio to appear foolish and vain? Malvolio is going to appear foolish and vain because Olivia dose not like yellow, she doesn’t like cross guarders, and she isn’t happy.
How do the fool’s observations about language reflect Viola’s situation? He expresses that sentences can be twisted around, which Viola experiences when she pretends to be Cesario.
Why does Viola admire the fool? What can you she learn from the fool’s art? He is ironically clever with words. Viola has to learn how to observe people’s moods and the quality of that person.
How does Sir Toby advise Sir Andrew to win Olivia’s love? Sir Toby tells Sir Andrew to write a letter to address the duel.
How does Maria’s letter affect Malvolio? Malvolio starts acting foolish and rude causing him to seem possessed to Olivia.
Why does Antonio insist on watching over Sebastian? He cares deeply for Sebastian and doesn’t want to anything to happen to Sebastian.
Why must Antonio conceal his presence in Illyria? He is wanted for arrest at Orsino’s Court, and they are looking for money.
How does Olivia react to Malvolio’s romantic attention? Olivia is confused and tells Sir Toby to see if Malvolio is okay. She doesn’t know what’s getting into him.
Why does Sir Toby encourage the duel between Sir Andrew and Viola/Cesario? Sir Toby encourages the duel because he wants two cowards trying to fight like girls.
Why does Antonio prevent the duel? What happens as a result of his interventions? Antonio wants to fight for Viola thinking she is Sebastian and then he gets arrested so there is no duel.
What does Viola realize after Antonio accuses her of being an ungrateful friend? That Antonio thinks Viola is Sebastian and thinks that Sebestian is being ungrateful, but Viola soon realizes that there’s hope that her brother is still alive.
Why is the Fool exasperated when he first meets Sebastain? Sebastain calls the fool silly and tell him to leave him alone, the fool thinks Sebastain is Cesario, Cesario and the fool have had long chats before so the fool is confused as to the way he is acting this way.
Why does the Fool mean when he says, “Nothing that is so is so”? The fool means “Nothing is what it is”, meaning nothing is ordinary and nothing is what it seems.
Why does Sebastain assume he is dreaming or everyone in Illyria is mad? Sebestian dosen’t understand why Olivia wants him to go to her house and why Sir Andrew punches him.
Why does the fool disguise himself as Sir Topas, the curate? He wants to pretend to be a priest, to fake an exorcism on Malvolio.
How does Sir Topas try to convince Malvolio that he is mad? He tells Malvolio that theres windows in the dark room he is in.
Why does Sebastian wonder if Olivia is mad? Sebastian wonders if Olivia is mad because he thinks she is crazy for proposing so fast.
Why does Olivia propose marriage? Olivia proposes to Sebestain thinking he is Cesario and there’s a priest right there. She is also deeply in love with Cesario.
What lesson does the fool teach Duke Orsino about self-knowledge? His friends lie to him and his enemies are straight-forward.
Why does Antonio accuse Antonio of ingratitude? Antonio believes Viola is Sebestain and didn’t return his purse.
What does Duke Orsino mean when he says, “I’ll sacrifice the lamb I do love/ To spite a raven’s heart with a dove”? He will kill Viola just to anger Olivia.
Why is Olivia confused in Viola’s presences? Olivia is in love with Viola and found out Cesario was a woman.
Why is Sebestain confused in Viola’s presence? Sebastian thinks Viola died in the shipwreck. Also, Viola is dressed up as a man.
How does Olivia become the Duke’s sister-in-law? Orsino and Sebastian get married. Also, Olivia and Sebastian get married making her his sister in law.
What excuse does Antonio make to the Duke? Antonio excuse is someone put a “love spell” on him and he saved Sebestain.
At the end of Twelfth Night which couples are married or engaged? Orsino and Viola (Engaged)Sebastian and Olivia (Married)Maria and Sir Toby (Married)
July 3, 2019