Drama: Twelfth Night AO2

Question 1

what does viola’s soliloquy emphasise

Answer 1

• her role as a character who occupies a liminal space between her identity as a male and female
• builds anticipation and excitement for the audience who is aware of her feelings

Question 2

rhyming couplet at the end of viola’s soliloquy

Answer 2

• often give a sense of closure but this one creates eagerness for the resolution
• uses pun and wordplay w same sounding words to symbolise complicated situation

Question 3

use of dialogue

Answer 3

prose and verse to invite audience into character’s thoughts and feelings

Question 4

malvolio’s dialogue at the end

Answer 4

speaks in prose that shows his intelligence but does not comply w iambic pentameter highlighting strong emotion or humiliation

Question 5

orsinos speech

Answer 5

smooth and written in iambic pentameter to symbolise control ironic to his feelings for olivia (comedic)

Question 6

language of characters

Answer 6

the diction shakespeare gives his characters plays a role in their characterisation:
- limited vocab to lower class
- feste uses wordplay to show his intelligence in wit and wisdom
- malvolio is less witty

Question 7

dramatic irony

Answer 7

malvolio endures self deception believing olivia loves him which is why he agrees to everything in the letter

Question 8

shared lines

Answer 8

shakespeare merges half lines into a whole line w iambic pentameter to show two characters are destined to be together eg. viola and orsino

Question 9

structure of the play and its effect on the audience

Answer 9

• the scenes are woven together to create tension and humour
• we are given fragments of info as the complex plot unfolds so we are able to piece it together and sets up potential for dramatic irony eg letter scene

Question 10

shift in malvolios speech

Answer 10

speaks in prose im the beginning and verse at the end

Question 11

function of characters in a play

Answer 11

shakespeare’s characters have a mechanical function in the play as vehicles to carry ideas or themes eg orsino for love

Question 12

tn’s use of classical aspects of dramatic comedy

Answer 12

love triangle, disguise, mistaken identity, trickery and tomfoolery, chaos and misrule, comic resolution w marriages

Question 13

slapstick and physical comedy

Answer 13

sir toby and andrew use prose, bawdy language and song = sense of fun and joie de vivre for entertainment and laughter

Question 14

malvolio’s downfall

Answer 14

• malvolio’s switch in clothing and character is funny bc of shakespeare’s use of incongruity
• humiliation is at the heart of comedy and comedy is born out of cruelty

Question 15

fools

Answer 15

• while feste is a licensed fool, he exposes truth
• andrew is truly foolish

Question 16

wit and wordplay

Answer 16

words are often showed as slippery and false
communications are frequently misinterpreted
like appearances, language cant be trusted either