twelfth night Flashcards
when was twelfth night written
1601
what were twelfth night parties like
Twelfth Night parties often grew quite boisterous (crazy).
“Young boys were crowned for a day as bishops and carried through the streets in mock religious processions, [sobriety] was toppled by bouts of heavy drinking and feasting, and the spirit of parody, folly, and misrule reigned briefly in places normally reserved for stern-faced moralists and sober judges.”
what holiday does the twelfth night refer to
January 6: The Feast of Epiphany. It marks the end of the Christmas season and was celebrated with revelry in the Elizabethan time.
who saw the celebration as sinful? what did they do?
the deeply religious Puritans, who saw the celebration as sinful. They often protested the Twelfth Night celebrations, as well as protesting the theatres in general as dens of sinners.
who was Shakespeare rumored to have been invited to perform this play for on the feast of epiphany of 1601?
queen elizabeth, she was a huge fan of theater
who did queen Elizabeth supposedly entertain?
some claim she entertained Count Don Virginio Orsino at the play, which is why Shakespeare named a character after him.
DRAMATIC IRONY
A literary device in which one or more characters in a story remain unaware of plot developments that have already been revealed to the audience, giving rise to humor, suspense, or double meanings.
SITUATIONAL IRONY
The humorous or surprising effect of a situation in which the outcomes diverge widely from expectations.
MONOLOGUE
An extended speech given by one speaker or character, either to themselves, or to others without interruption.
ASIDE
a short comment or speech that a character delivers directly to the audience, or to himself, while other actors on the stage appear not to hear. Only the audience knows that the character has said something to them.
SOLILOQUY
A monologue given by a character in a play at a time when the character is alone or believes no other characters are present.
FOIL
A character whose traits contrast with those of the protagonist or another main character, thereby highlighting some aspect of that character.
WORD PLAY
he clever and witty use of words and meaning. It involves using literary devices and techniques like consonance, assonance, spelling, alliteration, onomatopoeia, rhyme, acronym, pun, and slang (to name a few) to form amusing and often humorous written and oral expressions.
SUBPLOT
A sequence of events that is secondary to the main plot in a narrative or drama, usually featuring supporting characters.
verse drama
when most of the dialogue is written in the metrical patterns of poetry
Blank verse
unrhymed lines of iambic pentameter
Iambic pentameter
a pattern of rhythm that has 5 unstressed syllables each followed by a stressed syllable
／
stressed
◡
unstressed
Assonance
Repetition of similar vowel sounds within words and phrases, commonly used for a lyrical effect in poetry and other literary forms.
Allusion
An indirect reference to something outside the text, usually a person, place, thing, or idea that is generally familiar to the intended audience. Allusions often refer to historical events or people, other works of literature, mythology, or popular culture.
Motif
The technique of using repetition of an idea, event, image, phrase, or symbol throughout a literary work to illuminate and expand the major themes.
Personification
A type of metaphor in which human attributes are assigned to inanimate objects or abstract ideas.
Repetition
Deliberately repeating a word or phrase two or more times in a text to add emphasis or bring clarity to a subject or event.
Parallelism
The repetition of similar grammatical structures within a sentence or passage, often for emphasis or to draw connections between objects.
How does Orsino respond to Curio when Curio asks him if he wants to go hunting?
he say that it is his heart that is being hunted
who is Orsino in love with?
olivia
how is Olivia mourning her brother?
she is not going to show her face for the next 7 years. she will go around veiled like a nun, and once a day she will water her room with tears
who saved viola from drowning
the captain
what skills does viola possess that she believes will make Orsino want her on his service?
she can sing and talk to him about different types of music
who is the ruler of Illyria?
Duke orsino
what secret does viola ask the captain to keep?
her identity. she plans to dress as a man Cesario, in order to work for orsino
what happens to violas brother?
he is lost at sea. viola believes that he drowned
who is sir toby trying to set sir Andrew up with
his niece, Olivia
who is Maria?
Olivia’s servent
what do sir toby and sir Andrew like to do to pass the time? what is there relationship like?
they like to drink and be foolish. they poke fun at each other and do not take much of anything seriously
who is Cesario?
Cesario is the man that viola is pretending to be. “Cesario” works for duke orsino
why does orsino ask viola to go to Olivia’s house? what does he want her to do?
the Duke wants Cesario to tell oliviaa how much he loves her
how does orsiono describe viola’s appearance on pages 28/29
smooth red lips, soft voice, feminine body
why is Feste (the fool) scolded by Maria
for being gone so long
why does Feste say it wont be so bad to be “hanged” (fired)
he says it wouldn’t be so bad to be homeless because it is summertime, an the weather is nice.
how does Olivia react to malvilos remarks about the fool?
she criticizes malvolio and tells him he shouldn’t get so upset by what the fool says
who is malvolio?
olivia’s uptight servent
why does feste think that Olivia is a fool?
because she is mourning her dead brother even though she believes he is in a better place
what is Elysium? what is revealed to the audience by the fact viola believes her brother is in this place?
Elysium is the classic mythological concept of the afterlife which indicates those with the most pure and heroic souls go there
what does malvolio say makes the fool even funnier?
old age / time / becoming senile
what does viola say she would do if she were trying to win over Olivia’s affection? how does this differ from what orsino is doing?
she would build a house outside her house and then write sad songs about unrequited love, shouting Olivia’s name. this differs from what orsino is doing because he is all talk and no action. he does not do anything to actually prove his love for olivia
what does Olivia reveal to the audience during her soliloquy? (page 56)
that she is in love with cesario
what is the captains tone in lines 8-17 act 1 scene 2
hopeful
which literary device is best reflected in lines 18-19 act 1 scene 2
assonance
what do violas brother and arion have in common?
Arizona quick thinking is reflective of strong intellect and according to the captain Sebastian is provident
what is the cause of Olivia’s decision to remain single
she is mourning her brothers death in honorable manner
why is it ironic that viola says she trusts the captain
because she says that handsome men are usually more bankrupt and she would’ve expected the captain to be untrustworthy
what is the purpose of act 1 scene 2? what does it help to clarify or develop?
to show violas personality, to set up mistaken identity, and to clarify viola’s motivations
from violas perspective what makes her compatible with orsino?
musical abilities
what is the fools intent during act 1 scene 5?
his intention is to entertain by setting Olivia up for her responses and finding humor in comments
what is the logical inference to be drawn from the fools comments in lines 5-6 act 1 scene 5?
this is intended to emphasize her brother is in a better place
what is the logical inference to be drawn from olivia’s comments in line 7-8 act 1 scene 5
this is meant to show that she is entertained by the fool and finds satisfaction in his work
according to malvolio what factor will contribute most significantly to the fools professional development
old age wisdom comes with age
the fool uses metaphorical language to convey what messages in lines 12-15 act 1 scene 5
the fool knows he is not intelligent and the fox is associated with intelligence therefore the fool means that others like sir toby are convinced that he is not the brightest
how is malvolios tone described in lines 17 and 18 act 1 scene 5
surprised / astounded
the word “rascal” is most synonymous with what word?
animal
the tone of olivia in lines 25-31 is best characterized how? act 1 scene 5
Olivia is dismissive of malvolios comments because she sees malvolio is to self centered
what function does the fool serve? act 1 scene 5
mentor / teacher the fool uses his skills to help others see life through different lens
who rescued Sebastian from the shipwreck?
Antonio
Olivia uses metaphorical language to convey what messages in these lines? act 1 scene 5
that fools are not villans
what does Sebastian think has happened to viola?
she drowned in the shipwreck
what function does the fool serve?
mentor / teacher
It is revealed at the beginning of this scene that “supposedly” Cesario/Viola gave something to Olivia the last time he saw her. What was the gift he supposedly gave her?
a ring
