Love & Other Passions

Twelfth Night is one of Shakespeare's timeless comedies. It speaks to us about the lighter side of our emotions, gently prodding us to admit our senseless pride, confess our petty jealousies and, above all, celebrate our loves. If you saw a little of yourself in love-struck Olivia, clueless Sebastian,or even pompous Malvolio --congratulations! --you're one of us foolish mortals.

Early in Twelfth Night, Orsino speaks the famous line, "If music be the food of love, play on!" (28.8k video clip, ISDN video clip.) He says he wants to hear music because an "excess" of it may kill his "appetite" for love. However, you'd be right to suspect he also gets pleasure from the music because it reminds him of his beloved Olivia. We all know the power of music to reinforce or alter our moods. Describe how two different kinds of music affect you.

Think of an example of beauty, grace or endurance that affected the way you felt. Maybe it was a high dive at last summer's Olympics...a computer-generated design you programmed yourself... or a game you saw young children play. Then write your own "Shakespearean" verse, building on Orsino's line.

Twelfth Night concludes with a triple marriage, as Orsino marries Viola, Olivia marries Sebastian, and Sir Toby marries Maria.Think about these three relationships and the kind of love each is based on. Then complete the chart below. Explain whether you think each marriage will flourish or flounder, and why (you may write as much as you want -- the box will scroll down as you continue to add text).

What's in a Disguise?

As Cesario, Viola learns much about Orsino that he might not otherwise reveal. For example, thinking Cesario is just "one of the guys," Orsino confides to him his despair in failing to win Olivia's love (28.8k video clip, ISDN video clip). If Orsino had first met Viola in her "women's weeds," he might have projected a false confidence, afraid to let his guard down . Perhaps Viola would have never learned what he was truly like inside and never fallen in love with him.

Imagine that you could disguise yourself – as a male or female, young or old, white or a member of another ethnic group – and go totally undetected. What disguise would you choose? Describe it:

Now, describe the day you spent in disguise. Where did you go?

Whom did you meet? Recreate a conversation that you participated in or overheard:

What did you learn about yourself, society or both?

Disguising one's gender is a common theme in Shakespeare. For example, Rosalind in As You Like It and Portia in The Merchant of Venice disguise themselves as males. Several films, plays, and musicals of the 1990's have also explored the concept (The Crying Game, M. Butterfly, Victor/Victoria, To Wong Foo, Thanks for Everything, Julie Newmar, The Birdcage, etc.). Compare Shakespeare's use of gender disguise in Twelfth Night with one contemporary example, using the chart below. Use the back of this sheet if you need more room.

Looking Without, Looking Within

Twelfth Night features two different kinds of fools: Malvolio and Feste. Together, they give us a picture of how we might see ourselves...and how others might see us.

Why is Malvolio considered a comic figure (28.8k video clip, ISDN video clip)?

Why might Malvolio be a more tragic or sympathetic figure to modern viewers than to the contemporary Shakespeare audience?

In Twelfth Night, Feste is both active participant and detached observer. As participant, he joins in the mocking of Malvolio. As observer, he knows of Viola's deception but does nothing to expose it.

Imagine that you are a new character – another observer – introduced into Twelfth Night. What will you be like?

Now, choose the character in Twelfth Night whom you will observe. Take notes on his or her behavior.

Now imagine that you are in a scene with your observed character. Write a dialogue in which you try to change the behavior of the observed character – and/or that character tries to change you.

Continue your dialogue in the area below (you may create as much dialogue as you like, the box will scroll down as you add lines of text):