Twelfth Night Study Guide
Online Resources
Excerpt from Some Like it Hot (1959)
Text of Twelfth Night (from the University of Virginia's Electronic Text Center): web version | e-book | Palm
Twelfth Night study guide from the Guthrie Theater
Discussion Questions
- How does Orsino's opening speech relate to the rest of the play? What do you learn about Orsino's character from this speech?
- Twelfth Night is often described as a transitional play between the mature comedies (Much Ado About Nothing, As You Like It) and Shakespeare's first major tragedy, Hamlet. In what ways does the play continue to explore the themes of love that emerged in the earlier comedies, and in what ways does does it begin do delve into deeper psychological issues?
- How does this play explore ideas of gender and sexuality? To what extent is Shakespeare thinking about gender as a function of acting rather than identity? How does the fact that all of the female characters in Shakespeare's plays would have been played by men complicate this question? As a point of comparison, watch this excerpt from the film Some Like it Hot (1959). Jack Lemmon and Tony Curtis are men dressed as women. Is one more convincing than the other? Marilyn Monroe is most definitely a woman. Compare and contrast her "femininity" to the "femininity" of the two male actors pretending to be women. Go here for a plot summary of Some Like it Hot. Go here for an early seventeenth-century depiction of female sex organs. What else does it look like? Why?
- What kind of character is Malvolio? What is his function in the play? What is his function in Olivia's household?
- What do Feste's songs say about his character? How do his songs comment on themes in the play? What is the message of Feste's last song?
- Olivia has removed herself from the world for seven years to grieve the death of her brother. What does this extended period of seclusion say about her ability to mature psychologically and sexually? In what other ways does she express grief?
- What is Viola's attitude toward love? Compare and contrast Viola's attitude toward love with that of Olivia and Orsino.
- Do you feel that the play's implicit reference to homosexuality is stronger (and more serious) than in As You Like It? In what ways does the complexity of the situation result in a deeper exploration of gender and sexuality?
- Compare the ending of this play to that of other comedies by Shakespeare. Is there anything problematic about the ending?
Bibliography