Twelfth Night Notes
Comedy
 Definition – a comedic play has at least one humorous character, and a successful or happy ending.
 Characteristics of …
 The main action is about ___________.
 The would-be lovers must ______________________and misunderstandings
before_____________________________. The ending frequently involves a parade of couples to the altar and a
festive mood or actual celebration (expressed in dance, song, feast, etc.) Twelfth Night has three such couples.
 Frequently (but not always), it contains elements of___________________________
________________________________________________, e.g. unbelievable coincidences, improbable scenes of
recognition/lack of recognition, willful disregard of the social order (nobles marrying commoners, beggars changed
to lords), instantaneous conversions (the wicked repent), enchanted or idealized settings, supernatural beings
(witches, fairies, Gods and Goddesses). The happy ending may be brought about through supernatural or divine
intervention (comparable to the deus ex machina in classical comedy, where a God appears to resolve the conflict)
or may merely involve improbable turns of events.
 In the best of the mature comedies, there is frequently a
______________________________________________involving weightier issues and themes: personal identity;
the importance of love in human existence; the power of language to help or hinder communication; the
transforming power of poetry and art; the disjunction between appearance and reality; the power of dreams and
illusions).
What does the title refer to?
 The play was written as a Christmas season production for presentation on Epiphany –
______________________________________________________________, when, according to religious tradition,
Jesus was introduced to the world.
 It is a time for celebrating, gifts are exchanged, and parties and other celebrations occur.
Twelfth Night
 Type of work:_____________________
(Shakespeare also wrote: poetry)
 Genre: __________________________________
 Time written: _____________________________
 Place written: _____________________________
 Tone: Light, cheerful, comic; occasionally frantic and melodramatic, especially in the speeches of Orsino and Olivia.
 Tense: Present (the entire story is told through dialogue)
 Setting (time): Unknown
 Setting (place): ________________________________________________(Illyria is a real place, corresponding to the coast
of present-day Yugoslavia, but Twelfth Night is clearly set in a fictional kingdom rather than a real one.)
 Twelfth Night Characters
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Viola (a.k.a. Cesario)
Duke Orsino
Olivia
Sebastian
Malvolio
Feste
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Sir Toby Belch
Maria
Sir Andrew Aguecheek
Antonio
Viola
 A young ___________ of aristocratic birth. Washes up on the shore of Illyria when her ship is ___________ in a storm, she
decides to make her own way in the world. She disguises herself as a _______, calling herself “Cesario,” and becomes a
page to Duke Orsino. She ends up ___________ with Orsino, while the woman Orsino loves, falls in love with Cesario.
Now she finds herself trapped: she cannot tell Orsino that she loves him and she cannot tell Olivia why she, as Cesario,
cannot lover her. Her dilemma is the central conflict to the play.
Duke Orsino
 A __________ nobleman in the country of __________. He is lovesick for the beautiful Lady Olivia, but finds herself more
and more fond of his handsome new page, Cesario, who is actually a __________ - Viola. He mopes around complaining
how heartsick he is over Olivia, when it is clear that he is chiefly in love with the _________ of _______________ and
enjoys making a spectacle of himself.
Olivia
 A _____________, beautiful, and noble Illyrian lady, she is __________ by Orsino and Sir Andrew Aguecheeck, but to each
of them she insists that she is in __________ for her __________, who has recently __________ and will not __________
for _____ years. She and Orsino are similar characters in that each seems to enjoy wallowing in his or her own
__________. Viola’s arrival in the masculine disguise of Cesario enables Olivia to break free of her self-indulgent
melancholy. Olivia seems to have no difficulty transferring her affections from one _______________ to the next,
however, suggesting that her romantic feelings – like
most emotions in the play – do not run terribly deep
Sebastian
 Viola’s lost ____________. When he arrives in Illyria, traveling with Antonio, his close friend and protector, he discovers
how many people seem to think that they ____________. Furthermore, the beautiful Lady Olivia, whom he has never met,
wants to ____________.
Malvolio
 The straitlaced head servant in the household of Lady Olivia. He is very efficient but also very ____________, and he has a
poor opinion of drinking, __________, and __________. His haughty attitude earn him the enemies of Sir Toby, Sir
Andrew, and Maria who play a cruel __________ on him, making believe that Olivia __________________. In his dreams
about marrying his mistress, he reveals a powerful ambition to rise above his _________________.
Feste
 The _________ or __________ of Olivia’s household; he moves between Olivia’s and Orsino’s homes. He
________________ by making pointed jokes, singing old songs, being generally witty, and offering ___________ cloaked
under a layer of __________. In spite of being a professional __________, he often seems the wisest character in the play.
Sir Toby Belch
 Olivia’s __________. Olivia lets ___________ Belch lives with her, but she does not __________ of his rowdy behavior,
__________, heavy drinking, late-night carousing, or friends (specifically the idiotic Sir Andrew). He also earns the anger of
Malvolio, but he has an ally, and eventually a __________, in Olivia’s __________ serving-woman Maria. Together they
bring about the __________ of the controlling, self-righteous Malvolio.
Maria
 Olivia’s __________, __________, young serving-woman. She is remarkably similar to her antagonist, Malvolio, who
harbors aspirations of _______________ through __________. She succeeds where Malvolio fails.
Sir Andrew Aguecheek
 A __________ of Sir Toby’s. He attempts to __________ Olivia but he doesn’t _______________. He thinks he is witty,
__________, __________, and good at languages and __________, but he is actually an __________.
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Antonio
 A man who rescues Sebastian after Sebastian’s __________. He is very fond of Sebastian, caring for him, accompanying
him to Illyria, and furnishing him with __________. He is also an enemy of Duke Orsino.
Other Characters…………..
 Fabian – servant to Olivia; friend to Maria, Sir Toby, and Andrew. Assists in the practical joke on Malvolio.
 Valentine – gentleman attending to the Duke
 Curio – gentleman attending to the Duke
 Priest - (named Sir Topas); he marries Olivia to “Cesario;” he is impersonated by Feste.
 Captain (sea captain) – assists Viola (helps disguise Viola as Cesario)
Dramatic Structure
 Major Conflict (__________): Viola is in love with Orsino, who is in love with Olivia, who is in love with Viola’s male
disguise, Cesario. This __________ is complicated by the fact that neither Orsino nor Olivia knows that Cesario is really a
__________ (Viola).
 _____________: The mounting __________, ___________________, and _______________, leading up to Act V.
 __________: __________ and ________ are ________, and everyone realizes that Cesario is a woman.
 ___________: Viola _______________ Orsino; Malvolio is freed and _______________.
__________________: Everyone goes off to celebrate.
Themes
 __________ as a cause of _________
 The uncertainty of gender
 The _____ of __________