Twelfth Night: Or What You Will (1996)

1.     Who was William Shakespeare?

William Shakespeare is the most played theater writer in the world. Shakespeare inspired people in his time and through the centuries up to now. There is not much information about his life, but we know that he is born in 1564 and grew up in Stratford-upon-Avon and came in his young years to London. There he studied to become a actor.

He wrote plays different than other writes, in his time. The ideas for his plays came          from the stories in history. 

2.     What is Twelfth Night or What You Will?

The Twelfth Night or What You Will is a romantic comedy by William Shakespeare, which has been written as a Twelfth Night entertainment (Twelfth Night is a festival of the Christians).

3.     Who are the main characters of the play and how are they related to each other (family, friend, servant, lover, enemy, etc)? Name at least 9 characters.

1. Viola, 2. Sebastian, 3 Orsino, 4. Olivia 5. Malvolio 6. Maria 7. Sir Toby Belch 8. Sir Andrew Aguecheek 9. Antonio

1.  Viola is Sebastian’s twin sister. But when there is a shipwreck, they get separated. And Viola land in Illyria. She wants to make her own way in the world. She disguise herself as man, Cesario. She works for duke Orsino and falls in love with him.

2.  Sebastian is the twin brother of Viola. He is traveling with his friend Antonio, but when they are in Illyria people say that they know him. But he is never been in Illyria before. People think that he is Cesario. And Lady Olivia falls in love with him.

3.  Orsino is the duke, he is in love with lady Olivia. And he tells everybody that want to listen how heartsick he is about lady Olivia.

4.  Lady Olivia is courted by duke Orsino and Sir Andrew Aguecheek, but she doesn’t want to marry for 7 seven years because her brother passed away. But when Cesario comes, she forgets everything and wants ‘him’.

5.  Malvolio is the household of lady Olivia. Sir Toby, Sir Andrew and Maria, play a bad trick on him. They say that Olivia is in love with him, but that is not true. In his dreams he wants to marry his mistress.

6.  Maria is a housemaid of lady Olivia and very clever.

7.  Sir Toby Belch is Olivia’s uncle. And lives with her in Olivia’s house. But she is not happy with his jokes and drinking. He is friends with Sir Andrew, and knows how to influence people that he needs.

8.  Sir Andrew Aguecheek is friends with Sir Toby. He wants to marry lady Olivia. But he is an idiot and Olivia don’t like him. He thinks that he is much, but in fact he is nothing.

9.  Antonio saved Sebastian from the shipwreck and falls in love with him. When they arrive in Illyria he gives him all his money. But the love is unilateral.

4.  Write a short summary of the play.

Viola is a girl who has survived a shipwreck. She mourns the lost of her twin, but decides to diguise herself as a boy (with the name Cesario) to get work as a page to Duke Orsino. “She” falls in love with Orsino, which is difficult, because Orsino thinks Viola/Cesario is a man. Orsino is in love with Countess Olivia. He sends Cesario to Countess Olivia and says her to woo. Olivia is attracted by

Cesario believing she is a man.

Sir Toby Belch, Maria and Sir Andrew Aguecheek engineer a practical joke to make Malvolio think that Olivia is in love with him by sending a false love letter. In the letter they say him to dress in yellow stockings and crossed garters. Malvolio finds the letter and happily follows the instructions. He behaves so strangely that Olivia thinks he’s crazy. Meanwhile, Sebastian (who’s still alive but he and Viola don’t know that of each other) arrives in Illyria with his friend Antonio. Antonio cares about Sebastian since the shipwreck and even follows him to Orsino’s domain, knowing he and Orsino are old enemies. When Sebastian appears, Sir Andrew and Sir Toby end up coming to blows with him, thinking he’s Cesario. Olivia is very confused, but she asks Sebastian to mary her, thinking he’s Cesario. Sebastian, who has never seen Olivia before, says yes, because she is a beautiful rich woman. Eventually, Orsino and Cesario go to Olivia’s house, where Olivia welcomes Cesario as her new husband. Orsino is furious, but then Sebastian himself appears on the scene, and all is revealed. The siblings are joyfully reunited, and Orsino realizes that he loves Viola, now that he knows she is a woman, and asks her to marry him.

5.  What is the main conflict of the play?

The main conflict of the play is impossible love.

6.  How is the conflict solved at the end?

When Sebastian shows himself, Viola finally can show she’s not a man and then everyone gets it and they love someone else, because they know now it’s someone else.

7.  Next to the main story line, there is a story line of the character of Malvolio. What is this about, who is he and what happens to him?

Sir Toby, Sir Andrew and Maria send a false love-letter in which they tell him that Lady Olivia is in love with him, but that is not true. Malvolio shows up at Olivia’s house with really strange clothes and he’s acting peculiar. Olivia declares Malvolio insane.

8.  Look into some play performances or movies made of Twelfth Night, see if you can find some modern versions. You don't have to watch the whole play or film (but of course you may if you like), but try to get an idea of what the whole story is about. Copy the link of the version you think might be interesting into your document. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6i3J17Jp0ag It is a play inspirated by Twelfth night.