Context - Twelfth Night

Question 1

Elizabethan theatre

Answer 1

-Female roles were typically played by males which adds to the confusion of the play as well as added humour
-The audience went to the theatre to listen so iambic pentameter was commonly used especially through Orsino
-The audience also liked to be involved in the performance hence the humour

Question 2

Utopia of England

Answer 2

-Illyria is presented as a utopia of England conveying the ‘happy ever after’ ending while still conveying some similarities among society
-With the social abnormalities, Shakespeare wanted to distance England away from that potential as it had a reputation of having an ordered society as well as being quite powerful
-The play was sometimes performed to the monarch so it had to be respectful to the country

Question 3

Shakespeare’s influence for Twelfth Night

Answer 3

-Shakespeare was influenced by an Italian drama called GI’Ingannati (the believed ones) performed in Sienna in 1531

Question 4

Common themes in Shakespeare’s plays

Answer 4

-He interrogates the beliefs, assumptions and politics upon which Elizabethan society was founded upon
-The plays often restore order and society at the end but many people believed at the time that rather than subverting society and its rules it was used as a source of entertainment

Question 5

Society inequality

Answer 5

-If a woman was seen dressed as a man she could of been sent to prison
-Shakespeare sees Twelfth Night as an excuse to make the women more powerful but subverts this at the end by everything returning to normal
-Viola had to disguise as a man to fit in with society to ensure her protection and establish her place in society

Question 6

Changes that influenced Shakespeare

Answer 6

-The Renaissance spirit was fuelled by the rediscovery of many classical texts and the culture of ancient Greece and Rome
-The discovery of the American people demonstrated that the world was a larger and stranger place than we thought

Question 7

The Twelfth Night

Answer 7

-This is a night where social norms and boundaries are crossed for celebration and cartes a sense of chaos and order as kings and servants would switch roles
-This would happend on the twelfth day after Christmas

Question 8

Negative capability

Answer 8

-Another major influence on European thought was Michel de Montaigne who essays were first published in 1580
-His ability to consider different viewpoints together with his balanced humanism produced ideas and positions which are continually surprising and non judgemental
-These characteristics are evident in Shakespeare’s plays
-Negative capability = way of operating in conditions of uncertainty