Twelfth Night Flashcards
(18 cards)
Introduction Structure
- Hook that directly answers the essay question.
- Author/director and text details (full name, title of film, genre, context)
- Contention (fit the essay
topic/question with an inclusion of the
social context, director/author’s message
etc. ) - Arguments (Outline of your discussion - 3 main arguments)
- Views and Values Statement (What Shakespeare is trying to suggest about the world of the text, a lesson that is learnt….)
Paragraph Structure
- TOPIC SENTENCE (Needs to be big ideas based, not character based)
Formula for a topic sentence:
E.G Shakespeare + verb + big idea + key words
- EVIDENCE
(Quotes, spoken by, when) - EXPLANATION
(Analyse the intended effect and why it is relevant. Explain why the evidence is relevant and how it links to your topic sentence.) - VIEWS AND VALUES & LINK
(What is the author trying to say about the ideas that you have presented. Link back to essay topic.)
Key verbs to use in Topic Sentence and Evidence
Explores – Shakespeare explores the instability of identity…
Presents – Shakespeare presents love as a force of confusion…
Critiques – Shakespeare critiques rigid social hierarchies…
Exposes – Shakespeare exposes the absurdity of class ambition…
Challenges – Shakespeare challenges traditional gender roles…
Highlights – Shakespeare highlights the consequences of deception…
Suggests – Shakespeare suggests that love can distort perception…
Reveals – Shakespeare reveals the emotional cost of disguise…
Amplifies – Shakespeare amplifies the foolishness of self-delusion…
Undermines – Shakespeare undermines the value placed on social status…
Emphasises – Shakespeare emphasises the role of performance in identity…
Contrasts – Shakespeare contrasts true wisdom with performative wit…
Interrogates – Shakespeare interrogates the nature of romantic attraction…
Utilises – Shakespeare utilises dramatic irony to…
Manipulates – Shakespeare manipulates theatrical conventions to explore…
Reinforces – Shakespeare reinforces the chaos that results from mistaken identity…
Mocks – Shakespeare mocks pretension and self-importance…
Demonstrates – Shakespeare demonstrates the fluidity of identity…
Subverts – Shakespeare subverts expectations of love and loyalty…
Conclusion Structure
- Restate your contention
- Synthesize your key arguments (, , ,)
- What is Shakespeare saying about the world or human behaviour?
- Offer a thought-provoking final line about the theme’s relevance.
“If music be the food of love, play on.” — Orsino
Orsino’s indulgent metaphor highlights his obsessive and performative attitude towards love. Rather than depicting love as sincere, Shakespeare critiques its excess and self-absorption.
“I was adored once too.” — Sir Andrew
Sir Andrew’s pathetic line adds comic relief but also evokes sympathy. His yearning reflects the loneliness and rejection that underpins many of the play’s romantic subplots.
“Disguise, I see thou art a wickedness.” — Viola
Initially a tool for survival, Viola’s disguise begins to cause unintentional harm, as Olivia falls in love with Cesario. This highlights how concealment can be morally ambiguous and emotionally dangerous. Viola’s identity creates emotional confusion and moral conflict.
“O time, thou must untangle this, not I.” — Viola
Viola admits that the complexity caused by her hidden identity is beyond her control, shifting the resolution to fate. Shakespeare suggests that the truth and reconciliation depend on time, not human effort.
“Better a witty fool than a foolish wit.” — Feste
Feste’s self contradiction critiques those in power who lack self-awareness. As the licensed fool, he has the freedom to speak truths that others cannot.
“Thus the whirligig of time brings in his revenges.” — Feste
This final line reinforces the idea of poetic justice. Those who behave foolishly or cruelly eventually face consequences.
“Some are born great, some achieve greatness, and some have greatness thrust upon ‘em.” — Malvolio (reading)
Malvolio’s misinterpretation of the letter underscores his ambition and self-deception. He’s so ready to believe in his own potential greatness that he overlooks the absurdity of the situation, making him a figure of mockery.
“I’ll be revenged on the whole pack of you.” — Malvolio
After being humiliated, Malvolio’s final words shift the tone from comedy to bitterness. Shakespeare critiques the cruelty of the prank and invites audiences to reconsider the social hierarchies at play.
“I am all the daughters of my father’s house, and all the brothers too.” — Viola
This quote highlights Viola’s fluid identity, showing how she contains both masculine and feminine traits. It reflects the confusion caused by her disguise but also suggests an underlying truth about human complexity.
“Love sought is good, but giv’n unsought is better.” — Olivia
Olivia’s attraction to Cesario complicates her own identity as well as Viola’s. Shakespeare shows how love can transcend gender norms, especially when appearances are deceiving.
“This fellow is wise enough to play the fool.” — Viola (about Feste)
Feste’s character cleverly exposes how people often hide behind social masks. His true wisdom, cloaked in jest, questions conventional notions of intelligence and sincerity. Viola astutely recognizes that Feste’s role as a fool is a deliberate act, a clever disguise that inverts social expectations to reveal deeper truths.
“I am not what i am” — Viola
This means: I am not the role I am performing. Viola says this while disguised as Cesario, reflecting her hidden identity and the emotional and social confusion her disguise causes.
Themes in Twelfth Night
- Love and Desire
- Identity and Fate and Disguise
- Folly, Festivity, Foolishness and Wisdom
- Social Ambition and Class
- Melancholy and Madness
- Gender and Sexual Confusion
- Appearance vs Reality
