Act 2

Notes about Interpretive Lenses & Queer Theory

In the video, Mr. Bruff explores the speculation that Antonio may be gay, which he picks up again in Act 3 scene 2.

There are many interpretive lenses (literary theories or philosophies) through which a reader can derive meaning from a text. After the 1960s, the lens known as post-structuralism or deconstructionism came into vogue in which scholars considered the author to be "dead"; in other words, it didn't matter what meanings the author may have intended to communicate in the text - the text could "speak for itself" and may include meanings that the author unconsciously put in OR that the reader could derive based on connotations of words or the reader's own experience/understanding. In the 1980s, a branch of deconstructionism known as "queer theory" also became more popular in which scholars looked at queer (LGBTQ-etc) representation in texts and how queer folk might be discriminated against, underrepresented, misrepresented, or missing. In some cases, this meant making a case for re-envisioning a character's assumed sexual orientation or gender in light of details others overlooked in previous interpretations. While this has been empowering for many individuals, a huge drawback of this lens is that it ignores authorial intention as well as the historical and cultural context in which the text is written, all of which would greatly influence and limit the accurate meaning of the text.

Certainly, if one looks at the details of Twelfth Night through the lens of current ideology around sexuality and the details of the text, the argument could be made that Antonio is sexually or romantically attracted to Sebastian. However, using this lens ignores the facts that:

a) the notion of sexual orientation - especially as an identity - was not established until the 20th century (at least 300 years after the play was written);

b) in Shakespeare's day, same-sex sexual behaviour was a criminal activity known as sodomy and was punishable by death (in fact, playwright Christopher Marlowe, a contemporary of Shakespeare's, addressed this very thing in his tragic play Edward II);

c) as an extension of b, having a same-sex relationship would have completely violated the Chain of Being and brought chaos into society in Elizabethan thinking; and

d) no same-sex attractions are actually condoned or honoured in the play - they are used to heighten the dramatic tension and for comedic effect.

If we were to assume that Shakespeare wanted to highlight homoerotic love, then he certainly had more of a platform to do so through the interactions between Olivia and Viola, or between Cesario and Orsino, but he uses these to provide commentary on the nature of love as expressed by each gender and, as mentioned, to provide tension and comedy. Moreover, considering the average Elizabethan's repulsion toward and legal punishment of same-sex behaviour, the audience would completely lose any sympathy for Antonio had they understood his love for Sebastian to be sexual in nature. A more reliable interpretation is that Antonio's love for Sebastian is akin to bromance or deep care for him as a person. In many ways, Antonio's love for Sebastian acts as a foil/contrast to all of the other "loves" going on and begs the reader to consider, "What is true love?"

Read Act 2 in Twelfth Night Navigator so that you can better use and understand the original language. As needed, consult No Fear Shakespeare.

Scene 1

1. Who is Sebastian? Given what he says in 2.1.15-23, what do you expect will happen when he goes to Orsino's court?
2. Who is Antonio? Why shouldn't he go to Orsino's court, and why will he (2.1.45-48)?
3. Now that we have twins—and each of them has no idea that the other is alive and in Illyria—what predictions can you make about the plot of the play?

Scene 2

1. What does Viola/Cesario learn from her/his encounter with Malvolio? How will she solve it? (Note especially 2.2.40-41)
2. Note the apostrophe (not the punctuation mark, the literary device) in line 40. Review Literarydevices.net to see what an apostrophe is and what function it has.
3. Viola’s soliloquy implies that women are weak-minded and easily fooled. Do we see this in all of the women in the play? Do we see it in any of the men?

Scene 3

1. What time is it? What are Sir Toby, Sir Andrew, and Feste doing? Why does Sir Toby think he can get away with it (2.3.77-78; consanguinous = of the same blood)?
2. What is Malvolio's response to them? Note especially his suggestion that they are "mad" as the theme of madness, how one becomes mad, and who is mad, is one that is developed throughout the rest of the play.
3. How does Sir Toby treat Malvolio in return? (Note especially 2.3.114-116.)
4. How does Maria describe Malvolio (2.3.147-153)?
5. What is Maria's plan (2.3.155-161)? Consider as well that we have another set of "twins" in the handwriting of Maria and Olivia, and another opportunity for someone to "fake" or "disguise" themselves as someone else!
6. From what we have seen, does Malvolio deserve to have a trick like this played on him?

Scene 4

1. Who sang for Orsino? (See 2.4.11-13.) Consider that this may be the reason he was in trouble with Maria in Act 1 scene 2.
2. According to Orsino, should the man or the woman be older? What reasons does he give? What does he believe about women? See 2.4.29-39.
3. Does Orsino hear what Viola/Cesario is saying in 2.4.26-28? What does this suggest about his character?
4. What is Feste saying to Orsino in 2.4.73-78? Use the video to help you. Note also that Feste suggests that Orsino's outside appearance (a doublet of changeable taffeta) should match his inner being (for thy mind is a very opal), continuing this theme of appearances/disguises matching or not matching one's identity.
5. What issue does Viola/Cesario raise in 2.4.87? How does she/he develop the idea in lines 88-92? How does Orsino answer her in lines 93-103?
6. What happens to Viola/Cesario at line 2.4.103-105? Does Viola almost give herself away? How does she cover herself in lines 106-110?
7. What is Viola feeling and communicating as she/he tells the "sister's" story (2.4.110-117)? Is she trying to make Orsino see who she really is (consciously or unconsciously)? Consider that the "sister" acts as an additional kind of twin or disguise for Cesario to, in fact, reveal his truer identity as Viola! What does Orsino's question in response to the story reveal about his character? Is this different than how he's responded to Cesario's comments in the past?

Scene 5

1. How big is Maria? (See 2.5.11 and 2.3.177)
2. What is Malvolio doing before he finds the letter (in 2.5.15-80)? What does this tell us about him and how does it make us feel toward him as a character and the trick? The video discusses this some as well.
3. In the final part of the letter (2.5.143-159), there are multiple references to fortune. Fortune connoted wealth, power, and status, but also the "Wheel of Fortune" and Fortuna, the goddess who spun it. Accordingly, at Fortuna's whims, a person's fortune (wealth, power, status) could be good one day and terrible the next. Often, this also meant that others who were once at the bottom of the wheel could rise to the top. The references to stars and fate follow a similar line of thinking: one's destiny is determined by forces greater than oneself. Where is Malvolio currently on the Wheel of Fortune? Who else is there with him? What do you think might happen to these characters?
4. What does Malvolio's response to the various hidden messages in the letter suggest about his character? How will he appear when we next see him? How will Olivia respond? (See lines 187-194.)

Act 2 Quiz Study Guide

The quiz will consist of:

• 10 multiple choice questions on character, plot, narrative, literary devices. Literary devices will be based on the passages below, so your best method is to study these and identify any literary devices used. Devices you should be familiar with are: simile, metaphor, metonymy, couplet, aside, soliloquy, apostrophe (NOT the punctuation mark), hyperbole, personification. Use the literarydevices.net to ensure you know these.
• 1 quote analysis question (you will be given 3 options on the quiz from the list below and need to respond to 1; you will need to identify: 1. who said it, 2. the context in which it was said, 3. what it means, and 4. why it's significant for one or more of the play's themes):

Oh Time, thou must untangle this, not I./It is too hard a knot for me t' untie! (2.2.40-41)

—Viola's comment about the love triangle in which she has become involved.

Then come kiss me, sweet and twenty,/ Youth's a stuff will not endure (2.3.51-52)

—The conclusion of the clown's song on the carpe diem (seize the day) theme.

Dost thou think, because thou art virtuous, there shall be no more cakes and ale? (2.3.115-116)

—Sir Toby's mockery of Malvolio's self-important righteousness.

Let still the woman take/ An elder than herself (2.4.29-30)

—Orsino gives love-advice to Cesario.

Now, the melancholy god protect thee; and the tailor make thy doublet of changeable taffeta, for thy mind is a very opal (2.4.73-75)

—The Clown's ironic comment on Orsino's moody taste for melancholy music and love.

She sat like Patience on a monument,/ Smiling at grief (2.4.114-115)

—Viola (in her disguise as Cesario) tells Orsino a story illustrating the constancy of women in love.

Some are born great, some achieve greatness, and some have greatness thrust upon 'em (2.5.144-146)

—Malvolio reads from the letter that Maria wrote. He thinks it's from the Lady Olivia and thinks that the greatness of being the Lady's husband is about to be given to him. (Later Malvolio repeats (3.4.41-45) this line to Lady Olivia, and towards the end of the play the Clown mocks Malvolio by repeating (5.1.370-371) it again.)