Study Tools
How to study Twelfth Night
How can these Notes help you?, Reading the play, Interpreting or critiquing the play, References and sources, Revising for and responding to an assessed task or exam questionTwelfth Night in context
Shakespeare's life and times, Early staging, Study focus: Mars and Venus?, What you will, 'A most extracting frenzy', The setting, Study focus: Twelfth Night in performance, Characters in Twelfth NightPlot & Action
Characters & Themes
Viola
Who is Viola?, Viola: schemer or charmer?, Study focus: Viola in between and go-between, Study focus: Viola alone, Viola: 'I am not that I play', Key quotations: ViolaOrsino
Who is Orsino?, Orsino the romantic egoist, Study focus: Orsino and Cesario, Key quotations: OrsinoOlivia
Who is Olivia?, Lifting the veil on Olivia, Study focus: Olivia's marriage, Key quotations: OliviaMalvolio
Who is Malvolio?, Malvolio: A complex character, Study focus: Is Malvolio a hypocrite?, Malvolio punished, Key quotations: Malvolio, Revision focus: Task 3Feste
Who is Feste?, Feste the commentator, Feste's wisdom, Feste and the ending, Study focus: Feste and Malvolio, Key quotations: FesteSir Toby
Who is Sir Toby?, Revelry's darker side, Study focus: Sir Toby, free spirit or freeloader?, Key quotations: Sir TobySir Andrew
Who is Sir Andrew?, Study focus: Sir Andrew, more than a shadow, Key quotations: Sir AndrewSebastian
Who is Sebastian?, Sebastian: Untying the knots, Study focus: The reunion, Key quotations: SebastianStructure, Form & Language
Contexts & Critical Debates
Grade Booster
Assessment focus
What are you being asked to focus on?, What do these AOs actually mean?, What does this mean for your revision?Targeting a high grade
Understanding grade progression, Typical C grade features, Typical features of an A or A* responseQuestions with statements, quotations or viewpoints
Responding to a critical interpretation, Key skills required, Answering a 'viewpoint' questionWriting about contexts
Assessment Objective 4, The context for Twelfth Night, Targeting a high gradeUsing critical interpretations and perspectives
The 'meaning' of a text, Writing about critical perspectives