Q1:
Carefully examine Viola’s speech in Act 2, Scene 2, which begins “Fortune
forbid my outside have not charmed her!” This is a soliloquy, which means she
is speaking to the audience alone; what does she reveal of her innermost
thoughts? Is she proud to have conquered Olivia’s affections as a “man”? Does
she blame Olivia for her conquest? Or Orsino?
Q2:
In Scene 4, Orsino and Viola have a debate on who loves deeper: a man or woman.
Part of the humor of this scene is that Orsino is telling a woman how women
feel, and why they can’t possibly measure up to his own (male) affections. How
does Viola respond to his claims, and where might she borrow some ideas from The
Sonnets along the way (or Romeo and Juliet)?
Q3:
Examine the scene between Viola and Olivia in 3.1: based on the language, how
are they courting each other? Is Viola more wooing or sparring? Is Olivia truly
in love, or just charmed by her/him? Why is the entire scene in verse now, as
compared to the earlier scene between them in Act 1?
Q3:
Act 2.5 is one of the funniest scenes in all of Shakespeare, and barely
contains a drop of verse from beginning to end. What makes this such a
universal scene, and one that stages particularly well for a modern audience?
(also, how does Shakespeare take pains to make the language relatively easy to
follow)?
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