THE TWELFTH NIGHT OR AS YOU WISH - William Shakespeare

Dive into Shakespeare's Twelfth Night! Master vocabulary, characters, and plot twists.

The Twelfth Night or As you wish This is the third love story we are going to read from the booklet Love Stories in Shakespeare: Five Stories (2011) which was adapted by Jennifer Gascoigne for the Black Cat collection at Vicens Vives.Read part I and part II before you start doing the following tasks. Key Vocabulary There are some key words which are necessary to understand the story. Match the word and its definition. A shipwreck An accident in which a ship is destroyed. A maid A lady who works as a servant. The shore The land along the edge of a river, lake or sea. To be in mourning To show sadness because someone had died. To sink (sink-sank-sunk) To go down onto the bottom of a river, lake or sea. A ruler The person who governs a city or country. To disguise oneself to put on clothes and accessories in order to look like someone else. The gates The doors or the entrance to a place. A veil A thin piece of clothing which was used to cover a lady's face. Love is sometimes complicated, especially when there is a love triangle. Think of Part I, who is in love with whom? Duke Orsino is in love with Olivia, but she doesn't love him back. Olivia is in love with Cesario but (s)he doesn't love her back because (s)he is in love with Duke Orsino. The following sentences summarise the story. Complete the blanks with one of the characters. Part IViola is Sebastian ‘s twin sister. She is the daughter of the Marquis of Messaline. Viola survives the shipwreck. Although she is a rich and educated girl, she decides to provide for herself and pretends she is a boy in order to look for a job as a servant. Her new name is Cesario.Duke Orsino is the ruler of Ilyria. Cesario becomes the Duke’s servant. The Duke is in love with countess Olivia who is in mourning. She is showing her sadness because of her father and brother’s deaths and she doesn’t go out of her home or receive any visits. Maria works for the countess. She is her maid.Duke Orsino asks Cesario to bring his messages of love to Olivia, who doesn't love him back. She falls in love with Cesario instead, but Cesario has already fallen in love with Duke OrsinoPart IICountess Olivia tells Cesario she is in love with him and asks him to marry her. Cesario refuses her proposal. Meanwhile, Sebastian, who has survived the shipwreck thanks to Captain Antonio, appears in Ilyria with him. Captain Antonio is considered to be a pirate and knows Duke Orsino wants to arrest him.Sebastian meets Maria accidentally and she confuses him with Cesario. She almost forces him to visit Countess Olivia, who immediately asks Sebastian to marry her. She’s so beautiful that Sebastian accepts.Captain Antonio is arrested and confuses Cesario with Sebastian. Then Cesario realises her twin brother must be alive. Think of Part II, who marries whom? Sebastian marries Countess Olivia just before Duke Orsino marries Viola. Who is speaking? Who says these lines? These are some lines from the story. Whose words are those? Match the lines with the characters who say them. I saw him before the ship went down. He was holding on the ship’s mast. Don’t worry, Madam! He’s strong. He’s probably on another beach somewhere. The Captain of the ship that helps Viola. Perhaps I could work for Duke Orsino. Will you help me, Captain? I’ll disguise myself as a boy and you will introduce me to him. Viola You’re young and handsome. She will receive you. Tell her how much I love her, how much I’m suffering. Duke Orsino But I can’t love him. Go back and tell him I don’t want to hear from him again unless… You want to come back tomorrow and tell me what he said. Countess Olivia I’ve got a lot of enemies here, sir. The Duke’s officers will arrest me if they see me. Captain Antonio A man’s love is different from a woman’s, Cesario. It’s much stronger. My love for Olivia can’t be compared to a woman’s love for me. Duke Orsino Cesario, don’t you understand? I love you! I fell in love with you the moment I saw you Countess Olivia Who are you? You can’t be my brother because I don’t have one. Once I had a sister, but she died in a shipwreck Sebastian You often told me how much you loved me, Viola. But I thought you were a boy. Do you still love me? Will you marry me? Duke Orsino Which character do you like best and why? Do you think the story has a happy ending for all the characters? Justify your answer.