1. What is Viola's reason for going to Illyria in the first place?
2. Is Olivia refusing men because that is normal during morning or is it because she just doesn't want to be bothered?
3. Why do the characters sometimes switch to another language (Latin/French/Italian)?
4. Was the only purpose of the clown to provide entertainment for Olivia or was there another deeper meaning for his presence?
5. Why does Olivia have Malvolio give Viola the ring? What does the ring symbolize?
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3) It seems to me that whenever the characters switch into another language, it is either making them seem more stupid or more educated than they're believed to be. For example, Sir Toby Belch, who because of his title should probably be wise, uses an "adapted" Latin phrase (see side notes, p. 14), possibly indicating that something from the literal translation got lost. Whenever Feste the Fool makes references to classical philosophers, such as Quinapalus (who don't really exist)(1.v.33), he is playing off of the ignorance of the people around him, making him seem smarter.
ReplyDeleteSo I guess what I'm trying to say is that these references/changes in language are there to indirectly indicate something about the character speaking.
5) I think Olivia sends the ring to Viola because she has fallen in love with "Caesario", perhaps because he is there on someone else's behalf and isn't trying to win Olivia's heart the way ever other man around her is.
ReplyDelete1. What is Viola's reason for going to Illyria in the first place?
ReplyDeleteViola did not mean to end up in Illyria. She was on a ship with her brother and it was caught in a storm and they ended up shipwrecked in Illyria. She had never heard of Illyria before.
Olivias brother has just died so she is in mourning, and unwilling to deal with men, therefore wearing a veil. She dislikes the messengers and slew of suiters who come her way. She seems taken by Ceasario, but no other matches her fancy. She is not going to give herself to just anyone and wants to be with someone for love.
ReplyDeleteI think Olivia is just refusing men because she is so wound up in all the "drama" that she just wants to avoid it entirely. I also think the clown is in the play to provide a comic relief to all the problems and negative aspects of the plot.
ReplyDelete