Shakespeare Study Programs; The Comedies

THE RINGS

What is the business of Act V?

How is it linked to the preceding Act? Since reunion and rejoicing are not alone the business of the plot; since recognition and declaration to the two husbands, and to Anthonio, especially, are needed, as well as to the others, of the part played by the wives in solving the difficulties of the plot, the Ring scenes constitute the due dramatic conclusion of the Play. Note that the threat of quarrel over the reluctant but requisite giving away of the rings in the preceding Act makes a deceptively serious difficulty. It is happily to be solved as a result of the wives' preceding action. This difficulty and this solution at this final stage of the plot constitute a little character play that is an epitome of the action. The whole is the more happily and amusingly solved that the Audience is wise and the characters still in the dark are really perplexed.

Point out the value of the exchange of Rings as made clear in these two ways, by bringing out the characters of Gratiano, Bassanio, and especially of Anthonio as peace-maker; and by bringing out to them the fact that to the wives' love and skill the victory over the difficulties they suffered is due.

Are the rings the sole test of this?

What other news adds to the general denouement of all difficulties?

Is the summing up of the Play a victory of love and intelligence over hate and narrow-mindedness?

Show how the rings symbolize this, and music and moonlight provide the proper atmosphere for its operation. The appropriateness of the moonlight for a calm out of strife, brought about by women, is matched by the fitness of music and the reference to the harmony of the spheres to suggest that earth-harmony to which Portia was presiding Angel.

Queries For Discussion. Is any incident of Act V without relevance to the plot?

Is the Play the nobler or the weaker dramatically for the poetic and symbolic influence shed upon it by Act V?

THE MERRY WIVES OF WINDSOR

If this Comedy was written, as tradition reports at the bidding of Queen Elizabeth in order to show Falstaffe in love, it is interesting to see that Shakespeare confines his love-making to mercenary motives, and by causing him to make love to two at once renders him as a lover merely a cheat.

So keeping the word of promise to the ear, he obeys by breaking it to the sense. To show Falstaffe as a lover amounts to showing him as no lover at all.

In this sense, the Play might be called a courteous satire upon the Queen's request.

THE STORY OF ACT I

FALSTAFFE IS FORCED TO "CONICATCH"

How Falstaffe falls into trouble, turns away his followers and begins a new enterprise: How do his followers take revenge? What light upon this opening of the story do scenes i. and iii. show?

What is the underplot as shown in scenes ii. and iv and a part of scene i?

Do they appear to have anything to do with each other?

Queries For Discussion. Which of her suitors does Anne prefer? Which is to be preferred?

Is the grievance of Shallow against Falstaffe a necessity of the plot to show the fat knight in love, or an episode introduced out of Shakespeare's grudge towards Sir Thomas Lucy? (See pp. 117-119, 138-141, etc., "First Folio Edition.")

THE STORY OF ACT II

THE MERRY WIVES AND FORD LAY PLOTS

In Act II a third under-intrigue that of Ford with Falstaffe is added to the two before introduced.

Show how the Merry Wives reveal their separate personalities in their reception of the duplicate letters, and their plot to dupe Falstaffe.

Contrast their two husbands as their natures and marital relations are shown by their different manner of taking the information given them by Nym and Pistol. Ford, considered as Shakespeare's first study of jealousy. How does he compare with Leontes?

How does Ford assist in the plot of the Play?

What pertinence to Ford's jealousy is there in the allusion to Queen Elizabeth's Sonnet? (II, ii, 199-200).

The Sources of the Merry Wives' intrigue and what Shakespeare has done with them. (See "Sources," First Folio Edition). How is the Duel scene related to the underplot?

What characters belong in common to plot and counterplot?

Queries For Discussion. Does Falstaffe show any material differences in character as he appears in this Play, in comparison with the way he appears in "Henry IV?"

THE STORY OF ACT III

THE DOUBLE DUPERY

Contrast the feelings of Falstaffe before and after the Buckbasket episode?

In which scene is Ford the worst duped?

Give an account of Dame Quickly's relations to the intrigues, and show how her multitudinous offices as go-between interfere with each other so that she is "slacke" in one of her errands. What is the effect of her slackness on the contradictions in the time of the action. (See Duration of the Action, in "First Folio Edition"). Are they only seeming contradictions? The Sources of the Ford intrigue and what Shakespeare has done with them.

Anne and her father and mother as characterized in this act, with relation to the suitors.

Queries For Discussion. Is Anne the only character one can thoroughly sympathize with?

Are the situations such as owe their fun largely to coincidence, like those in the "Comedie of Errors," or to a teeming variousness in the human naturalness of all the characters?

THE STORY OF ACT IV

FORD'S ENLIGHTENMENT

Why is the Old Woman of Brentford trick a climax upon that of the Buckbasket?

Falstaffe's wish that all the world might be cheated is true to the method of the Play. Show in exemplification of this, how a fourth intrigue grows out of the third, and is introduced as late as this fourth Act. How is the joke of the Host against Dr. Caius and Sir Hugh Evans avenged? Is this reference to the "three Cozen Jermans" that are said to run away with the Host's horses, liklier to be an allusion seriously made to a real event or to make use of it as an entirely fictitious intrigue and practical joke in the Play? Is this mock happening such as could be clear by the method of enacting it and one entirely consonant with this Comedy as a farce-mosaic of laughable tricks? (See pp. 120-121, 179-180, also Note on IV. iii. 6). Discuss probabilities. The turn taken in the plot: Show how all combine against Falstaffe; also the place of this intrigue in making material for Act V.

Queries For Discussion. Has the "Merry Wives" any serious or tragic moments such as belong usually to Shakespeare's Comedies?

Compare the jealousy of Ford with the jealousy of Adriana in the "Comedie of Errors." Which exemplifies the riper treatment and why?

THE STORY OF ACT V

THE DEFEAT OF MERCENARY LOVEMAKING

Make clear the ins and outs of the Fairy trap, first for its actors, then for the dupes? Can the apparent inconsistencies in the wearing of green or white and the mention of "Quickly" for "Queene" be accounted for on the supposition that everybody is deceived except Nan and Fenton? (See Notes on V. v. 421, 205-209).

The compliments to Queen Elizabeth in the Play: What are they and how is their appropriateness to the Plot made good?

Consider the "humors" of the Welsh and French speeches and episodes as exploitations and developments of the similar humors of Fluellen and the Frenchmen of "Henry V."

The fairy scenes and effects of this Play compared with those of the wedding night feast at the end of "A Midsommer Nights Dreame."

What indications are there in the Falstaffe of "Henry IV." that he is superficially affected by the Puritanism about him? Is he any more deeply affected by it in the present Play? What is the difference in his appearance in this Play with respect to Puritanic morals: Is he more affected by them, at the last, when he is so grossly their victim, or have they grown, and put him out of date in England except as an atavism?

Have Page and his Wife any loftier standpoint as to mercenary love than Falstaffe himself? Is Fenton's speech (V. v. 225-235) the moral of the last Act or is Ford's (237-238)?

Queries For Discussion. Is the main design of the Play to "cure Ford of his unreasonable jealousy," as Rowe says, or to dupe and reform Falstaffe? Is the total aim sport to laugh over "by a Countrie fire?" Is it a Comedy of irony turned against all mercenary motives in love?

AS YOU LIKE IT

I

THE DRAMATIC CONDUCT OF THE PLAY: THE WRESTLING MATCH

How much of the situation existing in the play comes out in Act I. i.? And what action takes place?

The strained relation existing between the brothers Orlando and Oliver is revealed through Orlando's conversation with Adam and with his brother Oliver. The situation at court is also revealed through the conversation of Oliver with the wrestler Charles, and also the loving relation existing between Celia and Rosalind; thus we are at once put into the possession of three emotional or passional causes for action--Oliver's hatred of his younger brother, the younger Duke's hatred of his older brother, and the love of Celia for Rosalind. Of these causes for action only one bears any fruit in this scene, namely, Oliver arranges with the wrestler to kill Orlando. What are the connections existing between sc. ii. and sc. i.? First there is a picture of the loving relationship existing between Rosalind and Celia (already mentioned by Oliver in sc. i.) which reveals very subtly differences in their natures. The action set going by Oliver in sc. i. is consummated in the wrestling match, but with a result different from that hoped for by Oliver, thus leaving Oliver's hatred still present as a cause of action. Out of the wrestling match what further passional and emotional causes of action are set up? Duke Frederick's hatred for Orlando is aroused because he learns he is the son of a man he had considered his enemy, and action against him is the immediate result. Orlando is warned by Le Beau that he is not safe at the court. The Duke's hatred of his brother bears further fruit in its extension to Rosalind. The meeting of Rosalind and Orlando brought about by the wrestling match gives rise to a fresh emotional force in their budding love for each other. In Sc. iii., the state of Rosalind's heart as to Orlando, hinted at in sc. ii., is fully revealed; the Duke's hatred takes shape in his sentence of banishment or death, giving rise to a new direction for action, and the emotion of Celia's love for Rosalind bears fruit in her determination to go with Rosalind into banishment.

Ii. LIFE IN THE FOREST OF ARDEN

In Act II. how are the elements of action, character delineation and emotion intermingled?

Sc. i. gives us a picture of the banished Duke and his followers in the Forest of Arden, already prepared for in Act I., introduces us to the personality of the Duke, and in the conversation with the lords prepares us for coming delights in the personality of Jaques. It does not advance the action, at all. In sc. ii., the result of Celia's act in going with Rosalind is shown in the bad Duke's consternation, who determines that they shall be found, thus starting another thread of action to be developed later. Sc. iii. the passional cause of action in Oliver's hatred of Orlando reaches a crisis; Orlando is obliged to flee to save himself from death. Sc. iv. shows Celia and Rosalind arrived at their journey's end in the Forest of Arden, and making arrangements with a shepherd for a comfortable little house to rusticate in; thus is closed the thread of action started by the Duke in banishing Rosalind. In the conversation of their new companions, Corin and Silvius, we learn of the love of Silvius for the scornful Phebe, which is another emotional impulse to action, later blending itself with the plot. In sc. v. we meet Jaques, already mentioned, and get another glimpse of the pleasant company in the forest, but they are still quite detached from the active elements of the play. Sc. vi. shows us how far Orlando and Adam have gone in their flight, and sc. vii. presents again the good Duke's court, develops further the personality of Jaques, and prepares us, through his conversation about the fool whom he had met in the forest, for the contact of one of the threads of action with the element of inaction represented by this good Duke's forest court, while in the sudden breaking in upon them of Orlando it is brought into contact with another of the threads of action.

Iii. LOVE IN THE FOREST OF ARDEN

At the opening of Act III. what results have been brought about by the action so far? Everybody in the play except Oliver and the bad Duke has arrived in the Forest of Arden. In sc. i. of Act III. the hatred of the Duke is still active as a force, and Oliver through this means is also sent off to finally bring up in the Forest of Arden. The Duke's attitude as a motive force having worked itself out in its relation to Orlando and Rosalind, the emotional cause of action in the love of Rosalind and Orlando is free to develop, and the remainder of Act III. is devoted chiefly to the presentation of the situation between the lovers, which, owing to the disguise assumed by Rosalind, gives rise to the charming inconsistencies attending the wooing of a proxy Rosalind who is in reality Rosalind herself. Around these central lovers, whose characters Shakespeare unfolds, revolve other interesting personalities. Touchstone meets his fate in Audrey. Phebe still scorns Corin and perversely falls in love with Ganymede. The action is only advanced to the extent that Rosalind learns the state of Orlando's mind while he still remains in ignorance as to hers.

Iv. HATRED BECOMES LOVE IN ARDEN

Are there any fresh elements or developments in Act IV.?

Sc. i. merely continues the love-making of Act III. Sc. ii. gives another glimpse of the good Duke's court; in sc. iii. the love of Phebe bears fruit in a letter to Ganymede, and Oliver finds his way to the forest. The bad Duke's intentions toward Orlando in sending Oliver after him are, however, frustrated by the sudden change of heart against a bad Duke is a good Duke. Contrast their actions throughout the play. Contrast also the two brothers, Orlando and Oliver. What are the resemblances between the characters of Oliver and Duke Frederick?--between Orlando and the banished Duke? Is Orlando's rebellion against his brother's injustice or the banished Duke's acceptance of _his_ brother's injustice the more to be praised? Compare his attitude with that of Prospero under similar circumstances. Whose repentance is the more sincere, Oliver's or Duke Frederick's? Note that Oliver has lost all when he repents, while the Duke gives up everything just as he is about to realize his aim. Is the repentance of the usurping Duke merely a _ruse_ of Shakespeare's to bring the play to a happy ending? In Lodge's story he does not repent, but is proceeded against by his brother. Contrast Jaques and Touchstone. Is Jaques's melancholy affected? What is the main difference between Rosalind and Celia? Which is the more the friend of the other? (For valuable suggestions on these points see 'Characters in "As You Like It,"' _Poet-lore_, Vol. IV. pp. 31 and 81, Jan. and Feb., 1892.)

Queries For Discussion. Which is the better philosopher, Jaques or Touchstone, and which is more closely related to the philosophy of the play?

The characters of the two Dukes are not developed; they are merely walking gentlemen, whose office it is to keep the play in motion.

2. The Lovers of the Play.

The Different Kinds of Love in 'As You Like It.' Examples of love at first sight in Shakespeare. Note Orlando's surprise at the suddenness of Oliver's and Celia's love. Was his own less sudden? Consider Hymen's song and Jaques's remarks in the last scene as descriptive of the various couples. Does the comic element of the play, as represented by Touchstone, discredit sentiment in the play? Notice the madrigal in Lodge's novel (given in _Poet-lore_, Vol. III., in the article on Lodge, Dec, 1891), and consider whether Shakespeare has borrowed anything from it in characterizing Rosalind's wooing? Contrast Lodge's Montanus as a lover with Shakespeare's Silvius. Is Montanus too much of a "tame snake" to be natural? Or does this constancy in love make him a superior figure? Is it a sign of Silvius's inferiority that love has its own way with him? Can love be true that changes if it is unrequited?

Are those actors right, do you think, who play Oliver as guessing who Ganymede is when she swoons? Is Rosalind's conduct unwomanly? Is her disguise unlikely?

Queries For Discussion. It is best for the man to love the most; and therefore has Silvius and Phebe's unequal love-match a better chance for happiness than Rosalind's and Orlando's?

Vii. THE PASTORAL ELOPMENT

The Rise of Pastoral Poetry, and Shakespeare's Use of it in 'As You Like It.'

Compare Spenser's 'Shepherd's Calendar,' Fletcher's 'Faithful Shepherdess,' etc. Point out any differences you find between Shakespeare's and Spenser's pastoral poetry. Modern literary use of the pastoral element, Wordsworth's 'Michael.' Is the pastoral life of literature always artificial? Can a progress toward realism be shown? The humor of the play. Discuss in particular the humorous comments on contrasts between court and country life. Compare modern instances of the refinements and artifices of city life and the crudeness of work and pleasure in the country.

_Special Points_.--1. The Forest of Arden: Is it in England, France, or Shakespeare's imagination? 2. "Old Robin Hood of England." What are the legends concerning him? 3. The archaic words in the play. (See Prof. Sinclair Korner's 'Shakespeare's Inheritance from the Fourteenth Century,' in _Poet-lore_, Vol. II., p. 410, Aug., 1890.)

Query For Discussion. Is the opposition shown in the play between life at court and in the country truly shown to be to the advantage of the country.

Viii. THE MORAL ELEMENT

The moral side of the Play consists, according to the Introduction in the First Folio Edition, in its persuasion toward an Arden of the disposition, or a spirit of happy good will toward all men. How far does this cover the lesson of the Play?

What is to be thought of the idea in the 'Ethics of "As You Like It"' (_Poet-lore_, Vol. III., p. 498, Oct., 1891), that Touchstone's opinion of a shepherd's life (III. ii.) is the key-note of the play? Are the references to fortune in the play significant? Dr. F.J. Furnivall says: "What we most prize is misfortune borne with cheery mind, the sun of man's spirit shining through and dispersing the clouds which try to shade it. This is the spirit of the play." Of this Dr. Ingleby says: "The moral of the play is much more concrete than this. It is not how to bear misfortune with a cheery mind, but _how to read_ the lessons in the vicissitudes of physical nature." C.A. Wurtzburg says: "The deep truths that may be gathered from the play are the innate dignity of the human spirit, before which every conventionality of birth, rank, education, even of natural ties, must give way." Give arguments drawn from the play in favor of or against all of these suggestions. Is it an evidence of Shakespeare's intention to be a moral teacher that he altered the fate of Duke Frederick?

Query For Discussion. Has the play any moral that is not gently satirized in it?

Ix. THE SOURCE OF THE PLOT

Shakespeare's Variations from Lodge.

Compare Lodge's 'Rosalind' with 'As You Like It.'

(For this story, see "Shakespeare's Library" or Extracts in Notes and Comment in Sources in "First Folio Edition").

Is the story better without the parts Shakespeare leaves out (_e. g._, Adam's proposal to Rosader to cut his veins and suck the blood; his nose-bleed; the incident of the robbers accounting for Aliena's sudden love, etc.)? Why is the "Green and gilded snake" added? Isn't the "lioness" enough? Is Rosader or Orlando the finer character, and why? The new characters introduced--Audrey and William--considered as embodying real instead of ideal pastoral life. Do Shakespeare's changes affect the plot, the characters, or the moral of the story? (For an examination of the plot of the play, see 'An Inductive Study of "As You Like It,"' in _Poet-lore_, Vol. III., p. 341.)

A Sketch of Lodge's Life and Work. (See 'An Elizabethan Lyrist: Thomas Lodge,' in _Poet-lore_, Vol. III., p. 593, Dec, 1891.)

Query For Discussion. Is Shakespeare's framing of the plot of 'As You Like It' not to be admired, because it is borrowed?

X

THE MUSIC OF THE PLAY

This may consist of a brief paper on the subject illustrated by a program of the songs with the old and more modern settings. (See New Shakespeare Society's Papers, on this subject; 'Shakespeare and Music,' by E.W. Naylor.)

TWELFE NIGHT

The winsomeness of this poetic comedy rightly makes the reader or the hearer hesitate to count its petals or scrutinize the stages of its growth, which are marked by its acts as symmetrically as leaf buds are ranged about a stalk. And yet, one may find that to take note of such beautiful orderliness in the delicate structure and sprightly blossoming of the poet's design enhances the appreciation of its artistic quality. Regarding it first as a whole, sum up the stages of the action, first; then the caprices its allusions denote; then the characters; and finally the poetic fancy and wit exhaled by the whole play like a fragrance.

I

THE STORY OF THE PLAY

Act I. scene i. puts us in possession of what facts concerning the Duke and Olivia? What do we learn from the conversation of Viola and the Captain in scene ii., and what course does Viola decide upon? What do we discover from scene iii. in regard to the state of things in Olivia's household? In scene iv., what relation has been established between the Duke and Viola? What three new characters are introduced in scene v., and what is the event of the scene? Act II. scene i.: What is learned of Sebastian and his intentions? In scene ii., what are shown to be the feelings of Olivia? In what previous scene was this prepared for? Does scene iii. advance the story at all? What is it taken up with? Does scene iv. advance the story? Of what scene is it almost a repetition? If it does not advance the action, what does it do? Of what previous scene is scene v. the result? What previous scene leads up to scene i. of Act III? and of what scene is it in purpose a repetition? What new turn is given to affairs in scene ii., and through whom is it brought about? Whose doings do we get a glimpse of in scene iii? Of whose plot do we see further developments in scene iv? What other issues in the progress of events come to a climax in this Act? Act IV. scene i.: Describe the complication of affairs which arises in this scene. What previous scenes do we see the result of in scene ii? and what happens that will bring about a change in the situation? What important event occurs in this scene iii? Act V. scene i.: Describe how in this scene all the complications are unravelled, and by what means all the characters are brought upon the stage. What do you think of the device to call Malvolio upon the stage? Does it not seem rather clumsy, or do you think it a further humorous touch that Viola should have to depend on Malvolio to find her 'woman's weeds again'?

What becomes evident after tracing the events of the play through in this way? That the interest of the play does not depend so much upon the story itself, as, first, upon the amusing situations resultant from the story, and, second, upon the scenes which introduce the characters in Olivia's household who are really not at all concerned in the development of the plot, but who are the occasion of many added amusing situations.

What constitutes the real interest of the two short scenes between Sebastian and Antonio? Their bearing, mainly, on scene iv. of Act III. By means of them we are shown that Antonio has an enemy in Orsino, and thus his arrest is prepared for, also how Antonio gives his purse to Sebastian, the real purpose of the arrest being to bring about a reason for Antonio's requiring his purse again from Cesario, whom he takes for Sebastian, and so to add complication to the situation arising from the resemblance between the brother and sister.

What are the situations which the story gives Shakespeare a chance to develop? On the one hand, is the Duke pouring out his love for another woman to his supposed page, who is in love with him, and thus giving rise to the series of scenes between the Duke and Viola. On the other hand, is the supposed page pressing his master's suit to a woman who loves the supposed page, and thus giving rise to the series of scenes between Viola and Olivia. Out of this love of Olivia for Viola grows the absurd situation of Viola's being obliged to fight a duel, which is made still more ridiculous through the circumstance of her challenger being a fool. Out of Viola's resemblance to her brother and her disguise grows the absurd situation of Olivia's claiming her as a husband, and that of Sir Andrew taking for his unwilling duellist the all-too-willing Sebastian.

To these situations which naturally result from the story, Shakespeare has added in Olivia's household a set of characters whose personality is such that amusing situations are multiplied. Thus we may say that the play is one of situation rather than of action, since whatever of action there is in it leads to situation, and whatever of character there is in it leads also to situation.

Queries For Discussion. 1. If attention is constantly given to creating humorous situations, will character-development necessarily suffer? 2. Do you agree with the Shakespearian critic Verplanck that this play bears no indication either of an original groundwork of incident, afterwards enriched by the additions of a fuller mind, or of thoughts, situations, and characters accidentally suggested, or growing unexpectedly out of the story, as the author proceeded?

Ii. THE WHIMSICAL AND OTHER ALLUSIONS IN THE PLAY

Pick out and explain the curious allusions in the play, noticing that these may be classed as geographical, mythological, astrological, or referable to persons or customs of the time, or books of the day. For examples of the latter class, note Sir Toby's 'diluculo surgere' (II. iii.), for 'Saluberrimum est dilucolu surgere,' an adage from Lilly's Grammar, doubtless one of Shakespeare's text-books at the Edward VI. School in Stratford; and Viola's 'Some Mollification for your giant sweet lady' (I. v.),--an allusion to the innumerable romances whose fair ladies are guarded by giants; for Maria, being very small, Viola ironically calls her giant, and asks Olivia to pacify her because she has opposed her message. (For Shakespeare's education and school-books, see Bayne's remarks on this subject in Brit. Encyc. art. Shakespeare.) The whole incident of the 'possession' of Malvolio, and the visit of Sir Topas, probably alludes to a tract published in 1599 by Dr. Harsnett,--'A Discovery of the Fraudulent Practices of John Darrel,'--in which is narrated how the Starkeys' children were possessed by a demon, and how the Puritan minister, Mr. Darrel, was concerned in it. For examples of allusions to contemporary customs, see Sir Toby's mention of dances no longer known,--'Galliard,' 'Coranto,' etc. As an example of allusions to persons of that time, Sir Toby's reference to 'Mistress Mall's picture,'--Mary Frith, born in 1584, died in 1659, a notorious woman who used to go about in man's clothing and was the target for much abuse. Astrological allusions: 'Were we not born under Taurus?' 'That's sides and hearts,' which refers to the medical astrology still preserved in patent-medicine almanacs, where the figure of a man has his various parts named by the signs of the Zodiac. 'Diana's lip' (I. iv.), ('Arion on the Dolphin's back' I. ii.), are examples of mythological allusions. Of the geographical allusions there are two kinds, the real and the sportive,--Illyria, an example of the one, the 'Vapians' and the 'Equinoctial of Queubus,' of the other. Go on through the play classifying and commenting on the allusions. What was a 'catch'? Give an example.

Queries For Discussion. Are the odd allusions in the play a result of the corrupt text, ignorance, ridicule of learning? Or are they introduced to give a lively and contemporaneous effect?

Iii. THE DUKE AND SEBASTIAN

How does the play set off these two lovers against each other? Which has the more constant nature? Note the evidences of the Duke's restlessness and changeableness; how soon he tires of the music he calls for, of the clown's song (II. iv.). Is his first speech to Viola, on woman's constancy before the song, consistent with his second, after it? Is his own report of himself true,--'Unstaid and skittish in all motions else Save in the constant image of the one beloved'? Is Olivia's unattainableness the main source of her desirableness for him? How is it with Sebastian? Does his loyalty in love seem to be of the sort that suffers impairment when he can win love easily? The Duke craves excess in music in order that his 'appetite may sicken and so die;' Sebastian wishes 'to steep his soul in Lethe.' Do you think Sebastian and Viola alike in more than appearance? Which is the quicker-witted? Is the Duke's amicable acceptance of the inevitable and transference of his love to Viola in keeping with his character? Do you think Viola shows promise of special facility for preventing the moody Duke from tiring of her? Note that he calls her his 'fancy's queen.'

Query For Discussion. Is the Duke important chiefly as the inspirer of Viola's devoted love?

Iv. VIOLA AND OLIVIA

In what respects are the situations of Viola and Olivia alike? When the play opens, both are mourning the loss of a brother, and while this is made to point out the individuality of Olivia, after the first few lines we hear little more of Viola's grief. Can you suggest any reason for this? Does Viola's love for the Duke absorb her any more than Olivia's love absorbs her when she comes to feel the same? Viola and Olivia are also alike in giving their love without solicitation; but Olivia woos directly, Viola, in disguise, implies her love, and though her innuendoes are all understood by the audience, they are unappreciated by the Duke. What justification can be made for the unblushing love-making of Olivia? It could be justified by her rank, which was so much higher than that of the supposed page that advances should come from her. What signs are there that Viola's love was superior to Olivia's? Olivia's seems to have been founded on external liking, else she would not have been as satisfied with Sebastian as with Cesario; while Viola's, though it may have had no deeper foundation, was signalized by unselfishness, for she used every eloquent art of which she was capable to urge her master's suit. Notice in the first scene between Viola and the Duke how she tries to get out of going to Olivia, doubting her own ability, etc. Do you think she really doubted it, or that it was difficult for her on account of her own love for the Duke? Notice in the scene with Olivia her woman's anxiety to see her rival's face. What do you think instigated her remark, 'Excellently done, if God did all.' Was it a sudden touch of jealousy? It was clearly not the proper thing for an ambassador pressing his master's suit to say. How is it with the rest of the interview? Is her sarcastic tone judicious? Does it pique the nonchalant Olivia? Does her eloquence later, when she is assured of Olivia's obstinacy, reflect her own feelings for the Duke? What effect does it have on Olivia? Is it well-calculated to arouse her interest? In Act II. scene iv., which do you think had the right conception of woman's love,--the Duke or Cesario? What do you think of Olivia's saying that 'Love sought is good, but given unsought is better'? Which of the two characters show the more humor? Notice Viola's readiness in parrying questions that trench upon her sex. Olivia, on the other hand, can hold her own in a bout of wit with the fool, but she is perhaps not so quick-witted as Viola. We can imagine Viola at once seeing through Malvolio's attempt at pleasing Olivia, instead of taking him for mad, as Olivia did.

Query For Discussion. Which is the best lover, the Duke, Sebastian, Olivia, or Viola?

V

SIR TOBY AND MARIA, AND THEIR BUTTS OR DUPES

Show how the droll situations of the play are mainly contrived by some of the characters in order to make others their laughing-stocks. Who are Sir Toby's butts? Is Sir Toby attached to Sir Andrew, or does he only make use of him for profit as well as fun? (See Sir Toby's reply to Fabian (III. iii.)). Other instances to the same effect? Why does Maria join forces with Sir Toby? Is she in fact the leader of the scheme, or is Fabian's story of its origin true? What part does the fool play in the game, and why? Note his private grudge against Malvolio. Is it a dramatic mistake that even the heroine is made the butt of these merry-makers? Trace Fabian's part in the duelling plot against Sir Andrew and Viola. Do these plots recoil in any way against the plotters? Sir Toby and Sir Andrew both get some home-truths from Malvolio while they are eavesdropping, while for Fabian and Maria these thrusts of Malvolio's are just as good fun as that which the knights enjoy better. How does some of the later fun recoil against Toby and Sir Andrew? Are the Puritans made fun of in Malvolio's person?

Query For Discussion. Are the characters least scathed by the fun for that reason superior to the others?

Vi. MINOR CHARACTERS

The fun of the play is capped by the presence of a particularly clever fool whose function of making every one the butt of his wit makes one of the least important of the characters represent the special drollery of the whole play. The only grudge he bears is against the man who does not appreciate fun--who calls him a 'barren rascal.' Describe the passages in which he particularly shines. Of the minor characters the fool is minor only through his station and unimportance in the plot; he really occupies much space in the play and in fact pervades it. How is Antonio connected with the plot? What traits of his does the play bring out? Is his fondness for Sebastian unnatural? How is he concerned in the foolery of the play? Is he necessary to the plot? As the fool represents the merry-making spirit of the play, so Malvolio stands for the dupes of it. Does any one sympathize with him? Who shows the clearest understanding of his faults? (I. v.). What signs are there in the play of Malvolio's being a Puritan? Is there any evidence against it? Is Maria right, for example, when she says, 'The Devil a Puritan he is or anything constantly but a time-server,' etc.? That the character of Malvolio was generally taken on the stage as a portrait of the Puritan, and that Shakespeare must have known it would borrow some of its popularity from being so considered, seems not to be denied; on the other hand, it may hardly seem to be proven that Shakespeare thought he was drawing a genuine Puritan. Show Malvolio's character, his connection with the other characters and with the plot and the foolery of the play, and state the argument for and against Shakespeare's meaning to make fun of him as a Puritan.

Queries For Discussion. Is it a defect in the play that the fool, who has less to do with the plot, is more important than Antonio, who has somewhat more to do with it? Does it show that the main interest of the play is in comic situation rather than in character or dramatic motive?

Vii. THE POETIC FIGURES IN THE PLAY

Observe the various figures used throughout the play, as to whether they are drawn from nature or from other sources; for example, the first speech of the Duke bristles with metaphor. Note that he speaks of music as the _food_ of love, and bids the musicians play on that the _appetite_ may have a _surfeit_, images drawn from physical nature; then that the music came o'er his ear _like_ the _sweet sound_ that _breathes_ upon a bank of violets, _stealing_ and _giving_ odor. We should expect here some continuation in the language of sound; but the Duke continues as if he had said _wind_ instead of sound, and then wind is personified, for it _breathes_ instead of _blows_ on the bank of violets, and it steals their odor and gives it to him,--the music is so sweet that it seems as if its sounds came laden with the scent of violets to his ear. Here sound is personified at first as merely breathing, then it takes on moral attributes and steals and gives. Pick out and explain other figures in the same way. Which of the characters use the most beautiful imagery? Are there any who use none at all?

Queries For Discussion. Is there any special fitness in the imagery used to the character using it? Does the imagery used help you to form an opinion of the characters?

Viii. THE WIT OF THE PLAY

What are the main causes of amusement in the play? The audience, notice, is not kept in the dark one instant about any of the characters. Thus one of the sources of amusement lies in the fact that while the audience occupies somewhat the attitude of omnipotence, it has the pleasure of observing the characters of the play living their lives in the purblind way usual to mortals. Lessing said that a comedy should make us laugh at vices, but the vices must be those of characters who have good qualities also. Does 'Twelfe Night' answer to this description? Analyze the causes why the fun of the play is funny.

Queries For Discussion. Which of the characters cause amusement as the result of circumstances over which they have no control? How do each of these cause amusement unconsciously? Which of the characters cause amusement through a conscious intention of making fun?

THE TEMPEST

Until a few years ago no one had succeeded in finding the Play or Novel on which the European part of the plot of "The Tempest" was founded.

An early German Play, "The Fair Sidea" had been brought forward on account of some resemblances to "The Tempest." Yet it is obviously not its source but rather an imitation or variant indirectly drawn from a similar foundation story.

Edmund Dorer, a special student of Spanish Literature first called attention (Jan. 31, 1885,) to the story more closely resembling "The Tempest" than any other, as it occurs in a collection of tales by Antonio de Eslava, called _Las Noches de Invierno_, or "Winter Nights," published in Madrid in 1609.

Like other such collections of stories, such as the Italian collection of Bandello, and the French of Belleforest, used by Shakespeare, Eslava's collection was translated, and, in default of the original from one of the later editions, as translated into German in 1683 (_Noches de Invierno Winternachte aus dem Spanischen in die Deutsche sprach versetzet_) a summary of this story was given in English for the first time as a satisfactory source of "The Tempest" in the "First Folio Edition" of the Play (see pp. 85-93 and Introduction; also for an extract and summary of "The Fair Sidea," pp. 94-95).

What may be called the American half of the plot evidently owes suggestions to pamphlet accounts of the storm and wreck and other experiences met with by Sir Thomas Gates, Sir George Sommers and others during their voyage of discovery to the Bermudas in 1610 (see pp. 92, 99, and Notes pp. 114, 125-127, etc., for extracts.)

Gonzalo's speech, too, follows pretty closely a passage in Florio's Montaigue. (For this passage see Note on II. i. 153-160).