Why does Orsino constantly send Viola to woo Olivia instead of going himself? If he is so in love, why does he not make the effort to go talk to Olivia?

What role does the fool play throughout the play? Also, what did Malvolio do for Toby and Andrew to seek revenge on him by writing a fake letter from Olivia?

Do you think that Olivia is actually in love with Sebastian or the image that Viola created while she was masquerading as a male?

There were many rumors that state Shakespeare was homosexual.  Does Twelfth Night portray homosexuality in a positive light?  Could the ending of the play be used to mask Shakespeare’s true feelings about this issue?

There are many instances where hidden identities cause chaos and confusion. When Olivia falls in love with Viola/ Cesario she is unknowingly falling in love with another woman. Similarly, when Orsino mentions Viola/ Cesario’s beautiful and feminine features, he is being attracted to someone whom he thinks is a man. In both these instances, and also in regard to Antonio’s love for Sebastian, there seems to be a lot of homosexuality. While it is something accepted now, how did people during the Shakespearean Era respond to this?

I remember learning that during the Shakespearean era, men often played women’s roles.  Does that mean that the character of Viola/Cesario was a man playing a woman playing a man?  I’m curious to find out how the character was portrayed.

I think it’s really interesting how many of Shakespeare’s plays involve cross-dressing and disguise in the form of the opposite gender.  Weren’t his plays considered radical during his times?  How was he such a popular playwright?

Why must Viola must go through all the trouble of disguising herself as a male to get a job? Could she not have worked some place else to hide herself? Why was it so important she hid herself until the “right moment”?

The character of Herbert White is so creative and vivid, despite how outlandish he would seem to be in-concept as a necrophiliac child killer. How does Bidart create such a person? How does he craft this deeply complex and psychologically intriguing character? What preparation or studying did he do when formulating the poem? Or, does he know from first-hand experience…?

This poem is succinct but poignant and it seems as if he is pondering through the subject of girlhood even as he is writing the poem, as he switches perspectives in the middle. But why is it that he is writing about girlhood instead of boyhood? Nothing about the poem is distinctly about girls, so why did Galassi title it “Girlhood”?