Introduction
Viola is pretending to be Cesario, a page-boy in the court of Orsino, Duke of Illyria. The Duke uses her as a go-between in his courtship of Olivia, but Viola has fallen in love with Orsino herself, and tries without success to interest him in the possibility of a rival.
“MY father had a daughter lov’d a
man,
As it might be perhaps, were I a woman,
I should your lordship.”
“And what’s her history?”
“A blank, my lord. She never told her love,
But let concealment, like a worm i’ th’ bud,
Feed on her damask cheek. She pin’d in thought;
And with a green and yellow melancholy
She sat like Patience on a monument,
Smiling at grief. Was not this love indeed?
We men may say more, swear more, but indeed
Our shows are more than will; for still we prove
Much in our vows, but little in our love.”
“But died thy sister of her love, my boy?”
“I am all the daughters of my father’s house,
And all the brothers too - and yet I know not.*
Sir, shall I to this lady?”
“Ay, that’s the theme.
To her in haste. Give her this jewel; say
My love can give no place, bide no denay.”
Viola may be indicating that she does not yet know whether this heroine will die of her love; alternatively, she may mean that she is not sure if she really is ‘all the brothers of her father’s house’: Viola fears her identical twin brother Sebastian may have drowned in the same shipwreck that left her in Illyria, though she has heard a rumour that he survived.
Précis
In William Shakespeare’s ‘Twelfth Night’, Viola, posing as a male servant, tries to tell her master Orsino, Duke of Illyria, that his infatuation with Olivia is blinding him to a love much closer to home. However, Viola’s disguise is too good, and Olivia’s place in the Duke’s heart too strong, for him to understand. (54 / 60 words)
In William Shakespeare’s ‘Twelfth Night’, Viola, posing as a male servant, tries to tell her master Orsino, Duke of Illyria, that his infatuation with Olivia is blinding him to a love much closer to home. However, Viola’s disguise is too good, and Olivia’s place in the Duke’s heart too strong, for him to understand.
Variations: 1.increase the length of this precis to exactly 60 words. 2.reduce the length of this precis to exactly 50 words. 3.introduce one of the following words into the precis: although, besides, if, must, not, otherwise, ought, since.
Archive
Word Games
Sevens Based on this passage
Suggest answers to this question. See if you can limit one answer to exactly seven words.
Variations: 1.expand your answer to exactly fourteen words. 2.expand your answer further, to exactly twenty-one words. 3.include one of the following words in your answer: if, but, despite, because, (al)though, unless.
Jigsaws Based on this passage
Express the ideas below in a single sentence, using different words as much as possible. Do not be satisfied with the first answer you think of; think of several, and choose the best.
Spinners Find in Think and Speak
For each group of words, compose a sentence that uses all three. You can use any form of the word: for example, cat → cats, go → went, or quick → quickly, though neigh → neighbour is stretching it a bit.
This exercise uses words found in the accompanying passage.
1 Grief. Like. Woman.
2 Monument. Worm. Yellow.
3 Blank. Die. Your.
Variations: 1. include direct and indirect speech 2. include one or more of these words: although, because, despite, either/or, if, unless, until, when, whether, which, who 3. use negatives (not, isn’t, neither/nor, never, nobody etc.)
Add Vowels Find in Think and Speak
Make words by adding vowels to each group of consonants below. You may add as many vowels as you like before, between or after the consonants, but you may not add any consonants or change the order of those you have been given. See if you can beat our target of common words.
frs (12+1)
fairies. fairs. fares. fears. fires. firs. foresee. fours. frees. fries. furious. furs.
freesia.
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