14 March. TGV, Acts 4-5

Acts 4-5
- 1. What happens to Valentine after he is exiled from the court of Milan? What reason does he give when the outlaws ask why he was exiled? Why does he lie?
- 2. Is the world out of doors different from the world inside? If yes, how?
- 3. What techniques or actions does Proteus employ to woo Silvia once Valentine is exiled? How does Silvia respond?
- 4. What’s your assessment of Julia? Why does she persist in her love for Proteus? Why does she “pity him/That with his very heart despiseth me?” (4.4.86-7)
- 5. Is Silvia a good rhetorician? To answer this question, may want to look at how she persuaded Sir Eglamour to help her escape her father (4.3.11-36), or her response to Proteus (4.286-98).
- 6. In 4.2, the Host perceives that Julia, who is disguised as Sebastian, does not like Proteus’s song. One reasons she gives for not liking the song is that the change in the music is the “spite” (4.2.64). Is this a play about the relative merits of change and constancy? If yes, what is your final assessment of the those concepts as they pertain to the play? “O heaven, were man/But constant, he were perfect” (5.4.108-9).
- 7. Who rescues Silvia from the Outlaws and what does her rescuer expect in return?
- 8. How does Valentine respond to Proteus’s apology? Were you surprised?
- 9. What sort of future does Valentine have planned according to the final five lines of the play?
- 10. The Jew of Malta and The Two Gentlemen of Verona were both written, and maybe played, in 1589, so the plays share many staging/acting techniques unique to early modern drama. What are some techniques that the two plays share? What do those techniques help communicate to the audience?
- 11. Is Silvia a good friend? In your final assessment, who are the best pair of friends we have seen so far this semester?