Remember to read Act III of The School for Scandal (the last play in the book, if you have the Penguin Classics edition) for Wednesday's class. There are NO QUESTIONS for Wednesday, since we'll have an in-class response instead. Here are some ideas to consider as you read:
* Look at the argument Sir Peter and Lady Teazle get into in Act III, Scene i, which ends up in both of them threatening divorce. What sets them off? Why does he keep 'acting' like her enemy when he's clearly in love with her?
* Why does Sir Oliver get in on the act and play the role of Mr. Premium? Why does he simply confront Charles without the mask?
* How does Act III also reveal the casual racism of the era, which forced people outside the norm of English life into stereotypical roles? Do you think Sheridan is trying to expose these stereotypes or taking them at face value?
* What does Charles do that deeply offends Sir Oliver (disguised as Mr. Premium)? Why is this shocking to him, and probably to an eighteenth-century audience?
* Is Charles a sympathetic character; are we rooting for him at this point in the play? If so, what makes him a more likable character than, say, his brother Joseph? Has Charles earned his bad reputation, or is it all slander from the 'school for scandal'?