Question

In this excerpt from act IV, scene I, of Twelfth Night, Sebastian is unable to understand why Feste drags him to Olivia’s house, why he is attacked by Sir Andrew, or why he is called Cesario:
SEBASTIAN: What relish is in this? how runs the stream?
Or I am mad/ or else this is a dream:—
Let fancy still my sense in Lethe steep;
If it be thus to dream, still let me sleep!
Which of the following statements is the correct interpretation of Sebastian’s words in the excerpt?
A)Lethe was the river that ran through Sebastian’s country Messaline; he is remembering the time he spent there sleeping and having great dreams.
B)Sebastian thinks that he may be dead, so he mentions the river Lethe, which is associated in Greek mythology with death.
C) Sebastian feels he may be suffering from amnesia after the shipwreck, and refers to the river Lethe, which is associated with forgetfulness in Greek mythology.
D) Sebastian was found by Antonio beside the river Lethe in Illyria; he is recalling the time when he regained consciousness after the shipwreck.

Answer 1

Answer: C) Sebastian feels he may be suffering from amnesia after the shipwreck, and refers to the river Lethe, which is associated with forgetfulness in Greek mythology.

Explanation: In the given excerpt from act IV, scene I of Twelfth Night we can see that Sebastian is really confused because he is being called Cesario and he is being attacked by Sir Andrew. As he had been recently in a shipwreck, he thinks he might be having amnesia and he refers to the river Lethe (a river of the underworld, Greeks believed that when people died, in order to reincarnate they had to drink of the Lethe and they forgot all of their previous life) as a sign of forgetfulness.