This question is based on William Shakespeare's Twelfth Night. The significance of the sub-plot dealing with Feste, Toby and Maria is the expression of life's

Analyze the question: It asks what the sub-plot involving Feste, Sir Toby, and Maria (with Sir Andrew, the gulling of Malvolio, the drinking, the songs and the pranks) expresses about life.

Explain the concept: In Twelfth Night, the main plot covers romantic entanglements: Viola, Orsino, and Olivia. The sub-plot is the "below-stairs" world of revelry. Toby's late-night drinking, Feste's songs and wit, and Maria's forged letter to trick Malvolio all celebrate festivity, merriment, and indulgence. This fits the play's title, which refers to the Twelfth Night festival, a time of feasting and misrule. Toby's famous line, "Dost thou think, because thou art virtuous, there shall be no more cakes and ale?", captures this spirit of enjoying life.

Solution, checking each option:

• A. Fragility: Feste's songs do touch on time passing ("youth's a stuff will not endure"), but this is not the main significance of the sub-plot.
• B. Pleasure: The drinking, singing, jokes, and pranks all express the pursuit of enjoyment and revelry in life. This fits best.
• C. Comedy: The sub-plot is certainly comic, but "comedy" describes the genre or the tone, not an aspect of life that it expresses.
• D. Romance: Romance belongs to the main plot (Viola, Orsino, Olivia), although Maria and Toby do marry at the end. It is not the sub-plot's central significance.

Answer: B. pleasure

Tip: For Shakespeare questions, link each plot to its theme. Main plot means love and identity. Sub-plot (Toby, Maria, Feste) means revelry, pleasure, and mockery of pride (Malvolio). Remember "cakes and ale" and you will recall the theme of pleasure.