″Suit the action to the word, the word to the action,″ Hamlet advises. But how to determine the appropriate action when Shakespeare gives the character no words? Isabella famously remains silent after the Duke′s two offers of marriage in act 5. What action would you prescribe for her and why? To answer this question, you must go back through the play to each scene in which Isabella and the Duke appear, especially to those they play together. What are their concerns/needs/desires? What is their relationship? How does what we learn of them during the play lead to Isabella′s final decision? 

″Suit the action to the word, the word to the action,″ Hamlet advises. But how to determine the appropriate action when Shakespeare gives the character no words? Isabella famously remains silent after the Duke′s two offers of marriage in act 5. What action would you prescribe for her and why? To answer this question, you must go back through the play to each scene in which Isabella and the Duke appear, especially to those they play together. What are their concerns/needs/desires? What is their relationship? How does what we learn of them during the play lead to Isabella′s final decision?