Twelfth Night; or, What You Will
Perhaps the most perfectly achieved of all Shakespeare's comedies, Twelfth Night plays desire, loss, and festivity against each other in a world — Illyria — that suggests both extravagant romance and deep longing. The play's comic energy is balanced by the cruel fate of Malvolio and a general autumnal sadness.
At a Glance
- Genre: Comedy
- Approximate date: c. 1601–1602
- Setting: A city in Illyria (fictional)
- Source: Barnabe Riche's Apolonius and Silla; possibly an Italian original
- Acts: 5
Dramatis Personæ
| Character | Description |
|---|---|
| ORSINO | Duke of Illyria; romantically self-absorbed; loves Olivia |
| VIOLA | Shipwrecked; disguises as Cesario; loves Orsino |
| SEBASTIAN | Viola's twin brother; believed drowned |
| A SEA CAPTAIN | Friend to Viola; helps her disguise |
| ANTONIO | Sea Captain; devoted friend to Sebastian; a danger in Illyria |
| OLIVIA | Rich countess; mourning her brother; falls for Cesario/Viola |
| MARIA | Olivia's witty waiting-woman; devises the Malvolio plot; marries Sir Toby |
| SIR TOBY BELCH | Olivia's uncle; lives for drinking, festivity, and mischief |
| SIR ANDREW AGUECHEEK | Sir Toby's companion; thin, foolish, pursuing Olivia |
| MALVOLIO | Olivia's steward; self-important; puritanical; duped into thinking Olivia loves him |
| FABIAN | Servant to Olivia; joins the plot against Malvolio |
| CLOWN (FESTE) | Olivia's fool; philosophical; melancholy singer |
| VALENTINE and CURIO | Gentlemen attending the Duke |
| A PRIEST |
Plot Summary
Act I: Orsino opens with "If music be the food of love, play on" — wallowing in his romantic feeling for Olivia. Viola, shipwrecked and believing her twin Sebastian dead, disguises herself as the page Cesario to serve Orsino. Cesario/Viola delivers Orsino's love messages to Olivia. Olivia promptly falls in love with Cesario. Viola realizes she loves Orsino.
Act II: Sebastian, alive, arrives with Antonio. Maria devises the gulling of Malvolio: she will forge a letter in Olivia's handwriting declaring love for him. Sir Toby, Sir Andrew, Feste, and Fabian celebrate late-night revelry; Malvolio tells them off. "What is love? 'Tis not hereafter" — Feste's song.
Act III: Cesario/Viola is caught between Olivia's love and the need to serve Orsino. Malvolio receives the forged letter; convinced Olivia loves him, he resolves to wear yellow stockings and cross-garters (which he knows she hates) and smile constantly. Sir Andrew, jealous of Cesario, is goaded into a duel — both contestants are terrified.
Act IV: Sebastian is mistaken for Cesario by Sir Andrew (who hits him) and by Olivia (who asks him to marry her). Sebastian, baffled but delighted, accepts. Malvolio, imprisoned in darkness as a madman, pleads for release; the Clown (disguised as the curate Sir Topas) torments him.
Act V: Orsino and Viola/Cesario arrive at Olivia's house. Olivia calls Cesario husband. Orsino is furious. Sebastian arrives — the twins are reunited. All is explained. Viola and Orsino are betrothed. Malvolio, freed, accuses Maria and Olivia; his mistreatment is acknowledged but not remedied. He exits: "I'll be revenged on the whole pack of you." Feste closes with his song: "the rain it raineth every day."
Key Themes
- Desire and its misdirection — everyone loves the wrong person; desire is a kind of madness
- Identity and twins — the twin device asks: what is individuality? what makes us who we are?
- Festivity and its limits — the play is named for Twelfth Night (Epiphany); it celebrates festivity but shows its cruelty to Malvolio
- Melancholy — Feste's songs, Viola's longing, Antonio's danger; the play is suffused with bittersweet feeling
- Class and gender — Viola's disguise gives her access to male privilege; Malvolio transgresses class boundaries
Notable Quotations
"If music be the food of love, play on." *(Orsino, I.i)*
"Some are born great, some achieve greatness, and some have greatness thrust upon 'em." *(Maria's forged letter, II.v)*
"She never told her love, / But let concealment, like a worm i' the bud, / Feed on her damask cheek." *(Viola, II.iv)*
"I'll be revenged on the whole pack of you." *(Malvolio, V.i)*
LibriVox Recording
Twelfth Night audiobook on LibriVox — Free public domain recording. (Multiple versions available)
Cross-references
- Comedies — genre context
- As You Like It — Rosalind's male disguise; pastoral comedy
- The Comedy of Errors — twin confusion
- Much Ado About Nothing — the gulling plot echoes the Beatrice/Benedick trick