By William Shakespeare Twelfth Night By William Shakespeare

Twelfth Night: Historical Context It is believed that the play written by Shakespeare sometime around 1601 The basic plot of TN is not original to Shakespeare. This play was inspired by several Italian comedies that appeared in the decades prior to TN’s first performance. The first recorded performance of Twelfth Night took place on February 2nd, 1602 but the play itself was not published until 1623

Elizabethan Comedy A genre named for Queen Elizabeth I, the ruling monarch during Shakespeare’s time. Elizabethan comedies included the following conventions: A lighthearted tone Mistaken identities Multiple plot lines Frequent use of puns A clever “fool” or servant A conflict between propriety and debauchery Young lovers who overcome obstacles to their relationship A happy ending that includes marriages, reconciliations, and reunions.

What’s in a name? Twelfth Night is the only one of Shakespeare’s plays to have an alternative title: the play is actually called Twelfth Night, or What You Will. Critics are divided over what the two titles mean, but “Twelfth Night” is usually considered to be a reference to Epiphany, or the twelfth night of the Christmas celebration (January 6). In Shakespeare’s day, this holiday was celebrated as a festival in which everything was turned upside down—much like the upside-down, chaotic world of Illyria in the play.

AND IT JUST GETS MORE COMPLICATED FROM THERE…. Plot Summary A young woman named Viola is shipwrecked on the coast of Illyria. During the wreck she loses contact with her twin brother, Sebastian, who she now believes is dead. Viola decides that in order to protect herself she must assume the disguise of a man. Taking the name of Cesario, Viola enters the service of the Duke of Illyria, Orsino. Orsino is convinced that he is madly in love with a woman named Olivia, who refuses to consider taking a suitor because of the recent deaths of her father and brother. Things become complicated when Orsino asks Cesario to act as a messenger between he and Olivia. Ultimately, Olivia falls madly in love with Cesario, not realizing that his Viola in disguise. To make matters worse, Viola finds herself falling head over heals for Duke Orsino. AND IT JUST GETS MORE COMPLICATED FROM THERE….

Setting City of Illyria Known to Shakespeare as an actual region off the coast of the Adriatic Sea (present day Albania) It acts as a generically exotic setting for a play full of romance and intrigue The word “Illyria” brings forth associations like “illusion” - perhaps things are not always what the seem in this strange land