Plot
- Viola is shipwrecked in Illyria and believes her twin brother Sebastian has drowned. Disguised as a young man, Cesario, she serves Duke Orsino.
- Orsino loves the Countess Olivia, who is mourning her brother and refuses him. Olivia falls for Cesario, and Viola falls for Orsino: a love triangle.
- In the subplot, Sir Toby Belch, Sir Andrew Aguecheek, Maria and Feste trick Olivia's strict steward Malvolio with a forged letter, so he appears in yellow cross-gartered stockings, smiling. He is locked up as mad.
- Sebastian arrives, and Olivia marries him, thinking he is Cesario. The twins are reunited, Orsino marries Viola, and Malvolio leaves swearing revenge.
Themes and context
- Love and desire, disguise and identity, gender, madness, social ambition, and festivity.
- Written around 1601. Twelfth Night was the last night of Christmas celebrations, when normal order was turned upside down. Boy actors played women, adding to the gender confusion.
Form
- A comedy with mistaken identity, a subplot of trickery and marriages at the end, but with a darker edge in Malvolio's treatment.
Key terms
- Disguise
- Hiding your identity, as Viola does as Cesario.
- Subplot
- A second, smaller storyline, here the trick on Malvolio.
- Steward
- The servant who runs a household.
- Dramatic irony
- When the audience knows more than the characters.
Quick questions on Twelfth Night
- What name does Viola use in disguise?
- Cesario: She serves Duke Orsino.
- Who does Orsino love at the start?
- Olivia: Olivia refuses him.
- Who falls in love with Cesario?
- Olivia: This creates a love triangle.
- How is Malvolio tricked?
- With a forged letter that seems to be from Olivia: He wears yellow cross-gartered stockings.
- Who is Viola's twin?
- Sebastian: Olivia marries him by mistake.
- Who is Olivia's steward?
- Malvolio: He hopes to marry Olivia and rise in status.
- What creates much of the comedy?
- Mistaken identity and disguise: The audience enjoys the dramatic irony.
- How does the play end for Malvolio?
- He leaves swearing revenge: The ending has a darker edge.