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= Twelfth_Night =
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Introduction
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'Twelfth Night, or What You Will' is a romantic comedy by William
Shakespeare, believed to have been written around 1601-1602 as a
Twelfth Night entertainment for the close of the Christmas season. The
play centres on the twins Viola and Sebastian, who are separated in a
shipwreck. Viola (disguised as a page named 'Cesario') falls in love
with the Duke Orsino, who in turn is in love with Countess Olivia.
Upon meeting Viola, Countess Olivia falls in love with her, thinking
she is a man.
The play expanded on the musical interludes and riotous disorder
expected of the occasion, with plot elements drawn from Barnabe Rich's
short story "Of Apollonius and Silla", based on a story by Matteo
Bandello. The first documented public performance was on 2 February
1602, at Candlemas, the formal end of the Christmastide-Epiphanytide
season in the Christian liturgical year's calendar. The play was not
published until its inclusion in the 1623 First Folio.
Characters
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* Viola - a shipwrecked young woman who disguises herself as a page
named Cesario
* Sebastian - Viola's twin brother
* Duke Orsino - Duke of Illyria
* Olivia - a wealthy countess
* Malvolio - steward in Olivia's household
* Maria - Olivia's gentlewoman
* Sir Toby Belch - Olivia's uncle
* Sir Andrew Aguecheek - a friend of Sir Toby
* Feste - Olivia's servant, a jester
* Fabian - a servant in Olivia's household
* Antonio - a sea captain and friend to Sebastian
* Valentine and Curio - gentlemen attending on the Duke
* A Sea Captain - a friend to Viola
Synopsis
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Viola is shipwrecked on the coast of Illyria and comes ashore with a
captain's help. She has lost contact with her twin brother, Sebastian,
whom she believes has drowned. With the aid of the Captain she
disguises herself as a young man named Cesario and enters the service
of Duke Orsino. Orsino has convinced himself he is in love with Olivia
who is in mourning and who therefore refuses to see entertainments, be
in the company of men, or accept love or marriage proposals from
anyone, including Orsino, until seven years have passed. Orsino then
uses 'Cesario' as an intermediary to profess his passionate love for
Olivia.
But Olivia falls in love with 'Cesario', setting her at odds with her
professed duty. Meanwhile, Viola has fallen in love with Orsino,
creating a love triangle: Viola loves Orsino, Orsino loves Olivia, and
Olivia loves Viola disguised as Cesario.
In the comic subplot, several characters conspire to make Olivia's
pompous steward, Malvolio, believe that she has fallen for him. This
involves Olivia's riotous uncle, Sir Toby Belch; another would-be
suitor, the silly squire Sir Andrew Aguecheek; Olivia's servants Maria
and Fabian; and Olivia's witty fool, Feste. Sir Toby and Sir Andrew
engage themselves in drinking and revelry, disrupting the peace of
Olivia's household until late into the night, prompting Malvolio to
chastise them. Sir Toby famously retorts,
: '"Dost thou think, because 'thou' art virtuous, there shall be no
more cakes and ale?"' (Act II, Scene III).
Maria suggests taking revenge on Malvolio by convincing him that
Olivia is secretly in love with him. She forges a love letter,
mimicking Olivia's handwriting, and plants it in the garden. The
letter asks Malvolio to wear yellow stockings cross-gartered--a colour
and fashion that Olivia hates, to be rude to the rest of the servants,
and to smile constantly in Olivia's presence. Watched by Sir Toby, Sir
Andrew, and Fabian, Malvolio finds the letter and is surprised and
delighted. He starts following the letter's instructions to show
Olivia his feelings. Olivia is shocked by the changes in him and,
agreeing that he seems mad, leaves him to be cared for by his
tormentors. Pretending that Malvolio is insane, the tormentors lock
him in a dark chamber. Feste visits Malvolio to mock Malvolio's
professed insanity, both as himself and disguised as a priest.
Meanwhile, Viola's twin, Sebastian, has been rescued by Antonio, a sea
captain who previously fought Orsino, yet who accompanies Sebastian to
Illyria, despite the danger, because of his admiration for Sebastian.
With their love for practical jokes, Sir Toby and Fabian convince Sir
Andrew to challenge Cesario to a duel, knowing that neither of them
can fight. Their initial duel is interrupted by Antonio, who believes
Cesario to be Sebastian. Orsino's officers then arrest Antonio.
Emboldened by this, Sir Andrew mistakes Sebastian for Cesario and
slaps him, prompting Sebastian to beat up Sir Andrew. Olivia witnesses
the skirmish and chastises Sir Toby, Sir Andrew, and Fabian. Taking
Sebastian for 'Cesario', Olivia asks him to marry her, and they are
secretly married in a church. Finally, when 'Cesario' and Sebastian
appear in the presence of both Olivia and Orsino, there is more wonder
and confusion at their physical similarity. At this point, Viola
reveals her identity and is reunited with her brother.
Sebastian and Viola reunite, and the cases of mistaken identity are
resolved. Orsino and Viola marry (Orsino to Viola: "But when in other
habits you are seen, Orsino's mistress, and his fancy's queen"), and
Antonio is released. Fabian confesses the plot against Malvolio, and
reveals that Sir Toby has married Maria. Malvolio swears revenge on
his tormentors and stalks off, but Orsino sends Fabian to placate him.
The plays end with a song sung by Feste.
Setting
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Illyria, the exotic setting of 'Twelfth Night', is important to the
play's romantic atmosphere.
Illyria was an ancient region of the Western Balkans whose coast (the
eastern coast of the Adriatic Sea, the only part of ancient Illyria
relevant to the play) covered (from north to south) the coasts of
modern-day Slovenia, Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, and
Albania. It included the city-state of the Republic of Ragusa, which
has been proposed as the setting, and which is today known as
Dubrovnik, Croatia.
Illyria may have been suggested by the Roman comedy 'Menaechmi', the
plot of which also involves twins who are mistaken for each other.
Illyria is also referred to as a site of pirates in Shakespeare's
earlier play, 'Henry VI, Part 2.' Most of the characters' names are
Italian but some of the comic characters have English names. Oddly,
the "Illyrian" lady Olivia has an English uncle, Sir Toby Belch.
It has been noted that the play's setting has other English allusions,
such as Viola's use of "Westward ho!", a typical cry of 16th-century
London boatmen, and Antonio's recommendation to Sebastian of "The
Elephant" as the best place to lodge in Illyria (The Elephant was a
pub not far from the Globe Theatre).
Sources
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The play is believed to have drawn extensively on the Italian
production 'Gl'ingannati' ('The Deceived Ones'), collectively written
by the 'Accademia degli Intronati' of Siena in 1531. It is conjectured
that the name of its male lead, Orsino, was suggested by Virginio
Orsini, Duke of Bracciano, an Italian nobleman who visited London in
the winter of 1600-01.
Another source story, "Of Apollonius and Silla", appeared in Barnabe
Riche's collection 'Riche his Farewell to Militarie Profession
conteining verie pleasaunt discourses fit for a peaceable tyme'
(1581), which in turn derives from a story by Matteo Bandello.
"Twelfth Night" is a reference to the twelfth night after Christmas
Day, also called the 'Eve of the Feast of Epiphany'. It was originally
a Catholic holiday, and these were sometimes occasions for revelry,
like other Christian feast days. Servants often dressed up as their
masters, men as women, and so forth. This history of festive ritual
and carnivalesque reversal is the cultural origin of the play's
gender-confusion-driven plot. Puritans often opposed Epiphany
celebrations, much as Malvolio opposes the revelry in the play.
The actual Elizabethan festival of Twelfth Night involved the antics
of a Lord of Misrule, who, before leaving his temporary position of
authority, called for entertainment, songs, and mummery; the play has
been regarded as preserving this festive and traditional atmosphere of
licensed disorder. This leads to the general inversion of the order of
things, most notably gender roles. The embittered and isolated
Malvolio can be regarded as an adversary of festive enjoyment and
community. That community is led by Sir Toby Belch, "the vice-regent
spokesman for cakes and ale", and his partner in a comic stock duo,
the simple and constantly exploited Sir Andrew Aguecheek.
Date and text
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The full title of the play is 'Twelfth Night, or What You Will'.
Subtitles for plays were fashionable in the Elizabethan era, and
though some editors place 'The Merchant of Venice's' alternative
title, 'The Jew of Venice', as a subtitle, this is the only
Shakespeare play to bear one when first published.
The play was probably finished between 1600 and 1601, a period
suggested by the play's referencing of events that happened during
that time. A law student, John Manningham, who was studying in the
Middle Temple in London, described the performance on 2 February 1602
(Candlemas) which took place in the hall of the Middle Temple at the
formal end of Christmastide in the year's calendar, and to which
students were invited. This was the first recorded public performance
of the play. The play was not published until its inclusion in the
First Folio in 1623.
Gender
========
Viola is not alone among Shakespeare's cross-dressing heroines; in
Shakespeare's theatre, convention dictated that adolescent boys play
female characters, creating humour in the multiplicity of disguise
found in a female character who for a while pretended at masculinity.
Her cross-dressing enables Viola to fulfil usually male roles, such as
acting as a messenger between Orsino and Olivia or serving as Orsino's
confidant. But she does not use her disguise to intervene directly in
the plot (unlike other Shakespearean heroines, such as Rosalind in 'As
You Like It' and Portia in 'The Merchant of Venice'), remaining
someone who allows "Time" to untangle the plot.
As 'Twelfth Night' explores gender identity and sexual attraction,
having a male actor play Viola enhanced the impression of androgyny
and sexual ambiguity. Some modern scholars believe that 'Twelfth
Night', with the added confusion of male actors and Viola's deception,
addresses gender issues "with particular immediacy". They also accept
that its depiction of gender stems from the era's prevalent scientific
theory that females are simply imperfect males. This belief explains
the almost indistinguishable differences between the sexes reflected
in the play's casting and characters.
Metatheatre
=============
At Olivia's first meeting with "Cesario" (Viola) in Act I, Scene v,
she asks her "Are you a comedian?" (an Elizabethan term for "actor").
Viola's reply, "I am not that I play", epitomising her adoption of the
role of "Cesario" (Viola), is regarded as one of the play's several
references to theatricality and "playing". The plot against Malvolio
revolves around these ideas, and Fabian remarks in Act III, Scene iv:
"If this were play'd upon a stage now, I could condemn it as an
improbable fiction". In Act IV, Scene ii, Feste (The Fool) plays both
parts in the "play" for Malvolio's benefit, alternating between
adopting the voice of the local curate, Sir Topas, and his own voice.
He finishes by likening himself to "the old Vice" of English Morality
plays. Other influences of the English folk tradition can be seen in
Feste's songs and dialogue, such as his final song in Act V. The last
line of this song, "And we'll strive to please you every day", echoes
similar lines from several English folk plays.
During and just after Shakespeare's lifetime
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Some scholars argue that 'Twelfth Night, or What You Will' (the play's
full title) was probably commissioned for performance as part of the
Twelfth Night celebrations held by Queen Elizabeth I at Whitehall
Palace on 6 January 1601 to mark the end of the embassy of the Italian
diplomat, the Duke of Orsino. Others dispute this, arguing that the
"rigid etiquette of Queen Elizabeth's court" would have made it
"impossible" for Shakespeare to name a main character in a comedy for
the very diplomat attending the performance, and that it is more
likely that Shakespeare used the name from the 1601 diplomatic visit
when writing his play, which premiered the next winter. It was again
performed at Court on Easter Monday in 1618 and on Candlemas night in
1623.
The earliest public performance took place at Middle Temple Hall, one
of the Inns of Court, on 2 February (Candlemas night) 1602. The lawyer
John Manningham wrote in his diary:
Clearly, Manningham enjoyed the Malvolio story most of all, and noted
the play's similarity to Shakespeare's earlier play, as well as its
relationship with one of its sources, the 'Inganni' plays.
Restoration to 20th century
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The play was one of the earliest Shakespearean works acted at the
start of the Restoration; Sir William Davenant's adaptation was staged
in 1661, with Thomas Betterton as Sir Toby Belch. Samuel Pepys thought
it "a silly play", but saw it three times anyway during the period of
his diary on 11 September 1661, 6 January 1663, and 20 January 1669.
Another adaptation, 'Love Betray'd, or, The Agreeable Disappointment',
was acted at Lincoln's Inn Fields in 1703.
After holding the stage only in the adaptations in the late 17th
century and early 18th century, the original Shakespearean text of
'Twelfth Night' was revived in 1741, in a production at Drury Lane. In
1820 an operatic version by Frederic Reynolds was staged, with music
by Henry Bishop.
20th and 21st century
=======================
Influential productions were staged in 1912, by Harley
Granville-Barker, and in 1916, at the Old Vic.
Lilian Baylis reopened the long-dormant Sadler's Wells Theatre in 1931
with a notable production of the play starring Ralph Richardson as Sir
Toby and John Gielgud as Malvolio. The Old Vic Theatre was reopened in
1950 (after suffering severe damage in the London Blitz in 1941) with
a memorable production starring Peggy Ashcroft as Viola. Gielgud
directed a production at the Shakespeare Memorial Theatre with
Laurence Olivier as Malvolio and Vivien Leigh playing both Viola and
Sebastian in 1955. The longest-running Broadway production by far was
Margaret Webster's 1940 staging starring Maurice Evans as Malvolio and
Helen Hayes as Viola. It ran for 129 performances, more than twice as
long as any other Broadway production.
A memorable production directed by Liviu Ciulei at the Guthrie Theater
in Minneapolis in 1984 was set in the context of an archetypal circus
world, emphasising the play's convivial, carnivalesque tone.
When the play was first performed, all female parts were played by men
or boys, but it has been the practice for some centuries now to cast
women or girls in the female parts in all plays. In 1999 and 2007
Propeller produced the play with an all-male cast, at the Old Vic, and
on tour internationally and in the UK. The company of Shakespeare's
Globe, London, has produced many notable, highly popular all-male
performances, and a highlight of their 2012 season was 'Twelfth
Night', with the Globe's artistic director Mark Rylance playing
Olivia. This season was preceded, in February, by a performance of the
play by the same company at Middle Temple Hall, to celebrate the 400th
anniversary of the play's première, at the same venue. Stephen Fry
played Malvolio when the same production was revived in 2012-13, later
transferring to sell-out runs in the West End and Broadway; it ran in
repertory with 'Richard III'.
Many renowned actresses have played Viola in the latter half of the
20th century, and their performances been interpreted in the light of
how far they allow the audience to experience the transgression of
stereotypical gender roles. This has sometimes correlated with how far
productions of the play go towards reaffirming a sense of unification;
for example, a 1947 production concentrated on showing a post-World
War II community reuniting at the end of the play, led by a robust
hero / heroine in Viola, played by Beatrix Lehmann, then 44 years old.
The 1966 Royal Shakespeare Company production played on gender
transgressions more obviously, with Diana Rigg as Viola showing much
more physical attraction towards the duke than previously seen, and
the court in general being a more physically demonstrative place,
particularly between males. John Barton's 1969 production starred
Donald Sinden as Malvolio and Judi Dench as Viola; their performances
were highly acclaimed and the production as a whole was said to show a
society crumbling into decay.
Malvolio is a popular character choice among stage actors; he has been
portrayed by Ian Holm many times, Simon Russell Beale (Donmar
Warehouse, 2002), Richard Cordery (2005), Patrick Stewart,
(Chichester, 2007), Derek Jacobi (Donmar Warehouse, 2009), Richard
Wilson (2009), and Stephen Fry (The Globe, 2012).
In 2017, the Royal National Theatre's production of 'Twelfth Night'
changed some of the roles from male to female, including Feste, Fabian
(who became Fabia), and, most notably, Malvolio - who became Malvolia
- played by Tamsin Greig to largely positive reviews. As a result, the
production played with sexuality as well as gender.
In 2017-18, the Royal Shakespeare Company staged a production directed
by Christopher Luscombe; Adrian Edmondson played Malvolio, Kara
Tointon Olivia, and Dinita Gohil Viola.
In 2022, Old Fruit Jar Productions staged a 1980s-inspired twist on
the play at Royal Court Theatre, Liverpool, swapping lords and ladies
of stately homes for rowdy Benidorm bars and booze-fuelled escapades,
as an introduction to Shakespeare for audiences unfamiliar with his
work.
Musicals
==========
Due to its themes such as young women seeking independence in a "man's
world", "gender bending" and "same sex attraction", there have been a
number of re-workings for the stage, particularly in musical theatre,
among them 'Your Own Thing' (1968), 'Music Is' (1977), 'All Shook Up'
(2005), and 'Play On!' (1997), the last two jukebox musicals featuring
the music of Elvis Presley and Duke Ellington, respectively. Another
adaptation is 'Illyria' (2002) by composer Pete Mills, which continues
to perform regularly throughout the United States. In 2018, the Public
Theatre workshopped and premiered a musical adaptation of 'Twelfth
Night' with original music by Shaina Taub, who also played the role of
Feste. In 1999, the play was adapted as 'Epiphany' by the Takarazuka
Revue, adding more overt commentary on the role of theatre and actors,
as well as gender as applied to the stage (made more layered by the
fact that all roles in this production were played by women).
There are many new modern plays but mostly still played in Early
Modern English.
Plays
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Theatre Grottesco, a Lecocq-inspired company based out of Santa Fe,
New Mexico, created a modern version of the play from the point of
view of the servants working for Duke Orsino and Lady Olivia, entitled
'Grottesco's 12'th 'Night' (2008). The adaptation takes a much deeper
look at the issues of classism, and society without leadership. In
New York City, Turn to Flesh Productions, a theatre company that
specializes in creating "new Shakespeare shows", developed two plays
focused on Malvolio: 'A Comedy of Heirors, or The Imposters' by verse
playwright, Emily C. A. Snyder, which imagined a disgraced Malvolio
chasing down two pairs of female twins in Syracuse and Ephesus, and
'Malvolio's Revenge' by verse playwright, Duncan Pflaster, a queer
sequel to 'Twelfth Night'. Both plays were originally written for
submission to the American Shakespeare Center's call for plays in
conversation with the Bard through the Shakespeare's New
Contemporaries program.
Film
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*1910: Vitagraph Studios released the silent, short adaptation
'Twelfth Night' starring actors Florence Turner, Julia Swayne Gordon,
and Marin Sais.
*1985: 'Just One of the Guys', directed by Lisa Gottlieb, is a loose
update of the story set in a modern high school.
*1986: 'Twelfth Night', an Australian production.
*1996: 'Twelfth Night, Or What You Will', adapted and directed by
Trevor Nunn and set in the 19th century, stars Imogen Stubbs as Viola,
Helena Bonham Carter as Olivia, and Toby Stephens as Duke Orsino. The
film also features Mel Smith as Sir Toby, Richard E. Grant as Sir
Andrew, Ben Kingsley as Feste, Imelda Staunton as Maria, and Nigel
Hawthorne as Malvolio. Much of the comic material was downplayed into
straightforward drama, and the film received some criticism for this.
*1998: 'Shakespeare in Love' contains several references to 'Twelfth
Night'. "Viola" (Gwyneth Paltrow) is the daughter of a wealthy
merchant who disguises herself as a boy to become an actor. Near the
end of the movie, Elizabeth I (Judi Dench) asks Shakespeare (Joseph
Fiennes) to write a comedy for the Twelfth Night holiday. Viola is
presented in the final scene of the film as Shakespeare's inspiration
for the heroine of 'Twelfth Night'. In a nod to the shipwrecked
opening of the play, the movie includes a scene where the character
Viola, separated from her love by an arranged marriage and bound for
the American colonies, survives a shipwreck and comes ashore to
Virginia.
*2001: Disney Channel Original Movie 'Motocrossed' sets the story in
the world of motocross racing.
*2004: 'Wicker Park' has Rose Byrne's character Alex play Viola in an
amateur production of 'Twelfth Night'.
*2006: 'She's the Man' updates the story as a contemporary teenage
comedy. It is set in a prep school named Illyria and incorporates the
names of the play's major characters. The story was changed to revolve
around the idea of soccer rivalry but the twisted character romance
remained the same as the original. Viola, the main character, pretends
to be her brother Sebastian, and a girl named Olivia falls in love
with her in this guise. Two of Duke's Illyria soccer teammates are
named Andrew and Toby. A nod is given to the omitted subplot by naming
a briefly-onscreen tarantula Malvolio. Sebastian's ex-girlfriend
Monique was given the surname Valentine, the meddling Malcolm was
given the surname Festes, and Viola's friend and hair stylist Paul was
given the surname Antonio.
*2018: Adam Smethurst adapted and directed this version set in the
21st century. The film stars Sheila Atim as Viola and Sebastian,
Dominic Coleman as Sir Andrew Aguecheek, Zackary Momoh as Antonio, and
Simon Nagra as Sir Toby Belch.
Television
============
On 14 May 1937, the BBC Television Service in London broadcast a
thirty-minute excerpt of the play, the first known instance of a work
of Shakespeare being performed on television. Produced for the new
medium by George More O'Ferrall, the production is also notable for
having featured a young actress who would later go on to win an
Academy Award - Greer Garson. As the performance was transmitted live
from the BBC's studios at Alexandra Palace and the technology to
record television programmes did not at the time exist, no visual
record survives other than still photographs.
The entire play was produced for television in 1939, directed by
Michel Saint-Denis and starring another future Oscar-winner, Peggy
Ashcroft. The part of Sir Toby Belch was taken by a young George
Devine.
In 1957, another adaptation of the play was presented by NBC on U.S.
television's 'Hallmark Hall of Fame', with Maurice Evans recreating
his performance as Malvolio. This was the first colour version ever
produced on TV. Dennis King, Rosemary Harris, and Frances Hyland
co-starred.
In 1964, there was a Canadian TV version directed by George McCowan
with Martha Henry as 'Viola', then in 1966 there was an Australian TV
version.
Another version for UK television was produced in 1969, directed by
John Sichel and John Dexter. The production featured Joan Plowright as
Viola and Sebastian, Alec Guinness as Malvolio, Ralph Richardson as
Sir Toby Belch, and Tommy Steele as an unusually prominent Feste.
Yet another TV adaptation followed in 1980. This version was part of
the 'BBC Television Shakespeare' series and featured Felicity Kendal
in the role of Viola, Sinéad Cusack as Olivia, Alec McCowen as
Malvolio, and Robert Hardy as Sir Toby Belch.
In 1988, Kenneth Branagh's stage production of the play, starring
Frances Barber as Viola and Richard Briers as Malvolio, was adapted
for Thames Television.
In 1998 the Lincoln Center Theater production directed by Nicholas
Hytner was broadcast on PBS Live From Lincoln Center. It starred Helen
Hunt as Viola, Paul Rudd as Orsino, Kyra Sedgwick as Olivia, Philip
Bosco as Malvolio, Brian Murray as Sir Toby, Max Wright as Sir Andrew,
and David Patrick Kelly as Feste.
A 2003 tele-movie adapted and directed by Tim Supple is set in the
present day. It features David Troughton as Sir Toby, and is notable
for its multi-ethnic cast including Parminder Nagra as Viola and
Chiwetel Ejiofor as Orsino. Its portrayal of Viola and Sebastian's
arrival in Illyria is reminiscent of news footage of asylum seekers.
An episode of the British series 'Skins', entitled 'Grace', featured
the main characters playing Twelfth Night, with a love triangle
between Franky, Liv and Matty, who respectively played Viola, Olivia,
and Orsino.
Radio
=======
An adaptation of 'Twelfth Night' by Cathleen Nesbitt for the BBC was
the first complete Shakespeare play ever broadcast on British radio.
This occurred on 28 May 1923, with Nesbitt as both Viola and
Sebastian, and Gerald Lawrence as Orsino.
In 1937, an adaptation was performed on the 'CBS Radio Playhouse'
starring Orson Welles as Orsino and Tallulah Bankhead as Viola. A year
later, Welles played Malvolio in a production with his Mercury Theater
Company.
There have been several full adaptations on BBC Radio. A 1982 BBC
Radio 4 broadcast featured Alec McCowen as Orsino, Wendy Murray as
Viola, Norman Rodway as Sir Toby Belch, Andrew Sachs as Sir Andrew
Aguecheek, and Bernard Hepton as Malvolio; in 1993, BBC Radio 3
broadcast a version of the play (set on a Caribbean Island), with
Michael Maloney as Orsino, Eve Matheson as Viola, Iain Cuthbertson as
Malvolio, and Joss Ackland as Sir Toby Belch; this adaptation was
broadcast again on 6 January 2011 by BBC Radio 7 (now Radio 4 Extra).
1998 saw another Radio 3 adaptation, with Michael Maloney, again as
Orsino, Josette Simon as Olivia and Nicky Henson as Feste. In April
2012, BBC Radio 3 broadcast a version directed by Sally Avens, with
Paul Ready as Orsino, Naomi Frederick as Viola, David Tennant as
Malvolio, and Ron Cook as Sir Toby Belch.
Music
=======
Operas based on 'Twelfth Night' include Bedřich Smetana's unfinished
'Viola' (1874, 1883-1884), Karel Weis's 'Blíženci' (1892, 2nd version
1917), Ivan Jirko's 'Večer tříkrálový' (1964), Jan Klusák's 'Dvanáctá
noc' (1989), and Edward Lambert's 'Twelfth Night' (2025).
A stage music based on 'Twelfth Night' was composed in 1907 by
Engelbert Humperdinck, famous for his fairy-tale opera "Hänsel und
Gretel".
Overtures based on 'Twelfth Night' have been composed by Alexander
Campbell Mackenzie (1888); Mario Castelnuovo-Tedesco, and Johan
Wagenaar.
"O Mistress Mine" (Act II, Scene 3) has been set to music as a solo
song by many composers, including Thomas Morley (also arranged by
Percy Grainger, 1903); Arthur Sullivan (1866); Hubert Parry (1886);
Charles Villiers Stanford (1896); Amy Beach (1897); R. H. Walthew
(1898); W. Augustus Barratt (1903); Roger Quilter (1905); Samuel
Coleridge-Taylor (1906); Benjamin Dale (1919); Peter Warlock (1924);
Arthur Somervell (1927); Cecil Armstrong Gibbs (1936); Gerald Finzi
(1942); Erich Korngold (1943); Peter Racine Fricker (1961); Sven-Eric
Johanson (1974); Jaakko Mäntyjärvi (1984); Dave Matthews (2014); Paul
Kelly (2016); David Barton (2019). Other settings for mixed voices
have been composed by Herbert Brewer and Herbert Murrill amongst
others.
"Come Away, Come Away, Death" (Act II, Scene 4) has been set to music
by composers Johannes Brahms (in a German translation by August
Schlegel as "Lied von Shakespeare", the second of 'Four Songs for
Female Choir', Op. 17, in 1860), Gerald Finzi (1942), Erich Korngold
(1943), Roger Quilter, and Jean Sibelius (in a Swedish translation as
"Kom nu hit", 1957).
In 1943, Korngold also set the songs "Adieu, Good Man Devil" (Act IV,
Scene 2), "Hey, Robin" (Act IV, Scene 2), and "For the Rain, It
Raineth Every Day" (Act V, Scene 1) as the song cycle 'Narrenlieder',
Op. 29.
Influence
======================================================================
The play consistently ranks among the greatest plays ever written and
has been dubbed "The Perfect Comedy". The Danish philosopher Søren
Kierkegaard opens his 1844 book 'Philosophical Fragments' with the
quote "Better well hanged than ill wed", a paraphrase of Feste's
comment to Maria in Act 1, Scene 5: "Many a good hanging prevents a
bad marriage". Nietzsche also refers passingly to 'Twelfth Night'
(specifically, to Sir Andrew Aguecheek's suspicion, expressed in Act
1, Scene 3, that his excessive intake of beef is having an inverse
effect on his wit) in the third essay of his 'Genealogy of Morality'.
Agatha Christie's 1940 mystery novel 'Sad Cypress' draws its title
from a song in Act II, Scene IV of 'Twelfth Night'.
The protagonists of Vita Sackville-West's 1930 novel 'The Edwardians'
are named Sebastian and Viola, and are brother and sister. In her
introduction to the novel, Victoria Glendinning writes: "Sebastian is
the boy-heir that Vita would like to have been... Viola is very like
the girl that Vita actually was."
American playwright Ken Ludwig wrote a play inspired by the details of
'Twelfth Night', called 'Leading Ladies.'
Cassandra Clare's 2009 novel 'City of Glass' contains chapter names
inspired by quotations of Antonio and Sebastian.
British Neoprog band Twelfth Night is named after the play.
Two of the dogs in the film 'Hotel for Dogs' are twins called
Sebastian and Viola.
Clive Barker's short story "Sex, Death and Starshine" revolves around
a doomed production of 'Twelfth Night.'
The Baker Street Irregulars believe Sherlock Holmes's birthday to be 6
January due to the fact that Holmes quotes twice from 'Twelfth Night'
whereas he quotes only once from other Shakespeare plays.
Characters in Shirley Jackson's 1959 novel, 'The Haunting of Hill
House,' frequently quote Feste's song, O Mistress Mine. More
specifically, the line "journeys end in lovers meeting" repeats
throughout the text, spoken most frequently by Eleanor.
The 'Kiddy Grade' characters Viola and Cesario are named for Viola and
her alter ego Cesario.
Elizabeth Hand's novella 'Illyria' features a high school production
of 'Twelfth Night', containing many references to the play, especially
Feste's song.
The 2006 romantic comedy 'She's the Man' is loosely based on 'Twelfth
Night'.
One of 'Club Penguin's' plays, 'Twelfth Fish', is a spoof of
Shakespeare's works. It is a story about a countess, a jester, and a
bard who catch a fish that talks. As the play ends, they begin eating
the fish. Many of the lines are parodies of Shakespeare.
Sara Farizan's 2014 young adult novel "Tell Me Again How A Crush
Should Feel" features a high school production of the play, where the
"new girl" Saskia plays Viola/Cesario and catches the attention of the
main character, Leila.
Vidyadhar Gokhale's play 'Madanachi Manjiri' (मदनाची मंजिरी) is an
adaptation of 'Twelfth Night'.
West Ambrose's book 'The Last Boy on Earth' is inspired by 'Twelfth
Night' . The work is a platonic dialogue focusing on queerness,
disability, and science fiction elements found within the play.
See also
======================================================================
* List of idioms attributed to Shakespeare
External links
======================================================================
;Digital editions
*
*
* [
http://www.shakespeare-navigators.com/TN_Navigator/ 'Twelfth Night'
Navigator] Includes annotated text, line numbers, scene index with
scene summaries, and a search engine.
;Educational resources
*
[
https://web.archive.org/web/20071124035249/http://www.webenglishteacher.com/12night.html
Lesson plans for 'Twelfth Night'] at Web English Teacher
* [
http://www.shmoop.com/twelfth-night/ 'Twelfth Night'] study guide
and teacher resources - themes, quotes, multimedia, study questions
;Other sources
*
*
* [
http://www.bl.uk/works/twelfth-night 'Twelfth Night'] at the
British Library
* For an analysis of various characters in 'Twelfth Night', one may
refer to Pinaki Roy's essay "'Epiphanies': Rereading Select Characters
in William Shakespeare's 'Twelfth Night'", published in 'Yearly
Shakespeare - 2012' 10, April 2012: 53-60.
* [
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h8_mz6l8Mgk Video Program]
featuring a visit to the Guthrie Theater in Minneapolis featuring the
July-August 2000 production of The Twelfth Night, directed by Joe
Dowling, and featuring interviews with actors Charles Keating and Opal
Alladin plus video clips from the play (28:40).
*[
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QOG8DxWPeRI 'Twelfth Night (2018)']
on YouTube
License
=========
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License URL:
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/
Original Article:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Twelfth_Night
