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The title of the play might have been inspired by the occasion for which it was written, that of Twelfth Night, which might have inspired Shakespeare to write a play that reflected the title of ...
Twelfth Night Full Play Summary. In the kingdom of Illyria, a nobleman named Orsino lies around listening to music, pining away for the love of Lady Olivia. He cannot have her because she is in mourning for her dead brother and refuses to entertain any proposals of marriage. Meanwhile, off the coast, a storm has caused a terrible shipwreck.
Shakespeare titled his play Twelfth Night because it was written as a celebration of the twelfth night of Christmas. This was the last night of the Christmas season, sometimes called the Eve of Epiphany. Epiphany is celebrated as the day the three wise men arrived in Bethlehem to bring presents to the foretold messiah, the baby Jesus.
Full Play Analysis. Twelfth Night is a play about desire’s power to override conventions of class, religion, and even gender. Several characters begin the play believing they want one thing, only to have love teach them they actually want something else. Orsino thinks he wants Olivia, until he falls in love with Viola (dressed as Cesario.)
A summary of Act III: Scenes i–iii in William Shakespeare's Twelfth Night. Learn exactly what happened in this chapter, scene, or section of Twelfth Night and what it means. Perfect for acing essays, tests, and quizzes, as well as for writing lesson plans.
Analysis: Act II, scenes iii–iv. These scenes give us the first of the play’s many songs. Twelfth Night is full of music, which is linked to romance from Orsino’s command in the play’s very first line: “If music be the food of love, play on” (I.i. 1 ). Most of the songs are sung either by the drunken Sir Toby and Sir Andrew or by ...
Twelfth Night is a romantic comedy, and romantic love is the play’s main focus. Despite the fact that the play offers a happy ending, in which the various lovers find one another and achieve wedded bliss, Shakespeare shows that love can cause pain. Many of the characters seem to view love as a kind of curse, a feeling that attacks its victims ...
