Twelfth Night by William Shakespeare
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About this Public Domain Book
This full text of Twelfth Night has entered the public domain in the UK and is now freely available. It may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted without any restrictions. We are providing it for free distribution and use by individuals for non-commercial purposes. Please note that the copyright status in other countries may vary, so it is advisable to check the copyright laws of your specific jurisdiction before reproducing, distributing, or transmitting the text.
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First published: 1602
Number of Words: 21,800
Avg. Time to Read: 1.5 - 2 hours
Description:
Twelfth Night is one of William Shakespeare’s most beloved and frequently performed comedies, believed to have been written around 1601. The play is set during the English Christmas season of Twelfth Night, which in the 16th century fell on January 6th and marked the official end of the Christmas celebrations. This context of revelry and role reversal during the twelfth night celebrations is an important backdrop for the play’s themes of mistaken identity and disguise.
During Shakespeare’s time, Twelfth Night was a festival that allowed socially inferior people to assume superior roles, often involving masquerading in costumes, and required members of the aristocracy to serve their social inferiors. This atmosphere of carnival where normal social hierarchies were inverted directly influenced Shakespeare’s plot of mistaken identities and characters assuming disguises and roles outside their normal stations. The playful spirit of Twelfth Night celebrations when anything was permitted for one night created ideal conditions for Shakespeare’s comedy of confusion and misunderstandings.
Beneath the surface humor and hijinks of the play, Shakespeare also used Twelfth Night to explore more serious themes of love and sexuality. The central characters of Viola and Orsino represent unrequited love as Orsino dotes on the unavailable Olivia while Viola pines for Orsino without revealing her true identity. Meanwhile, Malvolio becomes the victim of a cruel trick that exposes his puritanical views and hidden desires. Through these characters and their entanglements in the world of disguise and deception, Shakespeare tapped into deeper aspects of human emotion, desire, and self-knowledge.
Twelfth Night remains one of Shakespeare’s most popular and frequently performed plays centuries after its inception, a testament to its timeless themes of love, confusion, and the absurdity of human behavior. While keeping its characters and language of the late 16th century English setting, the play continues to resonate with modern audiences through its insights into the foolishness and folly of humanity. The merriment of the Twelfth Night revelries is as delightful now as it was during Shakespeare’s day.
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