Twelfth Night PDF Free Download

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Twelfth Night Play By William Shakespeare PDF Free Download, Overview, Summary, Characters, Get Book, Videos, Reviews, Quotes.

Twelfth Night PDF Free Download

When Viola And Her Twin Sebastian Are Separated, She Dresses As A Guy And Works For The Duke Orsino, With Whom She Later Develops Feelings. Olivia Falls In Love With Viola Instead Of Orsino, Who Sent Viola To Woo Olivia On His Behalf. Arriving Sebastian Marries Olivia After Generating A Wave Of Identity Confusion. Following Her Gender Reveal, Viola Marries Orsino.

(May Include Spoilers) Tl;dr The Brother Viola Believes Is Dead. He Believes She Is Dead. She Is Mistaken For Her Brother By Everyone. Everyone Believes That She Is Her Brother. There Is Mischief.

The Duke Of Llyria, Orsino, Is Crushed That The Countess Olivia Has Rejected Him. She Has Shunned Men’s Company For Seven Years As She Grieves For Her Brother’s Death And Rejects All Of His Attempts. Viola, A Little Girl They Saved From A Storm At Sea, Is Brought Ashore Nearby By A Crew Of Seamen. Viola Regrets The Loss Of Sebastian, Her Identical Twin, Who Perished In The Shipwreck. She Decides To Go It Alone And Disguise Herself As A Boy To Get Employment As A Page For Duke Orsino.

Because Of His Feelings For Olivia, Sir Andrew Becomes Envious Of Cesario And Resolves To Challenge Him To A Battle. Both Andrew And Cesario Assume That Their Opponents Desire To Fight To The Death As A Result Of A Trick Played By Sir Toby. They Both Avoid Conflict. However, The Nearby Sea Captain Antonio Mistakenly Thinks Cesario Is Sebastian And Steps In To Protect His Buddy. He Is Spotted And Taken Into Custody By Orsino’s Soldiers. Later, When Sebastian Arrives, Sir Andrew Challenges Him And Claims To Be Cesario. Sebastian, Who Has Fighting Experience, Prevails. However, Olivia Steps In And Welcomes Sebastian Inside, Likewise Believing Him To Be Cesario (This Is Obviously A Frequent Error). That Evening, Olivia And Sebastian Exchange Vows.

A Nobleman Named Orsino Lies About In The Kingdom Of Illyria Listening To Music And Longing For The Love Of Lady Olivia. She Is In Mourning For Her Deceased Brother And Won’t Consider Any Marriage Proposals, So He Can’t Have Her. A Terrible Shipwreck Has Been Caused By A Storm Off The Coast. Viola, A Young Woman Of Aristocratic Birth, Is Carried Into The Coast Of Illyria. She Assumes That Her Twin Brother Sebastian Has Been Drowned In The Wreck After Finding Herself All Alone In A Foreign Country And Tries To Determine What Kind Of Work She Can Do. When A Friendly Sea Captain Informs Her About Orsino’s Courtship Of Olivia, Viola Expresses Her Desire To Work In Olivia’s House. Viola Decides She Cannot Look For Work With Lady Olivia Since She Won’t Talk To Any Strangers. Instead, She Chooses To Pose As A Man, Using The Name Cesario, And Finds Employment In Duke Orsino’s Household.

Orsino Quickly Adopts Viola (Passing For Cesario) And Makes Cesario His Page. It’s Difficult For Viola To Pursue Her Love For Orsino Since He Thinks Of Her As A Man. However, Olivia Herself Falls In Love With The Charming Young Cesario, Thinking She Is A Man, When Orsino Sends Cesario To Bring Olivia His Love Letters. The Three People In The Love Triangle—viola, Orsino, And Olivia—all Have A Miserable Relationship.

Meanwhile, We Get To Know The Other Family Members Of Olivia: Sir Toby, Her Rowdy, Inebriated Uncle; Sir Andrew Aguecheek, His Foolish Friend Who Is Futilely Attempting To Court Olivia; Maria, Olivia’s Witty And Attractive Waitress; Feste, The Clever Clown Of The House; And Malvolio, The Sombre, Prudent Steward Of Olivia’s Household. When Sir Toby And The Others Object To Malvolio’s Persistent Attempts To Ruin Their Fun, Maria Devises A Clever Joke To Convince Malvolio That Olivia Loves Him. She Forges A Letter Purporting To Be From Olivia And Addresses It To Her Beloved, Whose Name Is Represented By The Letters M.o.a.i. She Advises Him That If He Wants To Win Her Favour, He Should Dress In Yellow Stockings And Crossed Garters, Act Haughtily, Smile Constantly, And Refuse To Defend Himself To Anybody In The Letter, Which Is Purportedly From Olivia. Malvolio Discovers The Letter, Assumes It Is Sent To Him, And Happily Complies With Its Instructions While Harbouring Fantasies Of Wedlocking Olivia And Rising To Noble Status. He Acts In Such An Odd Way That Olivia Starts To Believe He Is Crazy.

Sebastian, Who Is Really Still Alive But Still Thinks His Sister Viola Is Dead, And Antonio, His Friend And Protector, Make Their Way To Illyria. Since The Shipwreck, Antonio Has Taken Care Of Sebastian And Has A Passionate (And Maybe Sexual) Attachment To The Young Man. Despite The Fact That He And Orsino Have A Long History Of Animosity, Antonio Follows Sebastian To Orsino’s Domain.

Sir Andrew Challenges Cesario To A Duel After Seeing Olivia’s Attraction To Cesario (Who Is Still Acting As Viola In Disguise). Sir Toby Encourages Sir Andrew Because He Finds The Potential Duel To Be Entertaining And Fun. But When Sebastian, Who Resembles The Disguised Viola, Enters The Scene, Sir Andrew And Sir Toby Mistakenly Believe Sebastian To Be Cesario And Come To Blows. Amid The Confusion, Olivia Enters. She Asks Sebastian To Marry Her After Running Into Him And Believing Him To Be Cesario. Since He Has Never Seen Her Before, He Is Perplexed. But When He Sees How Wealthy And Attractive She Is, He Is More Than Happy To Support Her. After Being Detained By Orsino’s Officers, Antonio Now Begs Cesario For Assistance, Mistaking Him For Sebastian. When Antonio Is Dragged Away After Viola Denies Knowing Him, He Cries Out That Sebastian Has Betrayed Him. Viola Finds Hope That Her Brother Might Still Be Alive.

Malvolio’s Alleged Insanity Has Given The Gleeful Maria, Toby, And The Others Permission To Confine Malvolio To A Tiny, Dark Room Where They May Torture Him As They Choose. Feste Poses As “Sir Topas,” A Priest, And Pretends To Examine Malvolio. Despite Malvolio’s Objections, Feste Declares Malvolio To Be Definitely Insane. However, Sir Toby Starts To Reconsider The Joke, And They Let Malvolio To Write Olivia A Letter Requesting His Release.

After Some Time, Viola (Still Posing As Cesario) And Orsino Arrive At Olivia’s House, Where Olivia Welcomes Cesario As Her New Husband While Believing Him To Be Sebastian, Whom She Had Just Married. Orsino Is Incensed, But When Sebastian Himself Shows Up, Everything Is Made Clear. When The Siblings Are Joyfully Reunited, Orsino Realises How Much He Loves Viola Now That He Is Aware Of Her Gender And Proposes To Her. We Learn That Sir Toby And Maria Were Also Secretly Married. Malvolio Is Finally Remembered, And He Is Allowed To Leave The Dark Room. When The Whole Trick Is Revealed, The Angry Malvolio Storms Out, Leaving The Joyful Couples To Enjoy Their Celebration.

Twelfth Night Summary

A Nobleman Named Orsino Lies About In The Kingdom Of Illyria Listening To Music And Longing For The Love Of Lady Olivia. She Is In Mourning For Her Deceased Brother And Won’t Consider Any Marriage Proposals, So He Can’t Have Her. A Terrible Shipwreck Has Been Caused By A Storm Off The Coast. Viola, A Young Woman Of Aristocratic Birth, Is Carried Into The Coast Of Illyria. She Assumes That Her Twin Brother Sebastian Has Been Drowned In The Wreck After Finding Herself All Alone In A Foreign Country And Tries To Determine What Kind Of Work She Can Do. When A Friendly Sea Captain Informs Her About Orsino’s Courtship Of Olivia, Viola Expresses Her Desire To Work In Olivia’s House. Viola Decides She Cannot Look For Work With Lady Olivia Since She Won’t Talk To Any Strangers. Instead, She Chooses To Pose As A Man, Using The Name Cesario, And Finds Employment In Duke Orsino’s Household.

Orsino Quickly Adopts Viola (Passing For Cesario) And Makes Cesario His Page. It’s Difficult For Viola To Pursue Her Love For Orsino Since He Thinks Of Her As A Man. However, Olivia Herself Falls In Love With The Charming Young Cesario, Thinking She Is A Man, When Orsino Sends Cesario To Bring Olivia His Love Letters. The Three People In The Love Triangle—viola, Orsino, And Olivia—all Have A Miserable Relationship.

Meanwhile, We Get To Know The Other Family Members Of Olivia: Sir Toby, Her Rowdy, Inebriated Uncle; Sir Andrew Aguecheek, His Foolish Friend Who Is Futilely Attempting To Court Olivia; Maria, Olivia’s Witty And Attractive Waitress; Feste, The Clever Clown Of The House; And Malvolio, The Sombre, Prudent Steward Of Olivia’s Household. When Sir Toby And The Others Object To Malvolio’s Persistent Attempts To Ruin Their Fun, Maria Devises A Clever Joke To Convince Malvolio That Olivia Loves Him. She Forges A Letter Purporting To Be From Olivia And Addresses It To Her Beloved, Whose Name Is Represented By The Letters M.o.a.i. She Advises Him That If He Wants To Win Her Favour, He Should Dress In Yellow Stockings And Crossed Garters, Act Haughtily, Smile Constantly, And Refuse To Defend Himself To Anybody In The Letter, Which Is Purportedly From Olivia. Malvolio Discovers The Letter, Assumes It Is Sent To Him, And Happily Complies With Its Instructions While Harbouring Fantasies Of Wedlocking Olivia And Rising To Noble Status. He Acts In Such An Odd Way That Olivia Starts To Believe He Is Crazy.

Sebastian, Who Is Really Still Alive But Still Thinks His Sister Viola Is Dead, And Antonio, His Friend And Protector, Make Their Way To Illyria. Since The Shipwreck, Antonio Has Taken Care Of Sebastian And Has A Passionate (And Maybe Sexual) Attachment To The Young Man. Despite The Fact That He And Orsino Have A Long History Of Animosity, Antonio Follows Sebastian To Orsino’s Domain.

Sir Andrew Challenges Cesario To A Duel After Seeing Olivia’s Attraction To Cesario (Who Is Still Acting As Viola In Disguise). Sir Toby Encourages Sir Andrew Because He Finds The Potential Duel To Be Entertaining And Fun. But When Sebastian, Who Resembles The Disguised Viola, Enters The Scene, Sir Andrew And Sir Toby Mistakenly Believe Sebastian To Be Cesario And Come To Blows. Amid The Confusion, Olivia Enters. She Asks Sebastian To Marry Her After Running Into Him And Believing Him To Be Cesario. Since He Has Never Seen Her Before, He Is Perplexed. But When He Sees How Wealthy And Attractive She Is, He Is More Than Happy To Support Her. After Being Detained By Orsino’s Officers, Antonio Now Begs Cesario For Assistance, Mistaking Him For Sebastian. When Antonio Is Dragged Away After Viola Denies Knowing Him, He Cries Out That Sebastian Has Betrayed Him. Viola Finds Hope That Her Brother Might Still Be Alive.

Malvolio’s Alleged Insanity Has Given The Gleeful Maria, Toby, And The Others Permission To Confine Malvolio To A Tiny, Dark Room Where They May Torture Him As They Choose. Feste Poses As “Sir Topas,” A Priest, And Pretends To Examine Malvolio. Despite Malvolio’s Objections, Feste Declares Malvolio To Be Definitely Insane. However, Sir Toby Starts To Reconsider The Joke, And They Let Malvolio To Write Olivia A Letter Requesting His Release.

After Some Time, Viola (Still Posing As Cesario) And Orsino Arrive At Olivia’s House, Where Olivia Welcomes Cesario As Her New Husband While Believing Him To Be Sebastian, Whom She Had Just Married. Orsino Is Incensed, But When Sebastian Himself Shows Up, Everything Is Made Clear. When The Siblings Are Joyfully Reunited, Orsino Realises How Much He Loves Viola Now That He Is Aware Of Her Gender And Proposes To Her. We Learn That Sir Toby And Maria Were Also Secretly Married. Malvolio Is Finally Remembered, And He Is Allowed To Leave The Dark Room. When The Whole Trick Is Revealed, The Angry Malvolio Storms Out, Leaving The Joyful Couples To Enjoy Their Celebration.

Twelfth Night Reviews

So, Yeah, The Reason It’s Entertaining Is Because This Play Is Very, Really Funny And Has Lots Of Clever Puns. But There Are Deeper Reasons Why This Show Is Compelling. I’ll Include A Few Passages From My Embarrassingly Long, Eight-page Essay On Gender And Sexuality In Twelfth Night Below.

Shakespeare Plays With The Idea Of Gender And Romance As Roles We Play As Well As Love As Something That Transcends Gender And Sexuality Throughout Twelfth Night. The Show Delves Into Issues Of Gender As A Performed Role And Romance As Another Performed Role, A Tool For Status Gain, Starting With The Lead Character Viola Transforming Herself Into Cesario. Characters Are More Interested In One Other For Their Status Or Appearance Than For Love. Viola’s Gender Transformation Enables Her To Play A Freer “Role” In Society, A Role That Both Suits Her And Compels Her To Conceal Herself. Orsino, On The Other Hand, Loves Her For Who She Is And Wants Her Both As A Maid And A Man. Shakespeare Comes To The Conclusion That Gender And Love Are Mostly A Matter Of Performance By Consciously Reversing Gender Roles, Yet He Nevertheless Gives His Characters A Degree Of Intimacy.

Characters In Twelfth Night Defy Their Gendered Social “Roles,” With Women Coming Off As Powerful And Men As Incompetent. It Is Not Women Who Are Weak Throughout The Play, Despite Orsino’s Assertions About The “Weak Nature” Of Women (3.4.30); Maria Is Bold And Cunning, While Olivia Consistently Rejects The Romantic Role That Orsino Assigns Her. Orsino, Who Is Perhaps One Of The Play’s Most Passionate Characters, Declares His Love For Olivia In The Lines “O, Then Unfold The Passion Of My Love / Surprise Her With Discourse Of My Dear Faith” (1.4.26-27) And “If Music Be The Food Of Love, Play On… Enough; No More” (1.1.1-6). However, He Quickly Changes His Mind. Sebastian Claims That Viola/césario Is The Most Rational And Logical Of The Two: “She Bore A Mind That Envy Could Not But Call Fair” (2.1.28–29). This Comparison Of The Romantic, Vague Orsino And The Strong, Confident-in-her-decisions Orsino Viola Is A Direct Inversion Of Societal Sexism, A Revolutionary In Merit Humanization Of Women. Nevertheless, Each Character Is Still Playing A Part That Is Determined By Gender Despite Their Own Breaks In Their Roles. Women In The Play Do Not Always Express Their Freedom; Maria And Olivia, For Instance, Are Seen As Objects Of Romance By Orsino And Toby, Respectively. Only One Female Character Completely Escapes From This, And Even She Goes To Some Extreme Lengths.

Viola’s Gender Identity Is Only A Matter Of Outward Appearance, Much Like A Role In A Drama. Yet As Time Goes On, It Becomes Apparent That Cesario’s Persona Is Convincing Enough To Others That She Receives No Criticism. In Contrast, Maria Describes Her As “A Fair Young Man, And / Well Attended” (1.5.101-102). Sebastian Remarks Of Her, “It Was Said She Much Resembled Me” (2.1.24–25), And Viola Confirms This With “My Brother Know / Yet Living In My Glass” (3.4.399–400). When Does The Character Start, And Viola Begin? Is When The Tension Of The Play First Appears. No One Can Really Describe Viola As Cesario Without Using Metaphors And Similes. In Fact, Viola Seems To Assume The Roles Of Both A Man And A Maid As The Play Progresses. She Refers To Herself As “As I Am Man, / My State Is Desperate For My Master’s Love. / As I Am Woman (Now, Alas The Day!)” In The Early Stages Of The Show. (2.2.36-38). However, The Duality Of Her Nature Is Clearly Stated Even Upon The Unveiling Of Her Womanhood: “Nor Are You Therein, By My Life, Deceived: / You Are Betrothed Both To A Maid And Man” (5.1.228-230). Shakespeare Positions Viola In These Lines In The Liminal Space Between Genders, Giving Her A Role In A Society Where Her Personality Predominates Over Her Gender. Because Viola Plays The Part Of A Man, She Is A Man. When Sebastian And Viola Are Finally Reunited, The Context Necessitates That Sebastian Use The Past Tense To Refer To His Sister. But Metaphorically, This Past-tense Gendering May Have Some Validity. Sebastian Informs The Audience In “I Had A Sister / Whom The Blind Waves And Surges Have Devoured” (5.1.239-240). Perhaps Cesario And Viola Are Now One And The Same.

Viola Is Nonetheless Placed In A Position Where, Like Many Other Characters, She Cannot Be Loved For Who She Really Is As A Result Of Her Mask. Disguise And Failed Honesty Both Destroy And Build Relationships In Twelfth Night. Malvolio’s Attempt To Win Olivia Over With His Disguise Completely Fails, Resulting In His Being Buried In The Dungeons. In Contrast, There Is Little Human Connection In Sir Toby And Maria’s Relationship, Which Is Based On Their Roles In Demeaning One Another. Maria, Like Malvolio, Just Wants Her Chosen Love Interest To Elevate Her Status. In Fact, The Fact That Olivia Does End Up With Someone She Only Knows From The Outside May Be The Worst Tragedy Of The Play. She Has Been Seduced By Cesario’s “Outside,” Yes, But She Has Also Been Seduced By Her Clever Lines And Flirtatiousness. She Married The Wrong Person By Chance, Someone About Whom She Knows Nothing More Than Their Appearance. Similar To Sebastian, Who Married Someone He Hardly Knew And Rejected Someone Who Was Obviously Concerned About Him In The Process. Faced With Antonio’s Sacrifices, I Gave Him “His Life And Did Thereto Add/my Love, Without Retention Or Restraint,/ All His In Dedication.” The Love Of Someone Sebastian Has Met Only Lines Earlier Pales In “For His Sake / Did I Expose Myself, Pure For His Love” (5.1.78-82). Olivia, Sebastian, Malvolio, Antonio, Or Maria Have Not Found True Love; Their Masks Have Endured.

Only In The Relationship Between Orsino And Viola Can Love Transcend Heteronormative Romantic Boundaries And Occur On A True Basis Of Personal Knowledge (Note: This Line Caused One Of My Teachers To Ask Me How I Learned The Word Heteronormative, Which Is A Very Funny Question). It Is Only Through The Love Of Someone He Really Knows That Orsino Escapes His Role As The Play’s Love-sick Teenage Boy For An Unattainable Girl. Before Viola Is Revealed To Be A Woman, The Relationship Between Orsino And Viola Is Obviously Romantic. Valentine Makes A Brief Speech At The Beginning Of The First Scene In Which We See Cesario And Orsino, Establishing That Their Relationship Has Already Become Rather Close: “He Hath Known You But Three Days, And Already You Are No Stranger” (1.4.1-4). But The Words Of Orsino Himself Best Convey His Romantic Resentment Of Viola: “Caesar, / Thou Know’st No Less But All. According To 1.4.13–15, “I Have Unclasped / To Thee The Book Even Of My Secret Soul.” The Fact That He Expresses His Attraction To Her Even While Believing Her To Be A Male Is Perhaps Even More Significant. He Tells Her That “Diana’s Lip / Is Not More Smooth And Rubious, Thy Small Pipe / Is As The Maiden’s Organ, Shrill And Sound, / And All Is Semblative A Womans Part” (1.4.50–54). (Note: It Also Proves That Viola Unmistakably Resembles A Twink. Thanks For Visiting.)

Orsino Is Someone Viola Knows, In Stark Contrast To Olivia’s Love For Viola And Orsino’s Love For Olivia. Therefore, The Problem Here Is Not A Lack Of Connection, But Rather A Lack Of Ability For Two Men To Work As A Team. Viola Self-deprecates On Her State Of Desire For Orsino, Saying, “I, Poor Monster, / Fond As Much On Him” (2.2.33–34). She Knows Her Desire Cannot Exist While She Plays The Role Of A Man. The Sexual Tension In Their Relationship Remains Constant Throughout The Whole Show. It Is Simple To Interpret Orsino’s Instruction To Viola To “If Ever Thou Shalt Love, / In The Sweet Pangs Of It Remember Me” (2.4.17-18), And Viola’s Discussion Of Her Sister’s Feelings For A Man That Follows As Anything Other Than A Sexually Charged Scene. A Later Scene Uses The Clever Wordplay “You’re Servant To The Count Orsino, Youth” To Sexualize Viola’s Relationship With Orsino By Using Servitude As Something That Is Sexually Driven. The Lines “And He Is Yours, And His Must Needs Be Yours / Your Servant’s Servant Is Your Servant, Madam” (3.1.102-104) Are Referring To. In This Instance, Viola Uses The Word “Servant” To Allude To Both Her Own Servitude As Well As Orsino’s Love For Olivia, Establishing The Term As A Possible Romantic Innuendo (As It Was Often Used). Even When Faced With Criticism, Orsino Addresses Cesario As His Own: “My Gentleman Cesario?” (5.1.193).

There Is A Pivotal Moment In The Play When Orsino Learns That Cesario Is Also Viola, And We, As The Audience, Anticipate How This Will Go. For Instance, In The 2005 Remake Of She’s The Man, Orsino Is Horrified By Viola’s Identity As A Woman And The Romantic Tension With Him, And It Takes Him A Week To Process Her True Self. In Contrast, Orsino From The Play Proposes To Cesario Only Moments After Learning Her Identity. Their Relationship Is Suddenly Accepted By Orsino And Is No Longer Taboo, According To The Play, Which Implies That Orsino’s Feelings For Her Were Not The Only Thing Standing In The Way Of Their Romance. It Is Noteworthy That Orsino, In Proposing, Makes No Attempt To Categorise Viola As A Woman. Even When He Is Asking Viola To Marry Him, He Refers To Her As “Boy” In His Request, Saying, “Boy, Thou Hast Said To Me A Thousand Times / Thou Never Shouldst Love Woman Like To Me” (5.1.279-280), His Declaration Begins, Also Implying That Their Conversations Have Gotten… Let’s Say Intimate Before This Revelation. Then He Makes The Following Proposal: “And Since You Called Me “Master” For So Long, / Here Is My Hand. You Will Be / Your Master’s Mistress From This Point On” (5.1.339-340).”—cesario, Come, / For So You Shall Be While You Are A Man. / But When In Other Habits You Are Seen, / Orsino’s Mistress, And His Fancy’s Queen” (5.1.408-411). He Still Perceives Viola As Inhabiting The Liminal Space Between Genders Despite The Fact That Her Role Has Been Made Clear; He Has Not Altered His Recognition Of Her Personhood. Or, To Put It Another Way, He Loves Her For Who She Is, Beyond The Performed Roles Of Manhood Or Womanhood — It’s Just That Her New Role As A Woman Allows Their Relationship To Advance In Public.

Shakespeare’s Plays As You Like It, The Merchant Of Venice, And Two Gentlemen Of Verona All Include Crossdressing In Some Way, Proving That He Is Not Averse To Situations Of Gender Confusion. However, This Play Focuses On The Idea That Love Is Something That Transcends Gender, Done For Personality, And Does Not Conform To Heteronormative Ideals. Shakespeare Comes The Closest To Allowing A Relationship Between Two Men To Develop On Stage By Having Orsino And Viola Wed At The Conclusion Of His Play. The Subtext Of The Play Is Quite Clear: Good Love Is Love That Looks Beyond The Outside To The Heart, Even Yet Only A Small Number Of Really Romantic Couples Actually End Up Together In The Play. I Hope You Liked This Sentimental Essay.

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