File:Daniel_Maclise_(1806-1870)_-_Scene_from_'Twelfth_Night'_('Malvolio_and_the_Countess')_-_N00423_-_National_Gallery.jpg · Wikimedia Commons · See Wikimedia Commons
Twelfth Night
Sign in to saveAlso known as Twelfth Night, or What You Will, 12th Night
comedy by William Shakespeare
"Twelfth Night" is a comedy by William Shakespeare that explores themes of love, identity, and mistaken confusion through the story of shipwrecked twins separated by circumstance. The play remains significant in Shakespeare's body of work as a masterpiece of comedic storytelling that has captivated audiences for over four hundred years.
AI-generated from the Wikipedia summary — may contain errors.
Wikidata facts
- Author
- William Shakespeare
- Genre
- tragicomedy
- Image
- Orsino and viola Frederick Richard Pickersgill.jpg
Show 12 more facts
- Commons category
- Twelfth Night
- topic's main category
- Category:Twelfth Night
- inception
- 1601-00-00
- publication date
- 1623-00-00
- language of work or name
- Early Modern English
- title
- Twelfth Night, or What You Will
- copyright status
- public domain
- first line
- If Musicke be the food of Loue, play on,
- last line
- and wee’l striue to please you euery day.
- set during recurring event
- Christmas and holiday season
- form of creative work
- play
- work available at URL
- standardebooks.org/ebooks/william-shakespeare/twelfth-night
via Wikidata · CC0
~36 min read
Encyclopedic overview
Malvolio and the Countess by Daniel Maclise (1840)
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.
Excerpted from Wikipedia’s “Twelfth Night” article, available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence.