Twelfth Night

William ShakespeareProject Gutenberg · United StatesDec 2019

4.6

Word count: 112K words
Chapters: 12

Summary

Project Gutenberg was the first provider of free electronic books, or eBooks. Michael Hart, founder of Project Gutenberg, invented eBooks in 1971 and his memory continues to inspire the creation of eBooks and related technologies today.Twelfth Night by William ShakespeareAuthor: Shakespeare, William, 1564-1616,Language: English, Class: PR: Language and Literatures: English literature, Release Date: Jul 1, 2000

Editor's review

Twelfth Night is one of the most popular of Shakespeare's mature comedies. Built around the mistaken identities and emotional entanglements set off by Viola's disguise as a man, it interweaves Orsino's infatuation, Olivia's misplaced love, and the comic subplot of Malvolio's gulling, combining romance with satire. The play's playful treatment of identity, gender, and love has made it a frequent subject of reinterpretation on the contemporary stage, and it offers both readability and ample room for discussion. This Project Gutenberg edition is the original English-language ebook, allowing readers to encounter the puns, irony, and alternation of verse and prose in the original, and is suitable as a supplementary text for courses in English literature or as pre-rehearsal textual study material. While reading, pay attention to how the structure of mistaken identity drives the plot, and to the cruel undertones of the Malvolio subplot beyond its comedy; whether the marriages at the end grant everyone their wishes is also worth pondering. As a public-domain electronic text, it contains no modern annotations or introduction, so beginners would do well to use it alongside an annotated edition.

Who it's for

A good fit for

Students of English literature who need to study the original text of a mature Shakespeare comedy
Advanced readers who want to appreciate Shakespeare's puns and irony through the original language
Theater enthusiasts or directors seeking a public-domain English text as a study base
Readers interested in issues of gender and identity who wish to approach them through close reading

Not a good fit for

Readers new to Shakespeare who rely on modern annotations and introductions
Those whose English reading ability is not yet sufficient to understand early modern English texts independently
General readers who only want a plot summary and are unwilling to read the original language closely

Reading tips

First clarify the character relationships and the lines of mistaken identity, then return to a close reading of the dialogue between Viola and Olivia.
Read alongside an annotated Shakespeare edition to resolve difficulties with early modern English and puns.
After finishing the Malvolio subplot, consider whether it carries cruel undertones beyond the comedy, and write a short response.

About the publisher

Project Gutenberg United States · Founded in 1971

Project Gutenberg is a digital publishing project focused on public-domain ebooks. Its publishing direction centers on classic literary works whose copyright has expired, covering genres such as poetry, drama, fiction, and epic. Representative books include Lyrical Ballads by Wordsworth and Coleridge, Proust's Du côté de chez Swann, Shakespeare's Macbeth and The Complete Works of William Shakespeare, Homer's The Iliad, Dante's La Divina Comèdia: Purgatòri, Cervantes's The History of Don Quixote, Volume 2, and Grahame's The Wind in the Willows. Its author resources consist mainly of classic Western writers such as Wordsworth, Proust, Shakespeare, Homer, Dante, Cervantes, Grahame, and Tolstoy. Its publishing feature is the provision of freely accessible ebooks in EPUB and Kindle formats; it is not a traditional publisher, and publicly available information is limited.

FAQ

Does this edition include annotations and an introduction?

According to the available information, this is an English public-domain electronic text released by Project Gutenberg, with no mention of modern annotations or an introduction. If early modern English poses difficulties, it is advisable to use it alongside an annotated Shakespeare edition or course introduction materials.

What does the title "Twelfth Night" mean?

"Twelfth Night" refers to the last night of the Christmas season, often associated with festive revelry and an atmosphere of misrule, echoing the play's tone of female-to-male disguise, mistaken identity, and carnivalesque trickery, though the title itself does not correspond directly to specific plot events.

Is the Malvolio subplot merely comic?

The subplot of Malvolio's gulling is comic on the surface, but his situation of collective humiliation and imprisonment also carries cruel undertones, and researchers often regard it as the shadow side of the comedy. While reading, pay attention to the motives of the tricksters and the situation of the victim, and appreciate the complexity of Shakespearean comedy.

Comments

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About the author

William Shakespeare Author · English · 1564–1616

William Shakespeare (1564–1616) was the greatest playwright, poet and actor of the English Renaissance. Born in Stratford-upon-Avon, England, he is known as the "Bard of Avon." He wrote roughly thirty-seven to thirty-nine plays, one hundred and fifty-four sonnets and narrative poems. His representative works include Hamlet, Othello, King Lear, Macbeth and Romeo and Juliet. His works span tragedy, comedy and history play, distinguished by rich, poetic language and profound characterization. His explorations of human nature, power, love and fate have had a lasting influence, and his works have been translated into many languages and circulated widely around the world.