| Plot Summary of Twelfth Night |
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"The languid, fatuous Duke Orsino ("If music be the food of love, play on...") desires the countess Olivia, who is busy mourning her brother's recent death. Viola, another of Shakespeare's plucky heroines, has been shipwrecked in this land (Illyria, somewhere on the Adriatic coast -- maybe where Yugoslavia used to be), and believes she has lost her beloved brother Sebastian in the wreck. Disguising herself as a young man and renaming herself "Cesario," she enters the service of Orsino, who sends Viola to woo the countess on his behalf. Olivia becomes entranced with "Cesario," Viola wants Orsino, and ... well, all sorts of topsy-turvy relationships and events ensue. There is plenty of comic folderol among Olivia's servants and henchmen, Malvolio, Sir Andrew Aguecheek, and Sir Toby Belch."
David Loftus, Resident Scholar
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"The play centers on the characters Orsino, Duke of Illyria, and the woman he believes he is in love with, Olivia, who is “a rich countess.” After a shipwreck, the twins Sebastian and Viola are separated, and Viola disguises herself as a boy and becomes Orsino's servant, calling herself Cesario. Orsino sends Viola to Olivia to tell of his love, but when Olivia meets Viola, she “falls in love with him,” thinking Viola is indeed a boy. During the course of the play, Viola also falls in love—with her new master, Orsino. Meanwhile, the servants and other characters provide further comedy of misunderstandings, disguises, and practical jokes, such as when Maria and Sir Toby send a false letter from Oliva to Malvolio, declaring that she is in love with him, and requesting that he wear some rather unusual clothing for her sake. Illyria, in which the play takes places, is a fantastical world where time and sense seem not to exist."
Megan E. Davis, Resident Scholar
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| Review Analysis of Twelfth Night |
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Our unique search engine provides a wealth of detail about books by breaking them down into many different literary elements, all of which are searchable (click here).
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Ratings are on a 1-10 scale (Low to High)
Plot
Tone of book?
- upbeat
Time/era of story
- distant past/middle ages
Romance/Romance Problems
Yes
Kind of romance:
- love triangle/polygon
Lover is
- of a different social class
Main Character
Gender
- Female
Profession/status:
- servant
Age:
- 20's-30's
Is this an ordinary person caught up in events?
Yes
How sensitive is this character?
- sensitive to others' feelings
Sense of humor
- Mostly serious with occasional humor
Intelligence
- Smarter than most other characters
Physique
- average physique
Main Adversary
Identity:
- none
Setting
How much descriptions of surroundings?
- 1 ()
Europe
Yes
Style
Person
- mostly 3rd
Accounts of torture and death?
- no torture/death
Sex in book?
Yes
What kind of sex:
- vague references
Weird Victorian/Shakespearean English?
Yes
Unusual Style:
- a lot of play on words
Is this a play?
Yes
Amount of dialog
- mostly dialog
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