Twelfth Night by William Shakespeare | Summary & Analysis

Professor Regina Buccola of Roosevelt University provides an in-depth analysis of the plot, characters, symbols, and themes of William Shakespeare's play Twelfth Night.


William Shakespeare’s comedy is all about mistaken identities and misplaced love.

Viola, shipwrecked with her twin brother Sebastian, assumes that Sebastian is dead and attempts to find work in Illyria disguised as a boy. She falls for Orsino, duke of Illyria, though he is in love with Olivia. Meanwhile, Viola helps woo Olivia for Orsino, but Olivia falls for “Sebastian” instead.

As this romantic entanglement develops, it emerges that Sebastian has survived and is in the city. Misunderstandings ensue as the result of Viola's disguise and her lookalike brother's return from the dead.

Everyone ends up partnered off, but not before the bungling lovers' shenanigans reach a fever pitch.

Considered the most famous playwright in history, William Shakespeare was at his best with this comedy. Twelfth Night was first performed in 1601 or 1602, possibly for Queen Elizabeth I. The play is replete with all of the elements beloved by Elizabethan theatre-goers: double-crossing, mistaken identities, cross-dressing, and romance intertwine on the last night of the Christmas celebrations, at which time pandemonium was celebrated.

The comedy contains many of Shakespeare's favorite themes: a topsy-turvy world in which disguises and jests sometimes backfire; the folly of dwelling too long in grief; and the fine line between love and madness.


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[savyaaa]

where my 'studying at the last minute' gang at??

[phanyangmpk]

Character list-
Orsino The Duke of Illyria and its ruler. At the opening of the comedy, he is desperately in love with Lady Olivia, who spurns his romantic overtures in spite of the fact that he is a perfect and ideal gentleman.

Viola/Cesario After being shipwrecked, she disguises herself as a young boy, takes the name of Cesario, and attains a position in Duke Orsino's household because of her wit and charm. As a boy, she is then used as an emissary from the duke to court Lady Olivia. Her twin brother, Sebastian, looks exactly like her.

Lady Olivia She is a rich countess who, at first, plans to mourn her brother's recent death for seven years, but when she meets the emissary from Duke Orsino (Viola disguised as a boy), she immediately falls in love with the youth.

Sebastian The twin brother to Viola who is mistaken for Cesario when he (Sebastian) arrives in town. He meets Olivia and enters immediately into a marriage with her.

Antonio A sea captain who aids and protects Sebastian; his pleas for help are ignored by Viola, who in her disguise looks exactly like her twin brother.

Sir Toby Belch Lady Olivia's uncle who lives with her and who is given to constant drinking bouts; he delights in playing tricks on others.

Sir Andrew Aguecheek A skinny knight who is encouraged by Sir Toby to continue courting Lady Olivia because as long as he courts Lady Olivia, Sir Toby can gull him out of enough money to continue the nightly drinking bouts.

Malvolio Lady Olivia's steward who also has fantasies that Lady Olivia might someday marry him. He is opposed to Sir Toby's drinking bouts, and, thus, he becomes the object of one of Sir Toby's elaborate tricks.

Maria Lady Olivia's waiting woman; she is clever and arranges a superlative trick to be played on Malvolio.

Feste A clown, or "jester, " in the employ of Lady Olivia; he has a marvelous way with words and with making a sentence "get up and walk away."

Fabian Another servant of some importance in Lady Olivia's house.

Valentine and Curio Two gentlemen who attend Duke Orsino.

A Sea Captain He appears in only one scene. He helps Viola with her disguise.

[sashasmeulders]

watching this night before my english lit mocks lol

[theniftylynx]

Thank you, I learned more in the 12 minutes watching this than in the past 2-3 weeks in class, greatly informative

[kkflowers]

Why did I never realized She’s the Man is based off of this play lmao

[sawaiakful]

Professionally done. One of the better among course hero. Instructor Ms. Regina narration is detailed and incisive.

[mr.mrs.camargocamargo]

This video is so helpful for my Shakespeare class. Thank you!

[matthewroskey]

As touching as this all is, and while I'm sure that Viola and Orsino more or less get on well since they know each other, Olivia doesn't know Sebastian and thus that might make things a bit bumpy for them in their marriage. All in all, it's a rather touching and interesting play.

[thedarkcreole]

Very succinct and easy to follow! Thank you!

[wahabrehman]

Thank you mam for this great video really helpful for the students and complete description love from Pakistan

[steam_jane]

Doing this in uni, we've only had one class so far, so a summary is handy as I read through the play to help me digest it and then go through it in more depth.

[ananyamaiti]

Thanks for this video, I can solve my confirmation

[ArsalKS]

I liked the explanation how she explains summary of twelfth night

[justi]

Last minute studying for 2023 be like:

[saathvikeeshvasanthakumar]

thanks tr for the help of the whole summary and the main points.

[theresahood]

This was really sweet...thank you for the message. It had all the feels in it. And the music 🎶 was dope to.

[albatoolmousa]

I commend you for this summary, it saves my time.

[vendettakxd]

I have english lit tmr (i have never read this poem)

[Agous]

Thank you so much i finally understood it clearly 😄

[eli-oiib]

Thank you kindly, Miss! This really helped.