➳ 4 ⋆ ˚｡⋆୨୧˚

my favorite shakespeare play so far. so much fun and it was hilarious!

i had the best time and I love all the adaptations of this like all shook up etc. i loved the romance and also feste is just

The genius of Shakespeare was not how he thought and could play around with gender identity, sexuality and gender roles in 17th century and got away with it, but how he enabled people to indulge in their hidden fantasies in a game of pretense for a couple hours, all the while had slithered into the crevices of their mind.

3.5/5

I'm glad I read this in class because I wouldn't have gotten much out of it otherwise. Shakespeare may be Shakespeare, but I am also I, and I know my tastes well enough to have before reading this thought "Bro I love certain pieces of your work but I'm fairly certain this is not going to have a honeymoon ending." Comedies tend to make me nervous with their glee and their joy and their soap bubble ideologies, and while the playwright did some wonderfully complex things with gender and the tropes of romance, this would have gone much better seen rather than read. The resulting decrease in reading comprehension and increase in visual hilarity would have made the actual honeymoon ending (is that really a spoiler? it's a comedy, after all) of the play closer to my own enjoyment.

I didn't start seriously contemplating this play until the first group presentation (this and 'King Lear' are being taught with groups taking apart an act a piece. group work. ugh) put for a discussion question about Orsino's ridiculous conceptions of romance. The great thing about these survey courses is the natural inclination of my brain to store away my most recent readings for random connection time with future reads becomes useful for more than just review writing. Before the class reached Shakespeare, we were on King Arthur and Sir Gawain and all that religiously strictured socioeconomic academics like to call 'courtly love', a mental state that many a male sonnet writer in the line of Spencer and Raleigh utilized and those such Wroth and Shakespeare made a mockery of. Shakespeare does a lot more to deconstruct the ideals of love and its lot in his sonnets than this particular play, but picking up on subtle critiques propagates its own breed of readerly pleasure.

As for the gender. I'm also getting this from others in terms of character foils, which I rarely pay attention to and may need to start doing so in light of what can be derived from this work. If you think about it, Viola and Olivia are the sort of characters that rarely coexist because, at their most basic tenets, they're the same character archetype. They're both young, they're both within the same class bracket, they were both raised with brothers and are at the time of the play completely without parents. The clincher, of course, is that they're both female, a gender that is rarely going to be differentiated along complex and humanizing lines by the creator because, frankly, it's not going to be necessary with all the well wrought men running around. The reason why this is worthy of note is how both characters would normally have both been rich wilting delicate flower beauty types, making out the condition as a natural tendency of women rather than the inevitable result of a constricting and emotionally deprived situation except, well, they're not. Sure, Viola disguises herself as a man, but no one catches her out for acting in such a way that could not be anything other than "womanly".

For further character foil business, see Malvolio and the treatment of his acted out fantasies versus Viola's fully embraced desires of illusion and dreams. One cannot expect to play only half the fool and fully win the day.

Twelfth Night, penned between 1598 and 1600, is often held to be the last of the 'happy' comedies, and Shakespeare was soon to write Hamlet and the great tragedies. Twelfth Night is a comedy --- it has a contented ending, and no-one is killed in the action. However, it also contains an astounding number of references to violence, death, and loss, and hints of a darker and more sombre world occur throughout the play.

It was visibly tempting for Elizabethan and Jacobean authors to write parts in which the leading female characters dressed up as men, because all female parts were played by boys, and the adoption of a boy acting a female wearing men's clothes allowed the author to engage in considerable irony. There is a proposition that the play as we have it, was altered at some stage. Viola announces that she will go to Orsino's court as a eunuch, which implies she will sing to him, but no further reference of her singing is made. When the song is sung in Orsino's court, the credence of the audience can be overstretched by the fact that Feste is sent for to sing it. Viola would be a much more obvious choice for singer.

The impulsive appearance of Fabian as a character is also anomalous. He comes, as if from nowhere, and takes the part in the orchard scene that one might well imagine Feste playing. One conceivable (and unprovable) clarification is that the voice of the actor playing Viola broke prior to a performance of the play, and that whilst he was still sufficiently treble to cope with the spoken word, singing was beyond him. Thus the songs had to be transferred to Feste, and Fabian's part written in to take on some of the extra load. Speculation such as this does no harm, provided it is carefully treated, since it focusses attention on the fact that Shakespeare was writing for the live theatre, where circumstances are erratic and sudden changes have to be made.

For starters, ‘Twelfth night’ is the last day of Christmas feasting, and the play is often described as a 'festive comedy', written unambiguously for performance on that festive day. In the comic sub-plot, there is a square clash between those who support feasting, eating, drinking, and general corporeal enjoyment (Sir Toby, Feste, Sir Andrew, Maria), and Malvolio, the puritan figure who stands for abstemiousness, cautiousness, and restraint.

Malvolio is humiliated at the end of the play, but those belonging to the other group are also punished. Feste is condemned for his involvement in the Malvolio plot, Sir Andrew has his head broken, and Sir Toby has to get married quickly to avoid retribution. It would seem likely that Shakespeare is not prepared to give either viewpoint his total support, and that although he tends towards the party of feasting and fun, it is with the reservation that they too have things to learn.

Self-knowledge is conceivably the most momentous theme in Twelfth Night. At the start of the play, only Feste and Viola have a reasonable degree of self-knowledge. Orsino believes, he’s in love with Olivia, but the falsity of this belief is shown by the fact that when they finally do meet, they are arguing within a few seconds.

Orsino never goes to meet Olivia, but sends messages to her through others, and it is the ‘idea’ of being in love, that attracts him. His lack of self-knowledge means that he cannot come to a realistic appreciation of anyone else's character. It takes most of the play for him to realise that he is really in love with Viola.

Olivia believes her desire to withdraw from the world is a result of grief at the loss of her father and brother, whilst in reality it is the fear of a cruel world and a desire to lock herself away from danger that prompts her. She does not realise this about herself, and so is defenceless against the first person (Viola) who dares to challenge her and presents her with a slice of the real world.

It is a subsidiary theme of this play that those who do best in life are those who face it and live it to the full, not those who try to hide away. In a tragedy Olivia's lack of judgment would lead to her death; as it is, she has to suffer, but is allowed to fall in love where that love can be met by someone who will prove a true husband to her.

Malvolio lacks self-knowledge, and hence knowledge of others. He cannot see that he is only a steward, and thus can deceive himself into thinking that Olivia really is in love with him. It is not so much a question of Malvolio being duped and trapped by Sir Toby and Maria; rather, it is his own vanity that stops him from perceiving the truth, until it is cruelly but comically forced upon him by his enemies.

Viola knows herself, but chooses to adopt a disguise and thus cover her real nature from the world. Understandable as this is, it is still held to be a fault in a play, which demands complete honesty about oneself. As a result of her self-imposed disguise, Viola is forced to agonise about the apparent impossibility of her love for Orsino ever being recognised, and is forced by her loyalty into the unenviable position of acting as marriage broker and go-between for the man she loves. Olivia's falling in love with her is merely another added complication, but one which reinforces the message that honesty about oneself is the only sure way to avoid the problems of relationships.

Feste has a shrewd insight into his own nature and that of others, but is condemned to be the ‘Fool’, whilst he is probably the most perceptive character in the play. He knows himself, but it is open to argument whether or not he can control himself over his hatred for Malvolio. When Viola says "Disguise, I see thou art a wickedness, / Wherein the pregnant enemy does much," she is pointing to the central issue of ‘Twelfth Night’ --- people who disguise themselves from themselves, or from other people are courting disaster. Self-knowledge and honesty are the oil which causes the wheels of society to run smoothly, and which allow people to live in harmony with each other.

Concluding words then!! Romantic comedy is a peculiarly Shakespearean genre. It is different from the classical comedy approved by Aristotle in that it defies the classical unities of time, place and action. Shakespeare's romantic comedies are normally tales of love beginning at first sight and ending with the peals of marriage bells. They take place generally in Shakespeare's country of imagination be it Arden or Illyria and this is nowhere more radiantly apparent than in the Twelfth Night.

This tome, is the loveliest of his comedies. It maintains only one classic unity, that of place which is Illyria on the sunny shores of the Adriatic. The atmosphere is surcharged with laughter and fun and unsurpassable mirth and inimitable poetry interposed with music "which is the food for love."

The play, as we’ve stated before, was written for the madcap festival close to Christmas feasting and revels, the twelfth night that comes as a climax of the Christmas holidays and as such the world within the play displays the same spirit of hilarity and entertainment so favourable to a romantic comedy of Shakespearean variety.

In actual fact, John Masefield has called it the best English Comedy.

Give it a go!! You’ll feel like falling in love.

Thank you No-fear Shakespeare !! This is an amazing site which has the actual text and a modern day translation side-by-side. link -> http://nfs.sparknotes.com/

I don't know why I even started reading this when I was absolutely sure it would bore me to death. No Fear Shakespeare made the whole reading process phenomenally more bearable. I have always liked Shakespearean tragedies more than his comedies (Comedy is my favorite genre otherwise). So understandably Twelfth Night was not well received by me. Of course one must take into account that Shakespeare's plays are meant to "seen" and not "read". But still, how boring can a piece of literature get? Answer: VERY.

There were a few scenes that made me giggle though so it wasn't all bad I guess. 2-stars!

Have read and watched this many, many times. It never gets old for me.

Love, love, love the theme of love. Everything and everyone at cross purposes, trying out and enjoying other roles and genders. This time I focused on how those characters on the "losing" end of things take their loss gently and with a certain reasonable pragmatism. . .the right way to take a loss. Don't freak out! Because a loss is just the beginning of your next step, just the pit in that tasty cherry. Simply spit it out. OR better yet, plant it.

And twins. Who doesn't love twins. Seeing this play for the first time in my teens was when within my heart was a desire for twins. Even though I was never going to marry and do all that stuff. Guess what? Yeah. They're perfect. Boy & Girl. They, too, love this play and pledge not to freak out if one of them goes missing - they will just start looking at the docks for surprise finds in those washing ashore alive, and of the opposite gender.

Anyway. 5 stars, for Wm. Shakespeare. Again. Will be seeing this at OSF this season!

YouTube kanalımda Shakespeare'in hayatı, mutlaka okunması gereken kitapları ve kronolojik okuma sırası hakkında bilgi edinebilirsiniz: https://youtu.be/rGxh2RVjmNU

Edebiyatın Nazar Boncukları

Nazar boncuğu nesnesini hiç sevmem, çünkü nazarın boncukça bir karşılığı yok. Ama edebiyatta bazı nazar boncukları var ki, üstüne saatlerce sosyal mesafeli bir ortamda oturup tartışabiliriz.

Dostoyevski'nin Başkasının Karısı adlı kitabı, Marquez'in Albaya Mektup Yok kitabı, Zweig'ın Ay Işığı Sokağı kitabındaki öyküler, Puşkin'in her konuya el atıp yazmaya çabaladığı tragedyalar gibi eserler bence edebiyatın nazar boncuklarıdır. Mesela Dostoyevski, Başkasının Karısı'nı iyi ki yazmış ki, biz onun dev eserlerinin büyüklüğünü o düşük çıta sayesinde daya iyi anlayabiliyoruz, böyle düşünün.

Shakespeare'in On İkinci Gece kitabında da hiçbir espri yok. Yani okumasam hiçbir şey fark etmezdi bence. Çünkü Shakespeare'den daha önce okuduğum 20 küsür kitabından farklı olan bir yön yoktu. Hatta şu an bu incelemeyi yazdığım sırada bile kitabın içerisinde neler olup neler bittiğini unuttum. Kitap o kadar etkileyicilikten ve okuruna duygu geçirebilmekten uzaktı ki, bu kitabın Shakespeare kitapları arasında bir nazar boncuğu olduğuna karar verdim. Zaten Shakespeare'in daha çok trajedileri etkileyici oluyor, bu eser ise sonu iyi biten kitap kategorisinde olan komedya türünde.

Eğer bir gün Shakespeare okumayı düşünürseniz, bence On İkinci Gece kitabını okumamak size bir şey kaybettirmez. Bu pek tabii ki kendi düşüncem. Zira 40 küsür kitap yazmış bir adamın bütün kitaplarını okumaktansa size esas katkı sağlayacak, zamanınızı kaybettirmeyecek 10-15 kitabını okumak bence sizin için de daha iyi olur sanki. İşte bu noktada ben devreye giriyorum ve sizin zaman kaybetmenizi önleyerek bu kitabı okumasanız da olur diyorum. Çünkü bir olayı yok yani anladınız mı, ne Hamlet'in isyanları var, ne Hırçın Kız'daki erkeğin kadın üzerinde hakimiyet kurmasının dönemi ışık tutması var, ne Shakespeare'in tarihi oyunlarındaki gibi iktidarların sanki bir doğal seçilim süreciymişcesine birbirini yenip hakimiyet kurması var, ne Venedik Taciri'ndeki manyak Yahudi Tefeci Shylock var, ne Windsor'un Şen Kadınları'ndaki aşırı muzip karakter Falstaff var, ne Bir Yaz Gecesi Rüyası kitabındaki büyülü gerçekçi ögeler var, ne Julius Caesar kitabındaki gibi bir suikast var, ne Kuru Gürültü kitabının Cennet Mahallesi dizisini andırması var, ne Titus Andronicus kitabındaki aşırı gerçekçi vahşet sahneleri var ne de Romeo ve Juliet'in ailelerinin kavgalı oluşuyla birlikte bir aşk yaşamaya çalışması var.

Muhtemelen yukarıdaki şeyleri saydıktan sonra sevmememle en çok hatırlayacağım Shakespeare kitabı On İkinci Gece olacak. Kitabı 1 hafta önce okumama rağmen içinden neredeyse tek bir olay bile hatırlamıyorum. Dostoyevski'nin Başkasının Karısı kitabını hiç sevmediğim halde adamın yatağın altına saklanmasını falan hatırlıyorum ama On İkinci Gece kitabını Shakespeare için belirlediğim bir nazar boncuğu olduğunu söylemem gerek ve söyledim.

I always feel a twinge of guilt whenever I read these “Elizabethan English alongside modern English” copies of Shakespeare’s plays. But as good as it is to appreciate some of the beautiful language of the time, it’s still gosh darn nice to actually understand what is happening.

This play seems to have always been on the outskirts of his repertoire, in my mind. Not as much as The Merchant of Venice or some of the boring histories, but I never thought this one to be on same level of notoriety as Hamlet or Romeo and Juliet. It certainly doesn’t seem to be performed as much.

But turns out, it’s fun! The cross-dressing, general love-triangles (squares?), unrequited love, insta-love, and rom-com-level misunderstandings make this a wacky ride. You have to give into the suspension of disbelief. Then you can appreciate the layers of subtle commentary. Look twice, or you'll miss it.

Of course, the sub-plot is boring as all get-out (as it usually is in his plays). All the sidekick boys were annoying as heck and I could never keep them straight. Malvolio, Belch, Aguecheek, Feste -- You could drop all the scenes with them and never lose a thing (same for other comedic relief in his plays -- Rosencranz and Guildenstern, anyone?). The girl characters are where it’s at. Viola, Olivia, Maria -- Fascinating things going on in their brains, and they don’t put up with anyone’s tom-foolery.

I really didn’t expect to like this. Most comedy is wasted on me, but Shakespearean comedy is just so damn funny. Reading this play is only half the picture. I think this is a play that really must be seen in performance as well. I watched a DvD version of the recent globe production and I was practically rolling on my living room floor with laughter. It had an all-male cast, which just made it even better. Mark Rylance as Olivia was just pure comic genius, and Stephen Fry as Malvolio was just awkward and hilarious. It was simply amazing.

  

  

The scene with the yellow stockings was just perfect. Malvolio is in love with Olivia, and as a joke several knights play a trick on him. Olivia detests the colour yellow, so they tell him she loves it and that it makes her weak at the knees. As a consequence, Malvolio gets himself a nice big pair of yellow stocking and brandishes them in her presence. She is disgusted with them, and him; she then tells him to go to bed, which he misinterprets as “let’s go to bed together.” So, he tries his luck and ends up in a rather amusing looking prison cell. That’s only one small aspect of the plot, but arguably one of the funniest. I couldn’t think of a better Malvolio that Stephen Fry; he came across as pedantic, arrogant and horny. It’s a rather funny combination.




Love is a fickly and awkward thing. It is often won by accident and happenchance. All sought after love in this is denied, and all accidental love is pursued and granted. Viola/Cesario falls in love with Orsino whilst trying to persuade Olivia to love Orsino, which results in Olivia falling in love with Viola/Ceasrio. It’s a complicated, and ironic, love triangle, which is only resolved by it gaining another edge and becoming a love square. Sebastian, Viola’s brother, comes along which Olivia mistakes for Viola; she “saves” him from a group of knights and declares her love to him. Sebastian is confused and bewildered because he’s never seen this woman before in his life; she swoons over him and claims him as hers. It’s all very funny and a little bit of a headache if you’ve never read this. Mistaken identity is the reason for all of this. Viola is pretending to be a man, which makes her look just like her brother, and leads to the comic confusion.

This may sound complex, but it’s not. It’s perhaps one of the easiest of Shakespeare’s plays to follow, if you struggle with that sort of thing. The all-male cast of the globe production made the gender divides even stranger. There was a man acting a female character who was pretending to be a man. It was all so good. Olivia was melodramatic and ridiculously exaggerated as a female, which made the production so ludicrously entertaining. If you’ve got a spare few hours, and your're in need of a good laugh, I recommend watching it.

December 31, 2017 review

My return to the world of William Shakespeare and my favorite play--though I find Hamlet and Much Ado About Nothing to be superior dramatically, neither are as romantic or riotously funny as this--brought me back to my first reread on Goodreads and Twelfth Night. Work on my novel ground to a halt several weeks ago at the halfway mark and I wanted to return to a couple of texts that remind me of why I'm a writer. I also noticed that as of December 30, I was one book short of my 2017 reading challenge, so hopefully, this report ties up a few loose ends.

My system for reviewing plays is to watch a production first, read the play second. I was in for a treat with Twelfth Night, locating a bootleg of the 1998 production by Lincoln Center Theater directed by Nicholas Hytner and starring film and television veterans Helen Hunt (Viola), Paul Rudd (Duke Orsino), Philip Bosco (Malvolio), Kyra Sedgwick (Olivia), Brian Murray (Sir Toby Belch) and David Patrick Kelly (Feste). This production is visually resplendent, but being able to hear a live audience reaction adds tremendously to the viewing experience of a musical comedy, something that British TV productions of Shakespeare do not offer.

What's the draw of Twelfth Night for me? Maybe it's my discovery and delight that most of the sitcoms I grew up on--Three's Company in particular--are just a variation on this 17th century play, where mistaken identity, sexual confusion and eavesdropping gone wrong lead to comedy nirvana. The woman who carries herself as a man and the furor this leaves in her wake, shaking up the status quo, might be a theme that appeals a great deal to me, as is the portrayal of a great comic drunk, with Sir Toby Belch also knocking down perceptions of propriety like bowling pins every time he enters a scene. And it's fuckin' funny.

Act three

Scene 1

Olivia's garden. Viola and Feste, who is carrying a small drum, enter.

Viola Greetings, friend, and your music too. Do you live by drumming?

Feste No, sir. I live by the church.

Viola Are you a cleric?

Feste Not at all, sir. I live by the church because I live at my house, and my house is near the church.

Viola So you could just as well say "The king lives by begging" if a beggar lives near him. Or that the church is near your drum if the drum happens to be near the church.

Feste You've said it, sir! Such are the times! A sentence is just a kid glove to a quick-witted man. It can easily be turned inside out!

Viola Yes, that's true. Those who play about with words can quickly give them indecent meanings.

Feste Therefore I wish my sister had no name, sir.

Viola Why, man?

Feste Why, sir, her name is a word, and to play about with that word might make my sister indecent. But indeed, words truly become rascals since they were disgraced with being bonds.

Viola Your reason, man?

Feste Goodness, sir. I can't give you one without using words, and words have become so unreliable I'm reluctant to use them to prove a reason.

Viola You're a happy-go-lucky fellow. I'll be bound, and you care about nothing.

Feste Not at all, sir. I do care for something. But upon my conscience, sir, I don't care for you. If that's caring about nothing, sir, I wish it would make you invisible.

Viola Aren't you the Lady Olivia's fool?

Feste No indeed, sir. Lady Olivia does not go in for entertainment. She won't have a fool till she's married; and fools are like husbands as sardines are to herrings--the husband's the bigger. Indeed I am not her fool. I'm her corrupter of words.

Other observations on this viewing/reread of the comedy:

-- Viola is the liberated woman of Shakespeare's plays. Neither royal personage nor loyal daughter, she's bound to no one and personified instead by her education and skills set. Shipwrecked in Illyria, she quickly gets a job, emissary of the lovesick bachelor Duke Orsino, confident that she can "sing and speak to him in music." Viola is fluent in French as well, and is able to pass herself off as a boy, Cesario, likely due to her observations of men. Of course, Viola does not account for falling in love with her boss, whose only expectation of Cesario is that the boy woo the Lady Olivia for him. Hijinks ensue.

-- Do you like fools? Shakespearean fools? Those characters whose jesting allows them to speak the truth without their heads ending up on a chopping block? Twelfth Night offers up three classic examples: Feste, the professional fool, willing to sing any song or provide any insight at any hour if there's a purse involved. Sir Toby Belch, the rascal and drunkard, pushing the generosity of his cousin, the Lady Olivia, as far as it will go in the pursuit of a good time. Sir Andrew Aguecheek, a rich dandy who seeks to woo Olivia, carouses with both Sir Toby and Feste, his romantic ineptitude and cowardice providing extensive comic relief.

In the 1998 Lincoln Center Theater production, David Patrick Kelly (whose impressive run of memorable film psychos stretches from The Warriors in the '70s to The Longest Yard in the '00s) and Max Wright (the dad from the '80s sitcom Alf) played Feste and Sir Andrew and got some of the biggest applause and laughs in the play. As much as I light up when Sir Toby bursts onto the scene, he wouldn't be as compelling in soliloquy. These two characters are invaluable when it comes to demonstrating what a Good Time Charlie that his character is.

-- Impossible Love that others find so romantic, like the kind immortalized in Romeo and Juliet, and is sometimes impossible for good reason, isn't to be found in this play, thank god. Instead, Shakespeare seems to be exploring the Possible Love that would exist if characters would take a minute to get it together and drop their facades. Viola must pose as a man to keep her job. Olivia must pose as grief stricken to honor her dead brother. I find Possible Love to be much more compelling because how close I think most people come in real life to experiencing passion and happiness with the right person.

April 9, 2014 review

My game plan for revisiting Shakespeare was to stream video of a staging of the play, listening and watching while reading along to as much of the original text as was incorporated by the staging. Later, I read the entire play in the modern English version.

The staging I found on YouTube was amazing. ITV Saturday Night Theatre: Twelfth Night aired January 6, 1969. It features Alec Guinness as Malvolio, Ralph Richardson as Sir Toby Belch, Joan Plowright as Viola/ Sebastian and Adrienne Corri as Olivia. Each have appeared in some of my favorite movies.

Scholars believe the play was first performed January 6, 1601 as an entertainment for Queen Elizabeth as she hosted an Italian nobleman, Don Virginio Orsino. The date of the staging -- 12 nights after Christmas -- accounts for the title of the play, which has no bearing on the story.

Twelfth Night is set in Illyria, where ruling Duke Orsino, "a noble duke, in nature and in name" is lovesick over the Countess Olivia, who mourns for a dead brother and has spurned all suitors. The play's protagonist Viola comes ashore with a great opening line -- "What country, friends, is this?". Survivor of a shipwreck, she fears her twin brother Sebastian has drowned. Viola needs a job while she plots her next move and the sea captain who rescued her explains Olivia's pursuit by the Duke. Olivia isn't hiring, but Viola sees an opportunity to work for the Duke by disguising herself as a eunuch.

One of my favorite characters in Shakespeare makes his entrance. Sir Toby Belch is Olivia's uncle, a drunken rascal who romances Olivia's whip smart maid Maria, makes enemies of his niece's pompous steward Malvolio and profits from one of her rejected suitors, a knight named Sir Andrew Aguecheek who has more money than brains. Sir Toby exists to eat, drink and play pranks, and his misdemeanors create much of the havoc in the play. In addition, Olivia is served by a fool, Feste, who possesses greater insight and sobriety than Sir Toby but joins him and Maria in their revelry, as well as singing several songs.

The Duke dispatches Viola (going by the name Cesario) to the court of Olivia to woo her on his behalf, but believing the messenger to be a persuasive young man, Olivia falls in love with Viola. This complicates feelings Viola has developed for the Duke. Meanwhile, Malvolio throws such a wet blanket on Sir Toby's fun that Olivia's uncle and maid play a trick on him, writing a love letter in Olivia's hand expressing her undying love for the steward, if he dress in yellow stocking and cross-garters (a fashion which Olivia despises) and harass her servants. Malvolio falls for the trick and comes on like such a lunatic that Olivia orders him locked in a basement.

Not content, Sir Toby plots a trick on Viola and Sir Andrew by making both fear the other wishes to engage in a duel. Sir Toby is confident that Viola is just as timid with a sword as Sir Andrew, but doesn't factor her twin brother Sebastian arriving in Illyria. After being mistaken for his sister and challenged to a fight, Sebastian wallops both Sir Toby and Sir Andrew and when brought before Olivia for his apology, is stunned to find the countess express her love for him. They marry in secret, which poses great problems for Viola when the Duke discovers "she" has married the countess.

Reading this play, it occurred to me that every episode of Three's Company was ripping off Shakespeare. Janet leaves Jack and Chrissy alone in the apartment and fears Jack will make a move on Chrissy, so advises her to play down her attractiveness by dressing in frumpy clothes. Jack instead is more attracted to Chrissy. Then Janet returns to the apartment to find the leftovers of a romantic dinner and Chrissy upset. Janet gets the wrong idea when in fact, Chrissy is upset that Jack didn't make a move! Cue laugh track.

Twelfth Night is downright riotous. The comedy comes from the cascade of doublespeak and near misunderstandings, with one character playing fool to another. Being able to penetrate the language or read the play with asides detailing which character is being made an ass of helps the humor find its mark to a modern idiot like me. The play starts slow, but the laughs continue to build and reach a crescendo when Sebastian enters, mistaken for his twin sister by the various jokers of the play, who end of being played for fools.

My favorite play! I enjoy reading it every single time.

نمودار درک روابط نمایشنامه

n  n


دایره زرد: زن
دایره آبی: مرد
مربع: روابط خانوادگی
فلش: نشون دهنده‌ی اینکه کی عاشق کیه یا عاشق کی میشه

در نمایش شب دوازدهم شکسپیر چه خبره؟
بهترین جوری که می‌تونم توصیفش کنم با کشیدن این نموداره. چون مثلث و مربع عشقی جوابگوی شدت هرج و مرج روابط این داستان رو نمیده

شب دوازدهم نمایشی در مورد «زیادی» هاست. خودشیفتگی زیادی، سوگواری زیادی، (توهم) عشق زیادی، شوخی زیادی و حماقت زیادی. اینجا انگار همه چیز شورش در میاد تا ذاتش آشکار بشه

شب دوازدهم نمایشیه در مورد اینکه ظاهر غلط اندازه‌. چه ظاهر افراد، چه ظاهر کلمات‌. این مفهومیه که در مکبث هم بهش زیاد پرداخته شده بود و اینجا با نگاه کمدی بررسی میشه. اینجا تشخیص مرد و زن، حقیقت کلمات و حتی تشخیص آدم‌ها از همدیگه سخته

خوندنش تجربه‌ی معمولی‌ اما مفرحی بود. گوش دادنش حس کمدی رو بیشتر کرد و جالب‌تر شد. فکر می‌کنم اما این نمایشنامه از اون‌هاست که اصل جذابیتش به دیدنشه. آشفتگی صحنه‌ها و جا به جا شدن بین جنسیت‌ها باید دیدنی باشه. مخصوصاً در زمان شکسپیر که همه‌ی بازیگران مرد بودند و زنان حق بازیگری نداشتند، چقدر دیدن نمایشی از مردی که نقش زنی رو بازی می‌کنند که اون‌ نقش مردی رو بازی می‌کنه می‌تونسته عجیب و جالب باشه

کتاب و نسخه‌های صوتیش رو می‌تونید از اینجا دانلود کنید
Maede's Books

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