About this title: Separated twins, practical jokers, pining lovers, and a comic villain populate the city of Illyria, where the drama of TWELFTH NIGHT unfolds. When the fraternal twins Viola and Sebastian independently wash ashore in the city from a shipwreck , unbeknownst to one another, each assumes the other is dead. With Viola disguised as a man, the Duke ...
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Note: This is a general synopsis. Each listing is described below.
Binding: Trade paperback
Publisher: Penguin Books
Date Published: 1986
ISBN-13:9780140714111ISBN:0140714111
Description: Very good. No dust jacket as issued. Trade paperback (US). Glued binding. 120 p. Pelican Shakespeare (Paperback). Audience: General/trade. read more
Edition: Illustrated.
Binding: Mass-market paperback
Publisher: Washington Square Press
Date Published: 1993
ISBN-13:9780671722944ISBN:0671722948
Description: Fine. No dust jacket as issued. Mass market (rack) paperback. Glued binding. 272 p. Contains: Illustrations. New Folger Library Shakespeare (Paperback). Audience: General/trade. Never read, tight, bright and shiny, spine is in tact, minor chipping to the edges of the cover, name stamp on inside front cover. Inside pages are clean, clear and bright. read more
Binding: Mass-market paperback
Publisher: Signet Classics
Date Published: 1965
ISBN-13:9780451519023ISBN:0451519027
Description: Fine. No dust jacket as issued. F-very minor cover wear. Mass market (rack) paperback. Glued binding. Shakespeare, Signet Classic. Audience: General/trade. read more
Description: Good. Spine is smooth. Covers show some wear at the edges and corners. Good reading copy. Binding is Mass Market Paperback. Pages tanning. Used books may have price stickers. Most orders ship on the next business day. read more
Description: Good. Spine is well creased. Covers show wear at the edges and corners. Good Grade C average reading copy. Binding is Mass Market Paperback. Pages tanning. Used books may have price stickers. Most orders ship on the next business day. read more
Binding: Trade paperback
Publisher: Dover Publications
Date Published: 1997
ISBN-13:9780486292908ISBN:0486292908
Description: New. No dust jacket as issued. Trade paperback (US). Glued binding. 80 p. Dover Thrift Editions. Audience: General/trade. New and Instock read more
Binding: Mass Market
Publisher: Penguin Books
Date Published: 1983
Description: Fair. 1983 Mass PB. Penguin Books. 115 pgs. Edited by Charles T. Prouty. Reader notes throughout. Tanning. Cover with soiling and edge/shelf wear. Solid Reader's copy. read more
Binding: Mass-market paperback
Publisher: Washington Square Press
Date Published: 1993
ISBN-13:9780671722944ISBN:0671722948
Description: Very good. No dust jacket as issued. Signed by previous owner. 222 pgs in vg reading condition w/some highlighting; cover has very slight wear read more
Description: Fine. 1586638513 Excellent condition Soft cover book, clean pages, No creases to spine, this book is Near NEW! Shop & Save With US. read more
"Wow, this really surprised me. I have read some Shakespeare, yes, but strangely enough this is my first Shakespearean comedy. I was expecting it to me much drier, a string of esoteric jokes that have little foothold on the average modern mind.
I was right to a point -- a few jokes flew right over my head, even with the annotations -- but I was totally unprepared for the bawdiness, the goofiness, the insanity. Some examples: the letter to Malvolio from Maria and friends, and of course the "quarrel" between Sir Andrew and "Cesario" -- that last pair of quotes contains yet another goofy plot line. You, the onlooker, will watch a succession of ill-advised love interests. And you, the onlooker, will discover that Olivia doesn't much care for yellow stockings at all!
As for Feste, the clown, well I think he's just great, my favourite character of the play and perhaps all of Shakespeare (that I've read). His "witty" wordplay -- that usually ends up in a ridiculous mess -- just tickles me all kinds of pink.
"The main characters in the story are Viola, Olivia, Duke Orsino, Sir Toby Belch, Malvolio, Sir Andrew Aguecheek, Feste and Sebastion.Sir Toby Belch wwas Oliva's uncle. Malvolio was Oliva's butler. He was tricked by Sir Toby Belch, Sir Andrew Aguecheek, Feste and Maria through a lover letter that oliva loved him. And he did ridiculous thing that the letter instructed him to do and he was considered crazy and sent away for a while.
This book is abut a rich countess named Oliva whose brother had died and she made a desided to morn for him for seven years. She then fell in love with Orsino's page Cersario who was a woman named Viola who was apart of a shipwreck. She thought that her brother sebastian had died in the wreck. She took love messages to and from the Duke (Orsino) and Oliva. In the end everyone knew the truth. Viola was reunited with her brother. Viola married the Duke Orsino and Oliva married Viola's brother. And everyone got what they desired.
I enjoyed reading book it is really interesting and touching."
"Absolutely hysterical and filled with laughs, blunders, and outrageous insanity as only Shakespeare can provide. William Shakespeare creates a beloved heroine in Viola, who, shipwrecked in a strange land and under the illusion her brother has gone down with the ship, takes residence under the assumed identity of Cesario (in other words, cross-dresses in order to obtain protection and residence) in the household of the Duke of Orsino. You see, Orsino is in love with the fair, delicate lady Olivia, who, in mourning of her father and brother, will see no one and hear nothing of the Duke's courtings. Desperate, Orsino sends Cesario (Viola) between them to carry out his suits, and in the process, Olivia falls for Cesario. Meanwhile, Viola's brother roams the province alive, and Olivia's household turns topsy-turvey when Malvolio, under the false impression Olivia loves HIM, dresses up and struts about in attempts to win her commitment. As with any Shakespearean comedy, by the third act everything is in utter and hysterical chaos- I could not stop laughing. And it carries out a happy ending as charming and heartwarming as any modern chick flick. If you are one to appreciate the poetry of Shakespeare, you will love this play. I enjoyed every line!"
"A wonderfully magical comedy; charming, witty, and bawdy, Twelfth Night is a Shakespearean masterpiece and a must read for all those who truly consider themselves readers or dramatists. It's a simple story, told simply, and is without a lot of the complexities that some of other Shakespearean comedies have. The ending is fairly clear, although Violet being in drag does seem to stall things and put a slight damper on having a final conclusion, and the characters are unique individuals.
The driving force of this play is all about sex and love; all the characters have some sort of crush on someone, and Shakespeare, in typical fashion, manages to make these sentiments both sentimental and sexual at the same time. The only true complexity of the play is the numerous references to homosexuality, which was of course condemned in Tudor England. Many have read this play as Shakespeare making some sort of statement; after all, Orsino was pretty keen on Violet, even when she was in drag, and Antonio was very clearly in love with Sebastian. These sorts of relationships aren't totally uncommon throughout the body of Shakespeare's works, but I'm not completely convinced he was making some sort of statement. Rather, this play is highly meta-theatrical, and I think these complex relationships are a play on that.
As females were prohibited from acting in Tudor England, young males always played the female leads. Thus, in creating Twelfth Night, Shakespeare is creating the very inverse of the theatrical customs and further poking fun at the complications that arise from it. Consequently, Violet is played by a male actor in female drag, who is in turn in male drag. As I personally love metafiction, Twelfth Night is essentially the Holy Grail of my study.
More than that, it's just sheer entertaining. Shakespeare pokes fun at every convention of love and courtship in the main story line, and provides a very humorous side story concerning Feste and Malvolio. The reference to Chaucer was very much appreciated, as well.
Overall, it's a hysterical play, and one that must be seen to be fully appreciated. Nonetheless, if you don't have the chance to actually see it, I'd highly recommend giving it a good read through."
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