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Home , Illyria (musical), Malvolio, Maria (Twelfth Night), Matteo Bandello, Olivia (Twelfth Night), Orsino (Twelfth Night)

THE MAN THE PLAY “, or, WHAT YOU WILL”

THE FACTS WRITTEN: Shakespeare wrote the play in late 1600/early 1601. AGE: The Bard was 37 years old when he wrote the play. (Shakespeare B.1564-D.1616) CHRONO: The play falls in 23th place in the canon of 39 plays; Shakespeare wrote the play “on deadline” (see “Deadline” below) and nearly at the same time as completing “”; “the zany spirit of ‘what you will’ dominated him [at the time] as a defense against the bitterness of the three dark comedies, the “problem plays”, just after: “”, “All’s Well That Ends Well” and “Measure for Measure”. (Bloom) DEADLINE: After reading the play it often strikes one that it is oddly named. Twelfth Night is of course the twelfth day after Christmas celebrated on January 6. The play holds no singular reference to any lingering cold Winter weather for the “May-morning skirmish” in the play nor are there any references to the biblical story of the arrival of the Magi made by any of the characters. The title of the play refers solely to the “why” and “what for” of the play’s writing. It seems a Lawyers Guild commissioned Shakespeare in late 1600 to write an amusing play for the month-long Twelfth Night celebrations beginning in January of 1601. He did so and the play was called “Twelfth Night” after the occasion and not because of anything in the play itself. The subtitle “What You Will” perhaps more effectively describes Shakespeare’s feelings about how the action of the play unfolds. Page 2 Becoming aware of the commission the Queen “encouraged” Shakespeare to complete the script early enough for a private court performance honoring the departure of the Italian diplomat, Duke . (It is conjectured that he appropriately changed the original name of the romantic hero to honor the Duke.) GENRE: Frequently listed in “The High Comedies” as a “warm comedy”, the play is considered by some scholars to be “of no genre” because it renders “no just picture of life…although a just representation of general nature” (Johnson); on the other hand, the play “refuses to take itself seriously, and we would do it violence by such realistic expectations.” (Bloom) SOURCE: Even though scholars attribute the invention of the Malvolio sub-plot to Shakespeare, it seems the fable of the twins and of Orsino and “could have been derived from an old Italian comedy with plot elements drawn from the short story ‘Of Apollonius and Silla’ by Barnabe Rich based on a story by ” (Trewin) FIRST : “Twelfth Night or What You Will“ was probably first privately performed as part of the Twelfth Night celebrations held by Queen Elizabeth I at Whitehall Palace on 6 January 1601 to mark the end of the embassy of the Italian diplomat, the Duke of Orsino. However, in line with the commission from the London Lawyers Guild the play was first publicly performed on Candlemas Day (February 2) 1601, in Middle Temple Hall, where “at our feast a barrister named John Manningham saw and recorded it.” (How difficult was THAT??!) CRITICS: The play was an immediate success and is now one of the most loved and familiar romantic comedies in the canon. However, critics were not often kind as early as sixty years later in 1662 and on throughout the mid-eighteenth century. “But a silly play, and not related at all to the name of the day” wrote Samuel Pepys. C.L Barber later commented: “A Feast of Fools touches its limits soon enough; the play is decentered – there is almost no significant action, perhaps because nearly everyone behaves involuntarily. A much funnier Page 3

Nietzsche might have conceived it, since forces somewhat beyond the characters seem to be living their lives for them.” FAMOUS: as the page Cesario: “I am not what I am.” (Act III, Sc 1, Line 142) – the gentle self-mockery is jarring in the moment as it echoes the same exact line in a very different tone from Iago in “” (Act I, Sc 1, Line 65) and travesties St Paul’s “By the grace of God, I am what I am.” The over-confident and bold Malvalio at the beginning of the play’s high point, “yellow stockings” scene: “ ‘Be not afraid of greatness’: ‘twas well writ. ‘Some are born great…Some achieve greatness….And some have greatness thrust upon them.’ “ STRUCTURE: “Orsino’s amiable erotic lunacy establishes the tone of ‘Twelfth Night’…..Shakespeare’s acute sense that all sexual love is arbitrary in its origins but overdetermined in its teleology [purpose rather than causes by which they arise] is at the center of the play……Freud thought that all object-choice [falling in love] was either narcissistic or a propping-against….’Even so quickly may one catch the plague?’ is Olivia’s rhetorical question after Cesario’s very first scene with her……Self-indulgence and vulnerable self-surrender touch on sublimity.” (Bloom) ACTORS: Even though the names of the original cast members remain lost in time it is believed that “Shakespeare himself might well have played the role of Antonio in the 1601 production as well as the role of Antonio in ‘’ ” in 1597 (Bloom); the homoerotic overtones generated by both characters have fallen on a continuum from “embraced” to “underplayed” throughout the history of the play’s stage and film productions. TRIVIA: In the United States “Twelfth Night” was staged first in Boston (1794) RECENT: The highly-regarded, award-winning Stratford Festival in Ontario opened its permanent theater with a production directed by Tyrone Page 4 Guthrie in 1957. (“insecurely cast as Viola”) starred in a revival of the play in 1960 in Stratford, Connecticut. FILM: Several films and “filmed-live” stage productions have been undertaken in the past years. (Some are listed at the end of this document.) The most successful in the latter category splashed onto the screen from the National Theater in 2019 with the role of Malvolio altered to star one of London’s finest comic actresses, Tamsin Grieg as MalvoliA. An opera by Smetana called “Viola” was highly successful in 1881. Songs and incidental musical interludes were composed by Sibelius for a second operatic production in 1909. A celebrated French production by Jacques Copeau ran for several performances at the Vieux-Colombier in Paris in 1914.

THE PLAY SETTING: The play is set in the land of . In actual geography, Illyria is the coastal district what we now call Yugoslavia on the eastern shores of the Adriatic Sea across from Italy. In Shakespeare’s time what had once been Illyria then became Serbia and was still part of the 700- year Turkish Ottoman Empire; parts of the coast, however, were controlled by Venice and were Italian in culture. YEAR: Even though the period in which the play is set is not obvious, the action DOES unfold in the merry month May as referenced by Fabian’s line plotting the dual as “more matter for a May morning.” (Act III, Sc 4, 142). We assume we are in the present year of 1601.

KEY ROLES: VIOLA / “Cesario”: A young woman of aristocratic birth and the play’s protagonist, Viola fears the death of her brother in the shipwreck but chooses to move on from in hopes of returning to her home. Swiftly disguised as a male page and enlisted by Duke Orsino as a messenger to his hoped-for love, Viola speedily falls in love with the Duke. Confusion prevails. Her poignant plight is the central conflict in the play.

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DUKE ORSINO: A powerful nobleman in the country of Illyria, highly-romantic Duke Orsino is in love with love and currently lovesick for the beautiful Lady Olivia. He soon become fond of his handsome new page boy, “Cesario”, as a messenger to Olivia. Osino is a vehicle through which the play explores the absurdity of love. His attraction to the ostensibly male “Cesario” injects sexual ambiguity into his character.

COUNTESS OLIVIA: This “virtuous maid” at first in love with grief, is courted by Orsino and . She remains in mourning for her recently- deceased brother. She and Orsino are similar characters in that each seems to enjoy wallowing in his or her own misery. Olivia seems to have no difficulty speedily transferring her affections from one love interest to the next, however, suggesting that her romantic feelings—like most emotions in the play—do not run deep.

MALVOLIO: Countess Olivia’s self-loving, straitlaced and pompous steward, Malvolio is exceptionally efficient but also exceptionally self-righteous with a poor opinion of drinking, singing, and fun. His priggishness and haughty attitude earn him the enmity of Sir Toby, Sir Andrew, and , who play a cruel trick on him, making him believe that Olivia is in love with him. In his fantasies about marrying his mistress, he reveals a powerful ambition to rise above his social class. His ultimate treatment, as even Toby realizes (“I would we were all rid of this knavery”) goes beyond a joke. Revenge is assured.

MARIA Olivia’s clever, daring, mean-spirited “waiting-gentlewoman”, Maria is remarkably similar to her antagonist, Malvolio -- both harbor aspirations of rising in the world through marriage. Maria succeeds where Malvolio fails more likely because she is more in tune with the anarchic, topsy-turvy spirit that animates the play. By the play’s end Maria marries .

FESTE The clown or fool of Olivia’s household, moves between the homes of Olivia AND Orsino. He earns his living by making pointed jokes, singing old songs, being generally witty and offering good advice cloaked under a layer of foolishness. In spite of being a professional fool, Feste often seems the wisest character in the play. OTHER ROLES: See the additional document with visual groupings of characters: “The Shipwrecked”, “Orsino’s Court” and “Olivia’s Villa”.

SYNOPSIS: Viola is shipwrecked on the coast of Illyria buts comes ashore with the help of the ship’s Captain. She has lost contact with her twin brother, Sebastian, whom she believes to be drowned. Learning that Duke Orsino “governs here”, she Page 6

disguises herself with the aid of the Captain as a young man under the name of “Cesario” and enters the service of Duke Orsino.

Duke Orsino has convinced himself that he is in love with Countess Olivia who is mourning the recent death of her brother. She refuses to see entertainments, be in the company of men, or accept love or marriage proposals from anyone, the Duke included, until seven years have passed.

Duke Orsino then uses “Cesario” as an intermediary to profess his passionate love before Olivia. Olivia, however, falls in love with “Cesario”, setting her at odds with her professed duty.

In the meantime, Viola has fallen in love with Duke Orsino, creating a love triangle: Viola loves Duke Orsino, Duke Orsino loves Olivia, and Olivia loves Viola disguised as “Cesario”.

In the comic/tragic subplot, several characters conspire to make Olivia's pompous steward, Malvolio (“a kind of Puritan”), believe that Olivia has fallen in love with him. Indeed, Malvolio has quietly craved the attentions of his mistress but kept his passions under tight control.

The plot also involves Olivia's riotous uncle, Sir Toby Belch; another would-be suitor, a silly squire named Sir Andrew Aguecheek; her servants Maria and Fabian; and her witty fool, Feste.

Sir Toby and Sir Andrew engage themselves in drinking and revelry, thus disturbing the peace of Olivia's household until late into the night, prompting Malvolio to chastise them. Sir Toby famously retorts, "Dost thou think, because thou art virtuous, there shall be no more cakes and ale?".

Sir Toby, Sir Andrew, and Maria plan revenge on Malvolio. They convince Malvolio that Olivia is secretly in love with him by planting a love letter, written by Maria in Olivia's handwriting. It asks Malvolio to wear yellow stockings cross- gartered (a colour and fashion that Olivia actually hates), to be rude to the rest of the servants, and to smile constantly in the presence of Olivia, another thing she despises.

Malvolio finds the letter and reacts in surprised delight. His fantasies and aspirations for “greatness” overwhelm him and he starts acting out the contents of the letter to show Olivia his positive response. Olivia is shocked by the changes in Malvolio and, agreeing that he seems mad, leaves him to be cared for by his tormentors. Page 7

Pretending that Malvolio is insane, they lock him up in a dark chamber. Feste visits him to mock his insanity, both disguised as a priest and as himself.

Meanwhile, Viola's twin, Sebastian, has been rescued by Antonio, a sea captain who previously fought against Orsino. Despite the danger, Antonio accompanies Sebastian to Illyria because of his admiration (and possibly love) for Sebastian. Sebastian's appearance adds to the confusion of mistaken identities to the comedy.

Taking Sebastian for 'Cesario', Olivia asks him to marry her, and they are secretly married in a church. Finally, when identically-dressed 'Cesario' and Sebastian appear in the presence of both Olivia and Orsino, there is more wonder and confusion at their physical similarity. At this point, Viola reveals her identity and is reunited with her twin brother.

The play ends in a declaration of marriage between Duke Orsino and Viola along with Sir Toby and Maria. Malvolio swears revenge on his tormentors and stalks off, but Orsino sends Fabian to placate him.

F O R O P T I O N A L V I E W I N G…..

YOUTUBE – FREE *** Watch numerous scenes from various productions of “Twelfth Night” by the Royal Shakespeare Company and the National Theater including the most recent popular producion starring Ms as MalvoliA. Full length screenings of the stage productions are difficult to access from the U.S. but sometimes possible through such sources as: free.fromdoctopdf.com/_download, free.quickdocsonline.com/download, free.pdfconverterhq.com/free/twelfth+night

YOUTUBE – FREE Shakespeare & Company, Minnesota (2015) – “Twelfth Night” – Filmed-live, professional outdoor stage performance. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X1uBRv5MJbQ Page 8

YOUTUBE – FREE The Hartt Performing Arts Conservatory, Hartford (2019) – “Twelfth Night” – Filmed-live, amateur stage performancehttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r7Js-IV2rGw

IMDb – RENT @ $5.26 Film – “Twelfth Night” (1996) Directed by starring Helena Bonham Carter and Richard E Grant https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0117991/?ref_=fn_al_tt_1

IMDb – RENT – PRIME VIDEO Filmed Stage Production (Broadway) – “Twelfth Night” (2013) Directed by Tim Carroll starring (Olivia) and Stephen Fry https://www.imdb.com/title/tt5622262/?ref_=fn_al_tt_2

NETFLIX – MEMBERSHIP The BBC (1980) – “Twelfth Night” – Starring Alec McCowen, Trevor Peacock and https://dvd.netflix.com/Movie/Twelfth-Night/70065092

NETFLIX – MEMBERSHIP Filmed for British Television (1988) – “Twelfth Night” – Directed by Kenneth Branaugh and starring Frances de la Tour https://dvd.netflix.com/Movie/Twelfth- Night/70017663