Twelfth Night

Shifting ideas of gender, sexuality and class status are explored in this romantic comedy which de-centres the heteronormative couple from its central dramatic plot as it pursues the solution of multiple marriages.

In Illyria daughters grieve for their fathers and siblings, whilst Viola and Sebastian fear the worst in a shipwreck that tears them apart. Duke Orsino sends his new servant, Cesario, to woo the unwilling Olivia on his behalf, setting off a chain of mistaken identities and confused desires. This edition foregrounds the queer potentialities of Twelfth Night whilst exploring male friendship, madness, mourning and migration across the play’s different plots and afterlives.

The Arden Shakespeare Fourth Series Twelfth Night provides:
- A critical introduction to the play's textual, cultural and performance history
- An edition rooted in the Folio text and the earliest known Middle Temple performance of Twelfth Night
- Detailed on-the-page notes explaining language, character and performance
- A clear page layout with an easy-to-read font and single-column notes
- Images of relevant productions, paintings and texts