Twelfth Night

One of Shakespeare's finest comedies, Twelfth Night was written at the same time as Hamlet and Troilus and Cressida, and whilst it shares their fascination with sex, death and confused identities, its exuberant comedy and linguistic inventiveness rises above the introspection of these plays. Viola and her twin brother Sebastian are separated in a storm, which washes them both up at different points on the shores of Illyria. Believing each other to be dead, both attempt to survive by using their wits. Viola cross-dresses and enters the service of the lovesick Orsino, in love with Olivia, an heiress in mourning for the loss of her brother. Orsino's saucy young page Cesario (Viola) soon falls in love with "his" master, who tells "him", "all is semblative a woman's part". Unfortunately, whilst Viola falls in love with Orsino, Olivia falls in love with her alter ego, Cesario, whilst also being pursued at the same time by her pompous servant Malvolio. Olivia's house is also turned upside down by the antics of her drunken uncle, Sir Toby Belch, and the whole crazy situation reaches boiling point when Sebastian reappears.

Despite the madcap plot, Twelfth Night remains one of Shakespeare's most complex and inventive comedies, fascinated with questions of cross-dressing, gender confusion, language and inversion, as well as retaining a darker edge to some of its laughter. --Jerry Brotton

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Great acting edition - Rated
If you looking for a text of this (or any Shakespeare) then this is the one to get: all the text is on the right hand side of the double-pages with notes on the left. It's a fantastic edition and lots of space to take notes. If you simply want to read the play, then try another edition, as it can be a little annoying only reading the right hand side, whereas the rest is full with notes.

wicked! - Rated
this is my favourite shakespeare play, i remember reading it in year 9 for sats...i absolutely loved it..i think its amazing! ive read other shakespeare plays but this is by far the best!

A fine play and a user friendly edition. - Rated
This is the edition if you are new to Shakespeare. It presents the play in an easy to understand way with useful notes and commentary. However it is overtly simplistic and lacks the in depth analysis that this great play deserves.
This is one of Shakespeare's most interesting and entertaining comedies. Enjoy.

this play is coooooollllll!!!!! - Rated
This is our sats play and it is so good, my fav charactor is viola as she is strong willed and determend to help orsino to be able to love again

Recommended - and I'm not really a fan. - Rated
I have always found Shakespeare very difficult. The scenarios are unusual, the humour often completely escapes me and things have changed a great deal since the days of Mr. Shakespeare, both in terms of language and society. 'Twelfth Night' was unlikely to win my affection. Where this book scores is in its dedication to putting this play into a context that we can understand today. It offers definitions of words no longer in the English vocabulary (and believe me, there are plenty!) and the book also gives us background information about Shakespeare; his era, his methods and the fictional world in which he set his plays, Illyria. In spite of all this, though, I am still pretty baffled by this play. Maybe you will feel differently.