Twelfth Night (Folger Shakespeare Library) (Mass Market Paperback)

by William Shakespeare (Author) "Enter Orsino, Duke of Illyria, Curio, and other Lords, with Musicians playing..." (more)
Key Phrases: early printed texts, yellow stockings, mild oath, Sir Toby, Twelfth Night, Sir Andrew (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description

Each edition includes:

• Freshly edited text based on the best early printed version of the play

• Full explanatory notes conveniently placed on pages facing the text of the play

• Scene-by-scene plot summaries

• A key to famous lines and phrases

• An introduction to reading Shakespeare's language

• An essay by an outstanding scholar providing a modern perspective on the play

• Illustrations from the Folger Shakespeare Library's vast holdings of rare books

Essay by Catherine Belsey

The Folger Shakespeare Library in Washington, D.C., is home to the world's largest collection of Shakespeare's printed works, and a magnet for Shakespeare scholars from around the globe. In addition to exhibitions open to the public throughout the year, the Folger offers a full calendar of performances and programs.

About the Author
The Folger Shakespeare Library in Washington, D.C., is home to the world's largest collection of Shakespeare's printed works, and a magnet for Shakespeare scholars from around the globe. In addition to exhibitions open to the public throughout the year, the Folger offers a full calendar of performances and programs. For more information, visit www.folger.edu.

Barbara A. Mowat is Director of Academic Programs at the Folger Shakespeare Library, Editor of Shakespeare Quarterly, Chair of the Folger Institute, and author of The Dramaturgy of Shakespeare's Romances and of essays on Shakespeare's plays and on the editing of the plays.

Paul Werstine is Professor of English at King's College and the Graduate School of the University of Western Ontario, Canada. He is the author of many papers and articles on the printing and editing of Shakespeare's plays and was Associate Editor of the annual Medieval and Renaissance Drama in England from 1980 to 1989.

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Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 272 pages
• Publisher: Simon & Schuster (June 22, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0743482778
• ISBN-13: 978-0743482776
• Product Dimensions: 6.7 x 4.2 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #7,392 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great Comedy, December 16, 2005

By	Kirk - See all my reviews

This play is about a girl who goes under cover as a man to try to find her twin brother who was lost in a shipwreck. she goes to work for the self indulgent Duke Orsino. the play is filled with comedic events such as the Duchess Olivia falls love with the main character, Viola, because Olivia thinks Viola is a man, as well as the drunken antics of Sir Toby and Sir Andrew. overall it was a very funny play and I enjoyed reading it and I would reccoment it to anyone who likes Shakespeare.

The wording, the same as with any shakespeare play, was a little hard to get used to. When reading it I would get a vague understanding what the character was saying but then I would chekc the definition of specific words that are on the the opposite page. It would then become clear to me what was happening in the play. I enjoyed the comedic flow of the story. the series of different converging plots made for a little difficult comprehension but it all came together at the end of the play. This was definitely a funny play, and it was even better when I saw it on stage. There seems to be so much one misses when just reading a play, but when one sees it on stage the overall understanding of what is happening and why is greater. I thouroughly enjoyed reading the play as well as seeing it on stage and it was overall a solid comedy by William Shakespeare.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Ideal for all lovers of Shakespeare, February 21, 2009

By	Sirin (London, UK) - See all my reviews

Twelfth Night is one of Shakespeare's best loved and most accessible comedies. A brisk, comic farce, it hinges around two plots running concurrently - aristocrats mistake their lovers' gender, and a pompous steward is sent up by some clowns.

Watching this play recently (in London, with the sublime Derek Jacobi in the role of Malvolio the Steward), I was struck by how much this play can be seen as a satire on the aristocracy - both the Duke Orsino and the wealthy bereaved Olivia are moronic in their gulliability - they mistake Viola and Sebastian, twins separated by shipwreck, cannot tell their gender, fall for them anyway, and when their true identities are revealed don't seem to care much, so long as their lovers are of 'noble' blood.

Timeless comedy from the Bard.

5.0 out of 5 stars Lovers, fools, and stubborn characters of every stripe., September 1, 2008

By	E. M. Van Court "Van, emvc (at) lycos.com" (Honolulu, Hawai'i, USA) - See all my reviews (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)

And frequently all the same person. A cross-dressing young lady yclept Viola carries Duke Orsino's messages of undying love to Olivia. Olivia hurls harsh word at the Duke as her reply, and in the end gets her desire. Olivia's head servant, Malvolio isn't as smart as he thinks he is, but Feste, the fool, is smarter than anyone thinks he is. And Cesario isn't the man that Olivia and the Duke think he is (but it turns out that Cesario has a crush on the Duke...)

I can see why this one is considered one of Shakespeare's best. It's got confused identities, room for slapstick, bawdy word play, swordplay, a girl disguised as a boy (but originally played by a boy; I bet he didn't know whether to sit or stand after rehearsal), and all those traits of Shakespeare's best.

I loved it.

E.M. Van Court