Twelfth Night
By: William Shakespeare
This is also one of the greatest of Shakespeare's comedies, it is my personal favorite. Not only is it hysterically funny, it is tremendously confusing. J
Viola and Sebastian are identical twins (how they came to be identical and a boy and girl, I don't know. Writers can do anything.) who are shipwrecked, each believes the other to be dead. The story spends more time on Viola; we do not see much of Sebastian until the last 10 minutes.
Viola arrives in a foreign country- one which her country is at war with. Knowing that she would certainly be a "damsel in distress" if she remains as she is, she dresses herself as a young man named Cesario and goes to serve the Duke of the land.
Now… Duke Orsino is madly in love with the Lady Olivia. But Lady Olivia's brother has just died and she has decided she will mourn for seven years before even thinking about love. Orsino will not listen to her refusal however, and when Cesario (Viola) arrives he has a marvelous idea. Why not send Cesario to court Olivia for Orsino? Cesario is young and good looking and will better promote Orsino's love than the old men he has been sending (Orsino has recently been wounded in battle, which is partly why he does not go himself).
But here things get complicated. Olivia falls in love with Cesario (Viola), who loves Orsino desperately, even though he thinks her a man. So he still loves her while she loves him even though he who is really a her loves him. Make sense? Probably not. But then it gets even more complicated when Sebastian and his friend come into town. Sir Andrew Agueface who is trying unsuccessfully to court Olivia is furious with Cesario for winning her love. He determines to have a duel with him… only things don't go the way he expects them to.
Behind all this another small comedy is occurring. Lady Olivia's steward is basically a stuffed pea cock, and two servants and an Uncle of Olivia are plain sick of it. They come up with a marvelous plan to embarrass him… and it almost works!
This is a wonderful story! Shakespeare did add some stuff that wasn't too great… but this is a fun, lighthearted (for the most part) story.
Movies Based on the Book
I have seen two movies based on the book, both are great!
1.
Actors: Helena Bonham-Carter, Richard Grant, Imogen Stubbs and Nigel Hawthorne
Company: Renaissance Films Production
Director: Trevor Nunn
Year: 1996
Acting: Great! I have seen Helena Bonham-Carter and Imogen Stubbs in two other movies (Lady Jane and Sense and Sensibility , respectively), and they are so talented! All the other actors in this film do such a great job at portraying their characters.
Filming: Filmed in Cornwall. Many beautiful scenes beautifully filmed.
Screen Play: Very good! Trevor Nunn wrote the screenplay as well as directed the movie, and I'm impressed. He moved the time period up to the late 1800's. There are some innuendo's, but Nunn stayed close to Shakespeare and made the movie extremely funny! I also love the way the brother and sister are devoted to each other.
Things you might not like about this movie:
As I said, there are a few innuendos and in one scene an actor recites their lines around a nude, Greek type statue. But that's about it.
Rating: PG
In closing… this and Sense and Sensibility are my favorite movies. This film is so funny, so witty and just a good movie to watch
. J
2.
I cannot find very much information on this title. It is a wonderful version! It was made in 1992, and it's animated puppets. The story and lines are condensed quite a bit to fit into the 30-minute length of the film, but the story is still there and so is the humour.
This movie is what I would definitely recommend for introducing young children to Shakespeare (older kids and grown ups will enjoy it, too!). It is funny, but one does not get lost in the labyrinth of Shakespearean paragraphs. I think you'll have fun watching this one.