Julie Tagg| Think and Write for CSEC English A and B

Main Plot involving the Courtly Lovers

Twelfth Night is a comedy play that center around a group of quirky characters in the country of Illyria. The main plot in the play revolves around Duke Orsino, who is hopelessly in love with the Countess Olivia. However, Olivia is mourning her brother’s death and has vowed to remain single for seven years. Despite the seemingly impossible situation, help arrives in the form of Viola and Sebastian, identical twins who survive a shipwreck and end up washed ashore separately.

Viola, realizing that she must fend for herself, decides to disguise herself as a pageboy named Cesario and works for Duke Orsino, who asks her to woo Olivia on his behalf. Unfortunately, Olivia falls in love with Cesario, who is actually Viola in disguise. Meanwhile, Sebastian arrives in town and meets Olivia, who mistakes him for Cesario and proposes to him. Sebastian, who is unsure whether the lady is mad or if he is dreaming, decides to play along. Confusion arises due to the look-alike twins, but eventually, the truth is revealed, and everyone ends up marrying the person they love.

Plot involving Malvolio

Another plotline in the play is the “gulling of Malvolio.” Malvolio is the steward in Olivia’s household, but he is very unpopular because he is an arrogant spoil-sport who always reports others for their misdemeanors. To play a trick on him, Maria composes a letter that Malvolio will believe was written by Olivia. The letter hints that Olivia is in love with him and that he must dress in yellow stockings with cross-garters and smile all the time. Malvolio’s self-importance leads him to believe he is Count Malvolio, and he runs around behaving absurdly. Olivia is shocked to see her usually sober steward behaving this way and agrees that he must be ill. She hands him over to her uncle, Sir Toby, who locks him up and treats him as a madman. To squeeze every drop of fun out of the joke, they even bring in a priest (the Clown in disguise) to ‘exorcise’ the mad spirit. Malvolio is finally released when he manages to have a letter taken to Olivia. She listens to his story and has him set free. The other servants admit to their mischief, but ask for it to be taken as a joke. For Malvolio, though, it is no joke, and he’s not forgiving anyone: he marches off, determined to get revenge.

Plot involving Sir Andrew Aguecheek

The third plotline involves Sir Andrew Aguecheek, who also loves Olivia but is foolish and easily manipulated by Sir Toby. Sir Toby persuades Sir Andrew to hand over money in exchange for hooking him up with Olivia, which leads to many comic scenes involving silly speech and even sillier behavior from Sir Andrew. Sir Toby even sets up a duel between Sir Andrew and Cesario to impress Olivia, but the duel is a parody, and no one is brave enough to attack. The confusion leads to misunderstandings, but everything gets resolved when the identical twins show up on stage.

As the other characters leave the stage, the Clown is left alone and sings a thought-provoking song, suggesting that we should not hold onto anger or refuse to enjoy life but instead seize the day since life is short. The play is full of witty dialogue, hilarious antics, and unexpected twists and turns, making it a must-see for anyone who loves a good comedy.