Reviews

Score one for androgyny and desire.
Twelfth Night is like if She’s The Man with Amanda Bynes started off with a shipwreck and instead of being a soccer captain named Duke, Channing Tatum was an actual damn Duke. Just kidding, of course the film is a modern retelling of the Big Bad Bard’s romantic comedy. For the uninitiated, it is the story of siblings Sebastian and Viola who are separated by a storm. Viola disguises herself as a page boy in the service Duke Orsino, who is in love with Olivia, but Viola loves Orsino and Olivia loves Casario except Casario is actually Viola. Pretty simple right? Now throw in some comical subplots about making Malvolio believe she too is in love with Orsino and we got a proper sexy story and, ‘If music be the food of love, play on,’ lets proceed onward!

‘Dost thou think, because thou art virtuous, there shall be no more cakes and ale?’

Bring on the cakes and don’t spare the ales because this is a pretty riotous play that plays with the concept of gender as much as it plays with the concept of disguises and the roles we play. Shakespeare uses the act of disguising oneself for multiple purposes here, with Viola in disguise as Casario and others in disguise as scholars to trick Malvolio, and while the latter is more an act of deception, Viola serves as a pretty excellent look that, particularly to a modern audience, can be an interesting look at gender fluidity and queer desires. [a:Vita Sackville-West|3904620|Vita Sackville-West|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1417920269p2/3904620.jpg], who would dress in men’s clothing and go by the name Julian in order to escort her lover, Violet, around Paris and is often remembered for her relationship with Virginia Woolf, named the protagonists of her novel [b:The Edwardians|1122534|The Edwardians|Vita Sackville-West|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1344697988l/1122534._SY75_.jpg|1109619] Sebastian and Viola after this play for that very reason.

‘If this were play'd upon a stage now, I could condemn it as an improbable fiction.”

The act of taking on a disguise, however, also functions on several layers, from acknowledging ones self in the form of a role all the way to a rather metafictional level acknowledging that these are in fact characters in a play. Viola, for instance, when asked if she is a comedian responds ‘I am not that I play,’ as a sort of witty nod to her role as Casario. The idea of Viola taking on the role of a man can also be thought of as subversive to the notion that roles of women characters were commonly filled by men and thus Viola playing a man is comical as it nudges the idea of a man playing a woman who is then playing a man. Which is pretty great. We also have Shakespeare showing us characters who are even unwittingly playing a role, such as Orsino’s lofty language of love being viewed as fairly farcical–Orsino is in love with the idea of loving Olivia more than actually in love with Olivia and playing a role of lover rather than being an “authentic” lover. As often with Shakespeare there is a “play-within-a-play” and whole one isn’t necessarily stated as such we can view Fabian, Sir Toby and Sir Andrew as a sort of audience to the “performance” of Malvolio. Neat!

‘Be not afraid of greatness. Some are born great, some achieve greatness, and others have greatness thrust upon them.’

A romcom of gender bending and love triangles as only Shakespeare could deliver, Twelfth Night is a total delight.

visnisme's review against another edition

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funny lighthearted fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? N/A
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

chris_dech's review against another edition

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3.0

For a while now, I've wondered why most of Shakespeare's most well-known plays were his tragedies (e.g. Hamlet, Caesar, Romeo and Juliet, et. al.). In my opinion, I think it is just the melodrama of such plays that makes them stick so well with audiences.

Twelfth Night is not, by any means, unpopular, but one would probably not be able to find many who are familiar with the play or its premise as one would with Romeo and Juliet or Hamlet. Nor is it a play without merit, for it is a funny play with entertaining characters and plotlines.

However, I found myself not bored with the play, but rather just not as engrossed as I would be or have been with Shakespeare's tragedies. Furthermore, Shakespeare's resolution for the play is, in my opinion, a little unsatisfying: those who have read the play will understand when I say the words Antonio, double wedding, and Malvolio.

Twelfth Night is not a bad play, but for me, it isn't a tragedy. And while that does not make reading the play a tragedy, it certainly raises the question of what makes something stick with our collective consciousness.

Also, Disney made a movie based off the play. Go figure.