The tale of a young woman who disguises herself as a man and becomes entangled in the courtship of two local aristocrats upends conventions of romance and gender roles. First staged in 1602, Twelfth Night is one of Shakespeare’s most performed plays. Read a character analysis of Viola, plot summary, and important quotes.

Summary

Read a Plot Overview of the entire play or a scene by scene Summary and Analysis.

Characters

See a complete list of the characters in Twelfth Night and in-depth analyses of Viola, Orsino and Olivia, Malvolio, Sebastian, and Antonio.

Main Ideas

Here's where you'll find analysis about the play as a whole, from the major themes and ideas to analysis of style, tone, point of view, and more.

Quotes

Find the quotes you need to support your essay, or refresh your memory of the play by reading these key quotes.

Further Study

Test your knowledge of Twelfth Night with our quizzes and study questions, or go further with essays on the context and background and links to the best resources around the web.

Writing Help

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Teacher's Handbook

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Twelfth Night (SparkNotes Literature Guide)

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