Twelfth Night, is a romantic comedy by William Shakespeare. Believed to have been written around (1601-1602).
Sebastian and viola were identical twins. They were born in the same hour. Sebastian was a young man of Elysium and his twin sister was the lady of Messalina. They were on a voyage together when a shipwreck occurred at the coast of Illyria. Their ship was split on a rock in a violent tempest and both were on the verge of death. The captain of the ship, along with a few sailors, somehow got to the land in a small boat. They rescued viola and brought her to the shore. The poor lady, instead of being happy for her own safety, mourned for the death of her brother Sebastian.
But the captain comforted her with the assurance that he had seen him during the tempest. When the ship split ,Sebastian had fastened him self to a strong mast and managed to remain above the waves. Viola was much consoled and gathered hope from this account. she now thought how she would settle down in a foreign country, far away from home. so she asked the captain if he knew anything of Illyria. “yes, very well,” said the captain, “for I was bred and born not three hours travel from this place. He also told her that Illyria was governed by duke Orsino who was indeed a Nobel man. Viola was surprised .She said,” Orsino! I have heard my father name him .He was a bachelor then.” The Captain told her that the duke remained a bachelor and was seeking the love of the beautiful Olivia , the daughter of a count who died a year ago. The virtuous lady was left behind to the protection of her brother, who also died shortly after, and for the love of her dear brother she had abjured the sight and company of men. Viola who was herself in such emotional condition, for the probable lass of her brother , desired to live with this lady. She asked the captain if he could introduce her to Olivia as she would willingly serve this lady. But he confused that it would be a hard thing to accomplish because lady Olivia would not allow any person to enter her house since her brother’s death, not even the duke himself. Then, Viola thought of another plan which was in a man ‘s camouflage and that was to serve the duke as a page. It was indeed a strange fancy in a young lady to dress herself as a young man and serve the duke, since viola was young and of uncommon beauty, alone in a foreign land.
TWELFTH NIGHT, is a romantic comedy by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written around 1601–1602 as a Twelfth night entertainment for the close of the Christmas season. The play centres on the twins viola and Sebastian who are separated in a shipwreck. Viola (disguised as Cesario) falls in love with the Duke Orsino, who in turn is in love with Countess Olivia. Upon meeting Viola, Countess Olivia falls in love with her, thinking she is a man.
The play expanded on the musical interludes and riotous disorder expected of the occasion,[1] with plot elements drawn from Barnaba Rich’s short story “Of Apollonius and Silla”, based on a story by Matteo Bandello. The first documented public performance was on 2 February 1602, at Candlemas, the formal end of Christmastide in the year’s calendar. The play was not published until its inclusion in the 1623 First Folio.