Twelfth Night is one of Shakespeare’s great comedies and includes many themes common to Elizabethan comedies such as twins
that have been separated, people dressing up as members of the opposite sex, the literary device of mistaken identity that leads to many complications, and, of course, thwarted
love that eventually comes right. However, Twelfth Night is not merely a comedic farce that is all happiness and light. There is a particularly disturbing aspect to the
play in its portrayal of insanity and what leads people to become mad. While love is heralded as a powerful force, the play does not necessarily suggest that this force is always a positive one. The play revolves around Viola, one of twins, who is shipwrecked and believes her brother, Sebastian, is dead. She disguises herself as a castrated boy named Cesario and serves the Duke Orsino who is in love with Lady Olivia who is grieving. Orsino unsuccessfully uses Viola as a go-between between himself and Lady Olivia who falls in love with the disguised Viola. However, Viola falls in love with the Duke and when Sebastian arrives all is chaos when Olivia asks him to marry her. Meanwhile, there is an extensive subplot involving Olivia’s arrogant steward, Malvolio, and several other characters who plot to make him believe that Olivia is in love with him which literally drives hims mad with love. It is an extremely funny play and wonderful to see on stage.