English 3012 Twelfth Night

William Shakespeare 1564-1616

- Widely considered the greatest writer in the English language- Author of 38 plays and 154 sonnet poems- From Stratford-upon-Avon

- Son of an alderman and glove maker - Married Anne Hathaway at 18; three children- Moved to London around 1590- Member of a playing company; part owner of the Globe theater

Did he write his own plays?- About 40 historical documents describing him- Few medieval plays or stories were ‘invented.’ Most had traditional origins

Did Walt Disney “write” Snow White, Cinderella, or Beauty & the Beast?

The Globe (Replica). Theaters were first built in 1575.

An Elizabethan Theatre

An Elizabethan Audience-Typically 3 tiers-Capacity 1500-3000-Little artificial light-Noisy and not always sober!

Twelfth Night festival

- Twelfth day of Christmas (January 5); the day before Epiphany, when the three wise men visited the infant Jesus - A time of festivals and partying (Saturnalia) - Possibly first performed for a lawyers’ party

Saturnalia

Twelfth Night (about 1602)

- Possibly based on Gl'ingannati (The Deceived Ones), 1531 - First published in the First Folio (1623)

Setting: Exotic Illyria!

(Now Croatia)

Ethnic stereotypes in Shakespeare?

Characters Orsino, dukeOlivia, countessSir Toby Belch, Olivia’s uncleSir Andrew AguecheekMalvolio, stewardMaria, Olivia’s ladyFeste, clownViolaSebastian, Viola’s sisterAntonio, sea captain

http://nfs.sparknotes.com/twelfthnight/