Twelfth Night

Product Description

One of the best-loved comedies ever written Twelfth Night is perhaps Shakespeare's most lyrical as well as most experimental play This Penguin Shakespeare edition is edited by M M Mahood with an introduction by Michael Dobson ' If music be the food of love play on' Separated from her twin brother Sebastian after a shipwreck Viola disguises herself as a boy to serve the Duke of Illyria Wooing a countess on his behalf she is stunned to find herself the object of his beloved's affections With the arrival of Viola's brother & a trick played upon the countess's steward confusion reigns in this romantic comedy of mistaken identity This book contains a general introduction to Shakespeare's life & Elizabethan theatre a separate introduction to Twelfth Night a chronology suggestions for further reading an essay discussing performance options on both stage & screen & a commentary William Shakespeare was born some time in late April 1564 in Stratford-upon-Avon & died in 1616 He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language & the world's pre-eminent dramatist Stanley Wells is Emeritus Professor of the University of Birmingham & Honorary President of the Shakespeare Birthplace Trust Michael Dobson is Director of the Shakespeare Institute & Professor of Shakespeare Studies at the University of Birmingham' Unrequited love melancholy cruelty & joy held together in perfect balance'
- Nicholas Hytner