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    Twelfth Night; Or What You Will: A Comedy
    Twelfth Night; Or What You Will: A Comedy
    Twelfth Night; Or What You Will: A Comedy
    Ebook137 pages1 hour

    Twelfth Night; Or What You Will: A Comedy

    By William Shakespeare

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    About this ebook

    Shipwrecked off the coast of Illyria, Viola enters the service of Duke Orsino disguised as Cesario. But when her twin brother, Sebastian, thought lost at sea, also arrives in Illyria, confusion reigns. Young love, mistaken identity, and general merriment are the hallmarks of this play. So named for a period of the year during the Epiphany where everyday rules of life are turned upside down, Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night remains a delightful romp of Elizabethan revelry.

    Known as “The Bard of Avon,” William Shakespeare is arguably the greatest English-language writer known. Enormously popular during his life, Shakespeare’s works continue to resonate more than three centuries after his death, as has his influence on theatre and literature. Shakespeare’s innovative use of character, language, and experimentation with romance as tragedy served as a foundation for later playwrights and dramatists, and some of his most famous lines of dialogue have become part of everyday speech.

    HarperPerennial Classics brings great works of literature to life in digital format, upholding the highest standards in ebook production and celebrating reading in all its forms. Look for more titles in the HarperPerennial Classics collection to build your digital library.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherHarperCollins
    Release dateDec 16, 2014
    ISBN9781443443609
    Twelfth Night; Or What You Will: A Comedy
    Author

    William Shakespeare

    William Shakespeare was an English poet, playwright, and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest dramatist in the English language. Shakespeare is often called England’s national poet and the “Bard of Avon.”  

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    Reviews for Twelfth Night; Or What You Will

    4/5

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    • 5/5
      Easily my favorite Shakespeare play.
    • 5/5
      A rightfully popular Shakespeare play, this one has resourcefulness, the audience is in on the fun, yet it works well.
    • 3/5
      Though my text stated that that was his comic masterpiece, I liked As You Like It much better. The only saving grace, for me, was the clown. He saved the best lines of wit and wisdom for that character. I suppose by this point, I am getting a bit put off by all the mistaken identity stuff. Perhaps the Bard was growing weary of the device as well.
    • 3/5
      In the words of deuce: "gay, working on gayer". Kind of a shame it never made it to gayer because Viola and the Countess are the most well developed pairing in the play. Also while the Duke's bits where he acts like a self-important tool are funny, they undermine the "happy ending" of Viola marrying him. This could have been fixed by giving him some bits where he displayed more redeeming characteristics, because (unlike the rapist guy in Two Gentleman) nothing he does is unforgivable... it's just that, all we do see of his personality is that he's kind of a douche. The production of it I saw was consistently funny in every scene and I had a great time watching it performed.
    • 4/5
      If music be the food of love, play on;Give me excess of it, that, surfeiting,The appetite may sicken, and so die.That strain again! it had a dying fall:O, it came o'er my ear like the sweet sound,That breathes upon a bank of violets,Stealing and giving odour! Enough; no more:'Tis not so sweet now as it was before.O spirit of love! how quick and fresh art thou,That, notwithstanding thy capacityReceiveth as the sea, nought enters there,Of what validity and pitch soe'er,But falls into abatement and low price,Even in a minute: so full of shapes is fancyThat it alone is high fantastical.Act 1, 1.1-15Every major character in Twelfth Night experiences some form of desire or love. Duke Orsino is in love with Olivia. Viola falls in love with Orsino, while disguised as his pageboy, Cesario. Olivia falls in love with Cesario. This love triangle is only resolved when Olivia falls in love with Viola's twin brother, Sebastian, and, at the last minute, Orsino decides that he actually loves Viola. Twelfth Night derives much of its comic force by satirizing these lovers. In the lines that open the play (above), Shakespeare pokes fun at Orsino's flowery love poetry, making it clear that Orsino is more in love with being in love than with his supposed beloveds. At the same time, by showing the details of the intricate rules that govern how nobles engage in courtship, Shakespeare examines how characters play the "game" of love. Viola (as Cesario) has the following lines in Act 1, scene 5:Make me a willow cabin at your gateAnd call upon my soul within the house;Write loyal cantons of contemned loveAnd sing them loud even in the dead of night;Halloo your name to the reverberate hillsAnd make the babbling gossip of the airCry out 'Olivia!' O, You should not restBetween the elements of air and earthBut you should pity me. (251-259)Twelfth Night further mocks the main characters' romantic ideas about love through the escapades of the servants. Malvolio's idiotic behavior, which he believes will win Olivia's heart, serves to underline Orsino's own only-slightly-less silly romantic ideas. Meanwhile, Sir Andrew Aguecheek, Sir Toby Belch, and Maria, are always cracking crass double entendres that make it clear that while the nobles may spout flowery poetry about romantic love, that love is at least partly motivated by desire and sex. Shakespeare further makes fun of romantic love by showing how the devotion that connects siblings (Viola and Sebastian) and servants to masters (Antonio to Sebastian and Maria to Olivia) actually prove more constant than any of the romantic bonds in the play.But there is more than love and desire in this amazing comedy. At the opening when Viola is shipwrecked in Illyria she bemoans that she cannot join her lost twin brother Sebastian in Elysium. Illyria is not Elysium however it reminds those familiar with As You Like It of the Arcadian forest of Arden. In both plays the setting is otherworldly--a place apart from the rest of civilization.There is also melancholy, for several characters in Twelfth Night suffer from some version of love-melancholy. Orsino exhibits many symptoms of the disease (including lethargy, inactivity, and interest in music and poetry). Dressed up as Cesario, Viola describes herself as dying of melancholy, because she is unable to act on her love for Orsino. Olivia also describes Malvolio as melancholy and blames it on his narcissism. It is this melancholy that represents the painful side of love.Perhaps more central to this play in particular are the themes of deception, disguise, and performance. With these themes Twelfth Night raises questions about the nature of gender and sexual identity. That Viola has disguised herself as a man, and that her disguise fools Olivia into falling in love with her, is genuinely funny. On a more serious note, however, Viola's transformation into Cesario, and Olivia's impossible love for him/her, also imply that, maybe, distinctions between male/female and heterosexual/homosexual are not as absolutely firm as you might think. When you recall that the players in Shakespeare's Globe were all men and boys these issues become both more humorous and serious at the same time. You may get a more vivid idea of this theme by viewing clips of the recent all-male production of Twelfth Night starring Mark Rylance.*This play rivals As You Like It for the title of the best of Shakespeare's comedies. While I prefer the former, there are complexities of love and desire mixed with questions of sexual identity that make this comedy a fine way to experience and enjoy Shakespeare.
    • 5/5
      This has always been one of my favorite Shakespeare plays, and it probably always will be. It's just as fun to read the second time, with plenty of humor and lovely lines. Feste, of course, is my favorite.I feel like I could go into a long analysis of it, but... I read it for my English class, and no doubt we're going to dissect it and talk about all the underlying themes. Personally, I say you should just read it and enjoy it and then go see it performed.
    • 4/5
      Madcap was 't adventure
      And pleasure finest to read.
      Whilst mirthy with the wordplay.
      Brought forth as Feste's mead.
      Three's Company-esque
      Was allst confusion.
      Which what happened
      By staged amusion.
      Verily, I enjoyed it, by and by.
      What readeth me next, wondereth I?
    • 3/5
      So there's this girl that's a guy that works for a guy that she loves as a girl but has to send his love to a girl as a guy and that girl loves the girl as a guy but really she's a girl that looks like a guy and this is why Shakespeare's comedies are just weird.
    • 5/5
      Shakespeare's last great romantic comedy combines the wit of the other great comedies with some rather mean-spirited slapstick more reminiscent of his very first comedies. The first is provided largely by the male-impersonating heroine who finds herself, as an intermediary between lovers, becoming the true object of affection from both lovers. The slapstick is provided by Sir Toby Belch, a small-scale Falstaff, and his idiot friends, who make life miserable for a major domo whose Puritanism does not protect him from vanity and desire. I loved it, despite the bullying.
    • 4/5
      I thought this was a great edition. They have the text on the right side, and the explanation of obscure terms on the left side. I just saw this play done at the Great River Shakespeare Festival in Winona, MN. It's amazing how closely they followed the text. I didn't need to read it to understand everything, but reading did help explain some things.
    • 4/5
      The introduction says Shakespeare's "Twelfth Night" is one of his most performed plays, which is funny since I've never heard of it being performed locally (and have seen many others.)It wouldn't surprise me though, as the play is pretty entertaining and uses the often-employed Shakespearean disguise fairly well. The story follows Viola and Sebastian, siblings who are in a shipwreck and each believes the other has died. Meanwhile, the beautiful Olivia is fending off a crew of courting men and antics ensue.Overall, the story is fairly amusing and moves along at a nice pace.
    • 5/5
      This is definitely a classic Shakespearean comedy, complete with disguises, intrigue, love, humor, and a lot of fun. In all honesty, I am not generally a big fan of comedies, but this is definitely an example of an exception. As to the edition itself, I found it to be greatly helpful in understanding the action in the play. It has a layout which places each page of the play opposite a page of notes, definitions, explanations, and other things needed to understand that page more thoroughly. While I didn't always need it, I was certainly glad to have it whenever I ran into a turn of language that was unfamiliar, and I definitely appreciated the scene-by-scene summaries. Really, if you want to or need to read Shakespeare, an edition such as this is really the way to go, especially until you get more accustomed to it.
    • 4/5
      Fabulous! Even an eighth grader can read (with a little guidance) and enjoy!
    • 5/5
      I´ve re-read it countless times..My favourite from Shakespeare.
    • 5/5
      Quite possibly my favorite play by Shakespeare! Fun story! 
    • 3/5
      Audio performed by Stella Gonet, Gerard Murphy and a full cast

      Viola and her twin brother, Sebastian, are separated during a shipwreck. When she arrives on the shores of Illyria, she presumes Sebastian is dead. The ship’s captain helps her disguise herself as a man, and she enters the service of Duke Orsino, with whom she falls in love. Orsino, however, loves the Countess Olivia, who has foresworn any suitors while she mourns the death of her father and brother. Orsino begs Cesario (Viola in disguise) to plead his case with Olivia, but Olivia instead falls in love with Cesario. And so the fun begins.

      I love Shakespeare, and I confess to liking his comedies more than the tragedies or historical dramas. I find it particularly delightful to watch the various mistaken identities, convoluted twists and turns in plot, purposeful obfuscations or pranks, and dawning realizations unfold before my eyes. The scenarios are outlandish and ridiculous to a modern audience, but are still fun and delightful in their execution.

      BUT … I dislike reading plays. I much prefer to see them performed. When I’m reading – especially Shakespeare – I find that I lose the sense of action and can more easily get bogged down in unfamiliar terms or phrases. Listening to this audio performance was a happy compromise. I’ve seen this play on stage and could easily picture the scenarios and shenanigans while listening to this very talented cast audio performance.

      I did also have a text version to supplement the audio experience, and the particular edition I had (Oxford University Press, ISBN 978-0-19-953609-2) includes a long introduction outlining the history of this work, copious footnotes in the play defining terms, an appendix with the music, and an extensive index. It is an edition I would definitely recommend to someone who is studying this play.
    • 5/5
      I reread the play as I'll be appearing in it this summer as Sir Toby Belch. Ah, what fun!

      Shakespeare fact: most directors these days cut Shakespeare's plays down to a reasonable two hours for performance. That will be the case for the production I'm in. I'll miss the double-talk conversations between Sir Toby and the Clown, and some of the "mistaken identity" humor involving male/female twins Sebastian and Viola. Although I can see why the director removed this stuff. In the former case, the invented references to phony experts like "Qeuebus" (God, would I have loved saying "Qeuebus"!) would have been indistinguishable from other archaic references, thereby causing confusion to the average theater goer. In the latter case, the humorous situations are often repetitive.


      Cutting Shakespeare is nothing new. David Garrick, an actor and director who was a friend of Samuel Johnson, used to do it routinely in the 18th century.
    • 4/5
      What can one really say negative about Shakespeare? Any of his writings are simply a classic. However, this would not be my favourite of his works, it's simply a bit too ridiculous for my personal taste - I know Shakespeare's audience would have loved it. Boy loves Girl, another Girl (2) is stranded and decides to cross-dress to be near Boy, Boy sends Girl 2 to persuade Girl 1 of his love who in turn falls in love with cross-dressing Girl 2. Then Girl 2's twin brother shows up and causes chaos and in the end Boy 2 ends up with Girl 1 and Boy 1 with cross-dressing Girl 2, not questioning her cross-dressing for a second
    • 5/5
      Here Shakespeare borrows as so often in his comedies, from Plautus for the overarching plot--the separated siblings, the twinning (recall his Errors, and the Menaechmi), the arrival from sea. But he adds so much as to make it unrecognizable as a Roman comedy. He adds an attractive drunk, Sir Toby, who fleeces a silly aristocrat who--perhaps alone in literature-- knows himself to be silly. He adds, for instance, a parody of Renaissance psychiatry (well, more theology, but since "psyche" in Greek is both "soul" and "mind," that's fair) practiced on Shakespeare's only American. Instead of the common psyche ward question, "What does 'the grass is always greener on the other side of the fence' mean to you?" Feste as Reverend Psychiatrist asks, "What is the opinion of Pythagoras concerning the soul?" Remember, you can't get out of the psyche ward unless you answer right. Well, Malvolio DOES get it right, he hits it out of the park, but Feste keeps him in lockdown anyway. Why?Herein lies a tale. Malvolio is portrayed as stark raving mad simply because he wants to marry the boss's daughter--or really, the boss herself. A crazy idea. An American idea, one that would take a couple centuries and a Revolution to be accepted by anybody at all. Those rejects on the other side of the Atlantic.Yes, Malvolio is Shakespeare's only American (except possibly Othello?). And he is indeed, as he himself pleads at plays end, notoriously abused. He vows revenge on the whole pack--which we, as delighted playgoers, cannot support, though justice, and America, are on his side.
    • 4/5
      BBC Radio 3 full cast production, first broadcast in 1998, and presented on 2 CDs. I bought this one because of the Blake's 7 interest, as Josette Simon plays Olivia. While it's an enjoyable performance, I would have been hard put to it to follow what was going on without previous knowledge of the plot from seeing the play on stage. Fortunately there's a good synopsis booklet included in the box.
    • 5/5
      I read this in preparation for going to see an upcoming production of this play put on by "Shakespeare in the Park" that's going to be playing June 1st through the 4th of this year in the Botanical Gardens. Considering the myriad summaries and expositions of this play, I won't recapitulate those here. What I will do, both for my personal use and for the remote possibility that someone else might find some use in them, is post my own thoughts and notes I took as I read it. Hopefully they'll serve as an aide memoire if I ever need one.ACT I: Overall themes: identity (masque?), rejection, and desire. It asks whether or not love is something real, or just another human artifice, much like the music that Count Orsino "feeds" on. Orsino's switch of affection from Olivia to Viola is a hint that he loves the idea of love more than one of the women themselves. He's a parody of the hopeless romantic. Viola's wish to be transformed into a eunuch is indicative of gender liminality - or at least this seems to be a common argument, even though it's readily known that men played all roles in Elizabethan and Jacobean theater (so I'm a little confused by the single-minded focus that much modern scholarship has put on gender in this play). Perhaps this gender ambiguity is a sort of defense mechanism to deal with the uncertainty inherent with being tossed on an unknown island. There has also been some focus on Orsino's shift of affection toward Viola (Cesario) from a platonic friendship to a more romantic one. (Could our more modern emotional coldness associated with masculinity be coloring this reading, too?) Feste is obviously one of the cleverest people in the play. "Cucullus non facit monachum" indeed! As a critique of courtly love, this act accomplishes a lot, and Feste comes out being one of the least foolish people on the stage.ACT II: Malvolio (literally, from the Latin, "ill will"), the only character who takes himself much too seriously, is tricked into the tomfoolery that he himself so deplores, ultimately proving Feste right: it's not just the role of the fool to entertain folly.ACT III: Even though, considering Malvolio's transformation from joy-hating blowhard into romantic lover is a drastic one, that Olivia thinks him mad might be telling. Is there any room here for a sort of Foucauldian discussion of what constitutes "madness and civilization" in Elizabethan England? From the little that I've seen of the scholarly literature, I haven't yet seen any discussions that run along these lines.
    • 4/5
      There is brilliance in this play, as there is in all of Shakespeare's work... but...Well, this one doesn't live up to the others, at least not in the reading of the script. I could not attach myself to any of the characters, and while I often have to reread the words and the footnotes to gain any understanding of the plot, this one felt hollow to me, even after I could grasp what was going on.The brilliance comes in much of the twisting of words and understandings of phrases. Shakespeare was a wordsmith, there is no doubt about that.... but most of the time, I feel like he was also incredibly connected to his characters, his audience, his stories. This one felt flimsy to me.
    • 2/5
      Honestly, I am not all that into reading plays. However, I am so into gender-bender that I had to read 12th night. The whole idea of a girl dressing up as a boy and fooling everyone is so interesting to me. The thing that put me off from this book was the fact that the emotions that the characters were feeling were not as evident just from reading this play. I mean, it was like saying "I feel that I love you". It is not as moving as if the author had described what the feeling is. For some reason, I loved Julius Cesar, Othello, and sort of liked "As you like it". So maybe I am just not into this story that much.
    • 3/5
      My relationship with the Bard’s works began when, at the tender age of six, I went to a Shakespeare in the Park performance of Much Ado About Nothing and had the time of my life. Since then, it’s been up and down at times with me and Will, as I’ve been alternately befuddled, entranced, delighted, disturbed, and moved by his handiwork. It was only last year, however, that I really began reading his plays in earnest—up until then, my exposure had been limited solely to films and live performances. I've been taking them slowly, picking up a play as the inclination strikes, and not following any particular order.Despite the fact that it is critically regarded as one of Shakespeare's best and most advanced comedies, I have to say that so far Twelfth Night is my least favorite of the lot. I’m hoping it’s not because it was assigned for a class, when all the others I picked up of my own volition. Either way, I found I couldn’t connect to any of these characters, neither when I read the play nor when I watched the 1996 Trevor Nunn film (and let me tell you, if Helena Bonham Carter can’t make me feel for Olivia, no one can). They made for an interesting group to observe— not the uninvolved, almost scientific word. There is no Puck or Rosalind or Beatrice or Shylock to give this comedy some sort of heart or animating spirit. Viola and Feste come closest, simply because they are vehicles for some of Shakespeare's best poetry and wordplay—but even then, the language is more interesting than its bearers. Indeed, I would say this play is most interesting when looked at mostly for how it uses language and what it has to say about it.The critics are right in commending Twelfth Night for its clever wordplay and complex social vision, but to my mind Much Ado About Nothing and A Midsummer Night’s Dream are far more entertaining, and The Merchant of Venice deeper.
    • 5/5
      I love this play. Shakespeare's comedies are very enjoyable.
    • 4/5
      Shipwrecked siblings, love-struck Dukes and Duchesses, silly servants and misplaced affections. I enjoyed this very much. No one does confusion of identity as well as Shakespeare, and when it's one of his comedies, there is always a happy ending.
    • 2/5
      I listened to this play a year ago and forgot to add to my Library Thing list. So the plot isn't fresh in my mind. I do remember that the plot is quite complicated with numerous mistaken identities, disguises and switching of roles. The plot is so convoluted that I recommend drafting a chart to keep track of the characters and their multiple identities. There is a mean joke played on a Puritan character in the play which was probably funny to 16th Century theater audiences. However, I fou...more I listened to this play a year ago and forgot to add to my Goodreads list. So the plot isn't fresh in my mind. I do remember that the plot is quite complicated with numerous mistaken identities, disguises and switching of roles. The plot is so convoluted that I recommend drafting a chart to keep track of the characters and their multiple identities. There is a mean joke played on a Puritan character in the play which was probably funny to 16th Century theater audiences. However, I found it to be cruel and not very funny. Read in December, 2007
    • 5/5
      My favorite Shakespearean comedy (partially because I portrayed Sir Toby in a high school production) with the perfect mix of witty dialogue, physical humor and characterization.
    • 5/5
      The text of the play is mostly a delight, though there are a few toothsome things to mull over after the play is done. Its end of multiple marriages is seemingly tidy, but a few characters are left out in the cold, including Antonio, whose love for Sebastian may be the truest and most steadfast love in the play.
    • 3/5
      I read this book with my girlfriend and it was ok but not one of my most liked books ever. At times it's a little hard to understand if you don't have the spark notes or some other translation like it, but if you like plays and have never read it I recommend it to you, for everyone else you.

    Book preview

    Twelfth Night; Or What You Will - William Shakespeare

    DRAMATIS PERSONAE

    ORSINO

    Duke of Illyria

    SEBASTIAN

    brother of Viola

    ANTONIO

    a sea captain, friend of Sebastian

    A Sea Captain friend of Viola

    VALENTINE, CURIO

    gentlemen attending on the Duke

    SIR TOBY BELCH

    uncle of Olivia

    SIR ANDREW AGUECHEEK

    MALVOLIO

    steward to Olivia

    FABIAN, FESTE, a down

    servants to Olivia

    OLIVIA

    a rich countess

    VIOLA

    sister of Sebastian

    MARIA

    Olivia’s waiting woman

    Lords, Priests, Sailors, Officers, Musicians, and Attendants

    THE SCENE: A CITY IN ILLYRIA; AND THE SEA-COAST NEAR IT.

    ACT ONE

    SCENE I. The Duke’s palace.

    Enter ORSINO, Duke of Illyria, CURIO, and other Lords; Musicians attending.

    DUKE If music be the food of love, play on,

    Give me excess of it, that, surfeiting,

    The appetite may sicken and so die.

    That strain again! It had a dying fall;

    [5]

    O, it came o’er my ear like the sweet sound

    That breathes upon a bank of violets,

    Stealing and giving odour! Enough, no more;

    ’Tis not so sweet now as it was before.

    O spirit of love, how quick and fresh art thou!

    [10]

    That, notwithstanding thy capacity

    Receiveth as the sea, nought enters there,

    Of what validity and pitch soe’er,

    But falls into abatement and low price

    Even in a minute. So full of shapes is fancy,

    [15]

    That it alone is high fantastical.

    CURIO Will you go hunt, my lord?

    DUKE What, Curio?

    CURIO The hart.

    DUKE Why, so I do, the noblest that I have.

    O, when mine eyes did see Olivia first,

    [20]

    Methought she purg’d the air of pestilence!

    That instant was I turn’d into a hart,

    And my desires, like fell and cruel hounds,

    E’er since pursue me.

    Enter VALENTINE How now! what news from her?

    VALENTINE So please my lord, I might not be admitted,

    [25]

    But from her handmaid do return this answer

    The element itself, till seven years’ heat,

    Shall not behold her face at ample view;

    But like a cloistress she will veiled walk,

    And water once a day her chamber round

    [30]

    With eye-offending brine; all this to season

    A brother’s dead love, which she would keep fresh

    And lasting in her sad remembrance.

    DUKE O, she that hath a heart of that fine frame

    To pay this debt of love but to a brother,

    [35]

    How will she love when the rich golden shaft

    Hath kill’d the flock of all affections else

    That live in her; when liver, brain, and heart,

    These sovereign thrones, are all supplied and fill’d,

    Her sweet perfections, with one self king!

    [40]

    Away before me to sweet beds of flow’rs:

    Love-thoughts lie rich when canopied with bow’rs.

    [Exeunt.

    SCENE II. The sea-coast.

    Enter VIOLA, a Captain, and Sailors.

    VIOLA What country, friends, is this?

    CAPTAIN This is Illyria, lady.

    VIOLA And what should I do in Illyria?

    My brother he is in Elysium.

    [5]

    Perchance he is not drown’d – what think you, sailors?

    CAPTAIN It is perchance that you yourself were saved.

    VIOLA O my poor brother! and so perchance may he be.

    CAPTAIN True, madam, and, to comfort you with chance,

    Assure yourself, after our ship did split,

    [10]

    When you, and those poor number saved with you,

    Hung on our driving boat, I saw your brother,

    Most provident in peril, bind himself –

    Courage and hope both teaching him the practice –

    To a strong mast that liv’d upon the sea;

    [15]

    Where, like Arion on the dolphin’s back,

    I saw him hold acquaintance with the waves

    So long as I could see.

    VIOLA For saying so, there’s gold.

    Mine own escape unfoldeth to my hope,

    [20]

    Whereto thy speech serves for authority,

    The like of him. Know’st thou this country?

    CAPTAIN Ay, madam, well; for I was bred and born

    Not three hours’ travel from this very place.

    VIOLA Who governs here?

    [25]

    CAPTAIN A noble duke, in nature as in name.

    VIOLA What is his name?

    CAPTAIN Orsino.

    VIOLA Orsino! I have heard my father name him.

    He was a bachelor then.

    [30]

    CAPTAIN And so is now, or was so very late;

    For but a month ago I went from hence,

    And then ’twas fresh in murmur – as, you know,

    What great ones do the less will prattle of –

    That he did seek the love of fair Olivia.

    [35]

    VIOLA What’s she?

    CAPTAIN A virtuous maid, the daughter of a count

    That died some twelvemonth since, then leaving her

    In the protection of his son, her brother,

    Who shortly also died; for whose dear love,

    [40]

    They say, she hath abjur’d the company

    And sight of men.

    VIOLA O that I serv’d that lady,

    And might not be delivered to the world,

    Till I had made mine own occasion mellow,

    What my estate is!

    CAPTAIN That were hard to compass,

    [45]

    Because she will admit no kind of suit –

    No, not the Duke’s.

    VIOLA There is a fair behaviour in thee, Captain;

    And though that nature with a beauteous wall

    Doth oft close in pollution, yet of thee

    [50]

    I will believe thou hast a mind that suits

    With this thy fair and outward character.

    I prithee, and I’ll pay thee bounteously,

    Conceal me what I am, and be my aid

    For such disguise as haply shall become

    [55]

    The form of my intent. I’ll serve this duke:

    Thou shalt present me as an eunuch to him;

    It may be worth thy pains, for I can sing

    And speak to him in many sorts of music,

    That will allow me very worth his service.

    [60]

    What else may hap to time I will commit;

    Only shape thou thy silence to my wit.

    CAPTAIN Be you his eunuch and your mute I’ll be;

    When my tongue blabs, then let mine eyes not see.

    VIOLA I thank thee. Lead me on.

    [Exeunt.

    SCENE III. Olivia’s house.

    Enter SIR TOBY BELCH and MARIA.

    SIR TOBY What a plague means my niece to take the death of her brother thus? I am sure care’s an enemy to life.

    [5]

    MARIA By my troth, Sir Toby, you must come in earlier o’ nights; your cousin, my lady, takes great exceptions to your ill hours.

    SIR TOBY Why, let her except before excepted.

    [8]

    MARIA Ay, but you must confine yourself within the modest limits of order.

    [12]

    SIR TOBY Confine! I’ll confine myself no finer than I am. These clothes are good enough to drink in, and so be these boots too; an they be not, let them hang themselves in their own straps.

    MARIA That quaffing and drinking will undo you; I heard my lady talk of it yesterday, and of a foolish

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