Discussion Topic

Significance and thematic relevance of the title Twelfth Night in Shakespeare's play

Summary:

The title Twelfth Night in Shakespeare's play holds thematic and historical significance. It refers to the Feast of Epiphany, celebrated twelve days after Christmas, known for its revelry and social role reversals. The play reflects these chaotic and festive themes, with characters engaging in disguise, mistaken identity, and social inversion. Written for a Twelfth Night celebration, the play captures the spirit of merriment and disorder associated with the occasion. The subtitle "What You Will" further suggests the play's exploration of desire and identity, aligning with its comedic and festive nature.

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What is the significance of the title Twelfth Night in Shakespeare's play?

Shakespeare scholars believe that Twelfth Night, or What You Will was commissioned by Queen Elizabeth I as part of the Twelfth Night celebration held at Whitehall Palace on January 6, 1602. The occasion of the celebration was the end of the diplomatic service to Elizabeth's court of Don Virginio Orsino, Duke of Bracciano.

Perhaps Shakespeare hoped to honor or flatter the Duke by naming the character of Orsino after him. Hopefully, the real Duke Orsino had a good sense of humor about being portrayed as the impulsive, lovelorn Orsino in Shakespeare's play.

The title of the play might have been inspired by the occasion for which it was written, that of Twelfth Night, which might have inspired Shakespeare to write a play that reflected the title of the play as well as the occasion.

Aside from the Twelfth-Night traditions of women dressing as men, role-playing, and the general upsetting of societal norms, there's no reference in the play to Twelfth Night, Epiphany, or anything related to Christmas, although the subtitle, What You Will, is entirely appropriate to the play.

Shakespeare seems to have taken advantage of the opportunity to bravely and boldly satirize some individuals in Elizabeth's court, which was something Shakespeare might do with impunity only at Twelfth Night, when servants could be masters and the rules of social order and decorum were suspended for the occasion.

It's believed that Shakespeare's Olivia represented the Queen herself, who could be fun and even flirtatious but was undeniably brave and steadfast as well.

The character of Malvolio is thought to be a caricature of Sir Christopher Hatton, Elizabeth’s steward. Sir Christopher was meek, toadying, and submissive to Elizabeth (and at one time, he apparently attempted to woo her) but mean-spirited and overbearing to Elizabeth's servants and courtiers, who found him foolish and ridiculous and mocked him behind his back.

As for the business of Malvolio's famous yellow stockings and cross-gartering, Lacey Baldwin Smith writes in Henry VIII, The Mask of Royalty that when Henry VIII received news of the death of his first wife, Catherine of Aragon, he "celebrated with a masque, banquet and ball where Henry, cross-gartered in yellow hose, danced the night away with Anne Boleyn.”

Shakespeare might have been able to claim deniability for any correlation between Elizabeth's court and the characters in Twelfth Night by setting the play in far-off Illyria, in the Balkan Peninsula, across the Adriatic Sea from Italy in what is present-day Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and Albania.

The title, Twelfth Night, likely represents Elizabeth's commission and the occasion for the play's performance, and the subtitle, What You Will, reflects the content and tone of the play itself and Shakespeare's apparent carefree abandon in writing it.

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What is the significance of the title Twelfth Night in Shakespeare's play?

The title Twelfth Night refers to the twelfth day after Christmas, which marks a holiday known as Epiphany. Epiphany celebrates the arrival of the Magi, or Three Wise Men, to deliver their gifts to baby Jesus. While one might expect an Epiphany celebration to be much like the rest of Christmas festivities, apparently in Shakespeare's day the celebrations were known to be quite wild. Shakespeare in particular wrote the play in 1602 for a festivity held at one of the Inns of Court, and that particular festivity was known to be "absolutely secular and even quite bawdy," meaning having absolutely nothing to do with religion and even very obscene ("Shakespeare's Twelfth Night"). Epiphany celebrations were also known to be "a time of masques, revels, defiance of authority, and general foolishness" ("Shakespeare's Twelfth Night"). Epiphany has also been described as a "time when excess and license were expected to run rampant ... a time of merry-making, of hard drinking, and of romantic (or lusty) pursuits" (eNotes, "Twelfth Night: Themes"). We can see exactly how Shakespeare's play portrays all of the above descriptions of Epiphany, making Twelfth Night, especially the play's subtitle, Or What You Will, the perfect title for the play written for an Epiphany party.

The play's secular and bawdy themes are mostly portrayed through the antics of Maria, Sirs Toby and Andrew, and Fabian. In particular, their treatment of Malvolio can be seen as bawdy, or obscene, meaning "offensive to morality or decency" (Random House Dictionary). While Maria's letter tricking Malvolio into believing Olivia is in love with him may have been amusing, capturing the merriness of Epiphany, Sir Toby crosses the line when he decides to have Malvolio locked up in total darkness as a madman. Locking him in complete darkness can of course be seen as a form of torture and is quite cruel. The hard drinking characteristic of the night is also seen in Sir Toby's behavior, especially the drinking revelry he and Sir Andrew have late one night in the house in Act 2, Scene 3.  

In addition, the masquerading that is a frequent part of an Epiphany celebration is of course captured in Viola's plan to disguise herself as a boy, which also runs contrary to social norms, capturing theme of "defiance of authority." Finally, we also have the love triangles in the play, which capture the theme of romance or lust.

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Why is Shakespeare's play titled Twelfth Night?

While one can never be completely sure why Shakespeare titled his plays as he did, it can be assumed that Twelfth Night refers to the Eve of Epiphany. This was a holiday celebrated twelve days after Christmas to commemorate the Magi’s arrival to visit the baby Jesus.

Unlike most celebrations within the Church of England, the Eve of Epiphany was celebrated with much merriment, suspension of rules, and even the allowance of servants to mix with their masters. Some traditions would elect a Lord and Lady of Misrule, who would lead the drinking and the partying. These parties would also include disguises, so no one’s social class was truly known. By being Lord or Lady of Misrule, or due to a good disguise, low-class citizens would obtain somewhat of a higher rank for the duration of the celebration regardless of their actual social class.

This night of lawlessness makes for an excellent reference to the madness of the play. Servants attempt to court their masters, masters fall in love with their servants, drunkenness abounds, and very little order is found within the play. There are a few characters who could certainly be thought to be representatives of the Lord or Lady of Misrule. Feste, Sir Toby Belch, Sir Andrew Aguecheek, and Maria, all play crucial parts in the silliness of the plot. Many characters also wear disguises or specific costumes for a variety of reasons, which is something that happened a lot during the Eve of Epiphany.

While there is no specific reference or connection to the Eve of Epiphany within the play, Twelfth Night can be seen as a representation of it. Order is lost within the very first scene and is only found again with the play's close, when identities are revealed and the many plotlines are finally connected. It has been suggested that the song at the end of the play is a symbol of the reintroduction of reality. Now that the fun of the play is over, the audience must return to regular life—much like the return to social norms that participants of the Eve of Epiphany must face when the celebration ends.

By titling it Twelfth Night, Shakespeare was likely preparing audiences for a show of fun, madness, and hilarity, the same thing they would expect at the celebrations that fell on the twelfth night of Christmas.

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Why is Shakespeare's play Twelfth Night famous?

When Twelfth Night was first performed in 1602, it proved to be very popular. Shakespeare's audiences especially took a liking to Malvolio and all of the comedy surrounding his characterization. In fact, Malvolio was so popular that by 1623 Shakespeare's fans came to call the play simply Malvolio. The prank Maria pulls on Malvolio is certainly the height of comedy, especially convincing him to do the things Olivia detests, such as wearing yellow stockings, appearing cross-gartered and smiling, as signs that he is returning her affection, as we see Maria explain in her speech:

[H]e will come to her in yellow stockings, and 'tis a colour she abhors, and crossgartered, a fashion she detests; and he will smile upon her, which will now be so unsuitable to her disposition, being addicted to melancholy as she is. (II.v.179-84)

However, beyond Malvolio, Twelfth Night delves into intriguing themes, such as "conflicts of power, class structure, and sexuality," particularly the sexual complications demonstrated by the fact that Olivia falls in love with who is essentially a fellow woman and even that Antonio, the sea captain who rescued Sebastian, has such strong feelings for Sebastian that his feelings lead him to danger ("Twelfth Night In Performance"). It's these themes that have made Twelfth Night popular throughout the ages, each era wanting to interpret the play differently. In addition, naturally the mistaken identities and mixed-up lovers add to the play's humor, making it one of the most frequently performed plays.

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Is the title of Twelfth Night related to the play's theme?

This question has actually been in answered in a full length book by Dr. Leslie Hotson, 'The First Night of Twelfth Night' (1954). Dr. Hotson argues that Twelfth Night is the 'working title' of the play, as the play was written to be performed on Twelfth Night (that is Epiphany - the twelfth day of Christmas - and a day of huge festivity in Elizabethan times) at the court of Queen Elizabeth.

It is difficult to find any evidence within the body of the play itself that explains or even hints at the reason for calling it 'Twelfth Night' otherwise. Scholars, prompted by Dr. Hotson, largely agree now that its subtitle, 'What You Will' (meaning 'Whatever you like', or 'What you wish for') was probably the title it was known by in Shakespeare's day.

'What you will' fits far better with the theme within the play of wishing for something to happen (Viola wishes for Sebastian to be alive, Malvolio for Olivia's love, Orsino for Olivia's love, Maria for Toby's love... and so on) - it also makes far more sense within the pattern of some of Shakespeare's other comedy titles: 'As You Like It', 'Much Ado About Nothing', and 'All's Well That Ends Well'.

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Is the title of Twelfth Night related to the play's theme?

Here’s another interesting piece of information concerning Twelfth Night:  one critic, Leslie Hotson, contends the play was written by request of Queen Elizabeth for the festivities on Twelfth Night, January 6, 1601, in her palace at Whitehall on Twelfth Night, when she entertained Virginio Orsino, Duke of Bracciano, an emissary from Italy.  “Twelfth Night,” of course, refers to the Feast of the Epiphany, the twelfth and culminating day of the Christmas season. By the end of the 15thC the riotous Feast of Fools, a kind of annual orgy celebrating a world turned upside down, originally associated with Epiphany, had been driven out of the church and forced to adopt less overtly blasphemous forms.  In secular society, however, it continued to flourish during Shakespeare’s lifetime.  Thus, in naming his play Twelfth Night, Shakespeare probably wanted to summon up images of the Epiphany as it was kept in his own time:  a period of holiday abandon in which the normal rules and order of life were suspended or else deliberately inverted, in which serious issues and events mingled in a confusing way with revelry and apparent madness.  The Riverside Edition of the Collected Works of Shakespeare provides a fuller account of this history.

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