Twelfth Night: Or What You Will

By William Shakespeare, William Hazlitt, William James Rolfe, et al.

Book Overview

William Shakespeare's Twelfth Night, the incredible comedy about unrequited love, both hilarious and heartbreaking, now presented by the Folger Shakespeare Library with valuable new tools for educators and dynamic new covers.

The authoritative Folger Shakespeare Library edition of Twelfth Night, the hilarious and heartbreaking comedy of unrequited love, featuring Shakespeare's complete original text, expert annotations, scene-by-scene summaries, and trusted scholarship to help students, teachers, and general readers read Shakespeare with confidence.

The Folger Shakespeare Library in Washington, DC, is home to the world's largest collection of Shakespeare's printed works and an internationally recognized center for Shakespeare scholarship, performance, and education. Drawing on generations of scholarly expertise, the Folger Shakespeare Library editions combine the complete original texts of Shakespeare's plays with accessible explanatory notes, historical context, and expert commentary, making them trusted resources for classroom study, theatrical performance, and personal reading.

Read Shakespeare's original words with the guidance to understand them. Unlike simplified retellings or modern-English translations, the Folger edition preserves Shakespeare's language while providing the tools readers need to navigate unfamiliar vocabulary, appreciate his wit and wordplay, follow complex relationships, and explore the deeper meanings of each play. With explanatory notes conveniently placed on pages facing the text, scene-by-scene plot summaries, and insightful scholarship, this annotated edition is an excellent choice for high school and college students, AP English Literature courses, teachers, actors, book clubs, and anyone discovering Shakespeare for the first time.

One of Shakespeare's most beloved romantic comedies, Twelfth Night, or What You Will is a delightful exploration of love, mistaken identity, disguise, and desire. After a shipwreck separates twins Viola and Sebastian, Viola disguises herself as a young man named Cesario and enters the service of Duke Orsino. When Orsino sends Cesario to court the beautiful Olivia, Olivia falls in love with the disguised Viola, who has secretly fallen for Orsino herself. Meanwhile, the self-important Malvolio becomes the victim of an elaborate practical joke, adding another layer of mischief to a world where appearances are deceiving and love rarely follows a predictable path.

Blending romance, comedy, music, and moments of unexpected melancholy, Twelfth Night explores timeless questions of identity, gender, friendship, longing, and the unpredictable nature of love. From its celebrated opening line, "If music be the food of love, play on," to its unforgettable characters and clever reversals, the play remains a favorite of readers, teachers, and theater audiences.

This Folger Shakespeare Library edition includes:

-Shakespeare's complete original text, carefully edited from the best early printed version of the play
-Facing-page explanatory notes that clarify difficult words, historical references, expressions, and Shakespearean wordplay
-Scene-by-scene plot summaries to help readers follow the action, understand character relationships, and review important events
-An introduction to Shakespeare's language that makes the original text more accessible to students and first-time readers
-A guide to famous lines and phrases, illuminating the play's most memorable quotations
-An essay by a leading Shakespeare scholar offering a modern perspective on the play and its enduring significance
-Images from the Folger Shakespeare Library's extraordinary collections of rare books and historical materials
-An annotated guide to further reading for students, teachers, and readers seeking deeper understanding

Edited by distinguished Shakespeare scholars Barbara A. Mowat and Paul Werstine, this edition brings together authoritative textual scholarship and practical reading support in a single accessible volume.

Whether you're studying Twelfth Night for an English class, teaching Shakespeare, preparing for a theatrical production, or reading one of the world's great comedies for pleasure, the Folger Shakespeare Library edition offers an ideal combination of original text, expert guidance, and literary discovery.

Experience Shakespeare as he wrote it and understand why his words continue to captivate readers and audiences more than four centuries later.

• Format: Mass Market Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0743482778
• ISBN13: 9780743482776
• Release Date: July 2004
• Publisher: Simon & Schuster
• Length: 222 Pages
• Weight: 0.56 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.0" x 4.1" x 6.6"
• Age Range: 12 to 17 years
• Grade Range: Grades 7 to 12

Customer Reviews

Great introduction to Shakespearian comedy

This is a wonderful adaptation of one of Shakespeare's lighter works... Richly detailed artwork accompanies a brisk, skillful prose adaptation of this broad farce of mistaken identity and misplaced love... An ideal entry point for younger readers, one of several fine adaptations by Bruce Coville.

A truly delightful comedy

The characters are what make this play so wonderful. The play was originally written to be performed for a Christmas progam. The play is a glorious irony in that it is so joyful, but that is played off the terrible sadness of the principal characters. Shakesepeare also reinforces this plot with some glorious poetry. Shakespeare also makes use of identical twins in this one. This would be a wonderful play to use as an introduction to the genius that is Shakespeare

What a great idea!

I love the stories that Bruce Coville writes, and was browsing some other books of his, when I saw that he had retold some of Shakespeare's plays for children. I first bought Romeo and Juliet, and have been buying them all as they come out. What a great way for kids (and adults) to learn about Shakespeare's plays! The illustrations are appropriate to the plays, and beautifully done. Twelfth Night, like the others, is well written and easy to read, and includes quotes from the play. I enjoyed this version of Shakespeare's Twelfth Night.

A refreshing way to read Shakespeare.

The Plays of William Shakespeare are great Literature, but they are PLAYS!, not Novels. That is, they are intended to be PERFORMED, not READ. This edition of the "Twelfth Night" resolves this problem brillantly, by combining the COMPLETE text of the play, with footnotes explaining archaic terms, with the illumination of Cartooning. Combining the written word with images is a powerful storytelling tool, & Shakespeare was, first & formost, a storyteller. If you can't see the play performed live, this is even better than a video. Note that the illustrations place the characters in a more contemporary setting, thus proving that Shakespeare's themes are universal, & apply to all eras.

the old texts

Neil Freeman edits the First Folio, showing how much "cleaning up" by most mosern text is unnecessary, and in fact, holds back information from the actor, director, and reader. Modern editors, even respected ones like the Arden, assume that Shakespeare couldn't have possibly meant to vary from the 10 syllable line and try to "correct" his "mistakes." To assume that Shakespeare was wrong and we are right is foolhardy, and Freeman's editions prove it.