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Twelfth Night

3.95 of 5 stars 3.95 · rating details · 73,008 ratings · 1,387 reviews

This edition of Shakespeare's Twelfth Night reprints the Bevington edition of the play along with seven sets of thematically arranged primary documents and illustrations designed to facilitate many different approaches to Shakespeare's play and the early modern culture out of which the play emerges. The texts include facsimiles of period documents, maps, woodcuts, descript

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Published January 1st 2010 by MobileReference (first published 1601)

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Jan 30, 2011 Madeline rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: shakespeare

I wish I could've seen what performances of this play were like in Shakespeare's time. Since women couldn't be on stage, men had to play the women's roles, which means that the guy playing Viola had to also dress up as a man while acting like a woman.
You have to wonder if the audience ever really knew what was going on. I'll bet you anything you like that some form of the following conversation took place in the Globe Theater at one point:
GROUNDLING 1: Wait, wasn't that guy playing a girl? Why'...more

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Sep 26, 2008 Trevor rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: language

A few years ago I read a review of some film that had come out and I was sure I would never see – read the review almost carelessly while flicking through the arts section of the paper on a Saturday morning, no, I must have been clicking over The Age Home Page. The woman who wrote the review commented that whatever the film was had been based on Twelfth Night – which she considered that most ridiculous of Shakespeare’s plays – she really could not see how anyone could be bothered to reproduce th...more

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May 24, 2007 Kelly rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: theatre, brit-lit, wits-and-fools, 1500-1700, shakespeare

The only reason this gets four and not five stars is that we're rating on the scale of Shakespeare to Shakespeare, and I think that there is some awkwardness in this one in terms of the conclusion; where everyone goes and how they get to it. There are also some very thin plot devices that annoy me.

However, that being said, I love this play. I played Mariah in it in high school, and it was one of the most fun things I've been in. It can be played for laughs, or for the dark side. The movie versio...more

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Jan 10, 2008 De'Shawn rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: Shakespeare Lovers

Twelfth Night, a Romantic Comedy that was written by the late William Shakespeare has to be one of his best works. This romantic Comedy deals and relates to real life events, as people in life hides there identities so that others won't know there true inner self. For example, Viola played a character in the name of Cesario in Twelfth Night. She had true feelings for one Orsino but couldn't express her feelings because of her disguise being a man. Her disguise instead was to help Olivia hook up...more

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Dec 29, 2012 Alan rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

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...more

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May 10, 2013 Rubain rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: books-i-own

TWELFTH NIGHT OR WHAT YOU WILL
_________________________
Written round about the year 1601,Twelfth Night is the Twelfth Night Christmas, i.e., january 6th.

In the romantic atmosphere of Twelfth Night, we feel as if we were transported to a world of make-believe and far away from the accepted standards of ordinary life. The time of the action of Twelfth Night is 3 days.The main-plot starts with the arrival of the shipwrecked brother and sister, Sebastian and Viola,on the shores of Illyria. Neither o...more TWELFTH NIGHT OR WHAT YOU WILL
_________________________
Written round about the year 1601,Twelfth Night is the Twelfth Night Christmas, i.e., january 6th.

In the romantic atmosphere of Twelfth Night, we feel as if we were transported to a world of make-believe and far away from the accepted standards of ordinary life. The time of the action of Twelfth Night is 3 days.The main-plot starts with the arrival of the shipwrecked brother and sister, Sebastian and Viola,on the shores of Illyria. Neither of them knows that the other is alive. Viola disguises herself as a man in order to get into the rervice of Duke Orsino. Orsino is languishing in love for a haughty and indifferent lady. It seems he has made love his profession. It should not be questioned why in a trice he transfers his love from Olivia to Viola. In romantic comedies, love at first sight ir the rule. Viola falls in love with the Duke at first sight. Olivia,who took a oath of mourning in memory of her dead brother for seven long years, falls in love with the Duke at first sight. Sebastian falls in love with Olivia at first sight. All these strange happenings are part and parcel of the paraphernalia of romantic comedy.
Shakespeare being a skilful writer makes us suspend our disbelief in such improbable things. With his beautiful poetry he lulls our common sense to sleep. He succeeds in casting a charm over his characters, particularly women characters. Feste, the clown, makes a rich contribution to attainment of this end.
The story of the sub-plot(Malvolio,Maria,Sir Andrew,Sir Toby,Fabian) is also very gripping.
Shakespeare includes realism in it to give it a semblance of truth. Shakespeare achieves this harmonius blend of romantic and comic atmospheres by means of unique parallelism.The play is a beautiful blending of romance and realism too.
A genial spirit pervades the whole of TN. The story suits the atmosphere,the action suits the story, the characters suit the action. All this is due to Shakespeare's superb genius!

This is probably one of the finest plays ever written.
Loved it! (less)

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Feb 27, 2010 Janelle Fernandez rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

The book Twelfth Night by William Shakespeare was an interesting book. It was a very funny play that will show everyone that love is crazy. I enjoyed reading this play because not only was all of the characters confused in the play they were in love. Twelfth Night being the night of fun and disguses makes this book interesting. This is beacause Shakespeare made love seem hard to get. When in reality love is really hard to get. Malvolio was a great character because people tend to be like him. Ev...more

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Dec 12, 2012 Alieus Wilson rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

So far this book is starting to get very interesting and somewhat funny. This play is good and relating to everyday life. I feel that this play is very similar to high school because of the the way people act in the book and towards others and its the same way in school. I really like the part when Olivia showed Viola/ Cesario her true feelings and he rejected her and she acted like didn't like him. Even though the book ended a little strange, it was still a great book and i enjoyed it a lot. I...more

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Jan 20, 2013 Cherylann rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

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Dec 25, 2011 Boyu rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I already watched the movie She's the Man (which for those of you that don't know is a hilarious movie based on Twelfth Night), so the storyline was not new to me. I already had the basics of what was going on and what would happen. So I guess you could say that I treated this play like a job that needed to be finished. That coupled with the fact that this genre wasn't what I usually go for (a.k.a young adult or just fantasy in general) and you get an extremely bored me flipping through the page...more

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Jan 20, 2009 Sheaa rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Twelfth Night is a very good book. Shakespeare is a very talented man and has shown this greatly through this play. It has that people rarely see the things right in front of their eyes, and often this may be the most important thing. It showed me that love can come in many diffrent forms, and you should always expect the unexpected, their are people out their that will love you just for you and not for the material things you have and or the way you appear. It was a great comedy as well and was...more

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May 12, 2013 Christopher rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: 17th-c, fiction

There's a little too much going on here. The plot drivers are a gender-bending love triangle (which conveniently resolves into a square by virtue of one of the triangle vertices having a fraternal twin brother whom she looks so much like that she's confused for him when she wears men's clothing) and a couple of schoolyard-quality pranksters stirring crap up with stuff like a fake love letter and "hey, he wants to fight you" kinds of rumors. And the characters are pushed into those circumstances...more

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Mar 11, 2013 Angeli rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: 2013, plays, shakespeare-william

It's the first time I've read Twelfth Night and I'm really sure I know the names of the characters in it. And then I discovered I was right, SHE'S THE MAN.

I liked it. Although of course, I like the recent equivalent better, because I love Amanda Bynes or loved Amanda Bynes. I don't know where she is right now.

The time I read the names VIOLA, DUKE ORSINO, and OLIVIA, I knew right then and there where I heard those names from.

It's really interesting how they were portrayed in the original, althoug...more

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Feb 03, 2013 Ben rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: english-lit, plays

I remember these peppered irritations of tragedy in Shakespeare’s comedies. We laugh at the tragically misunderstood or deceived characters and the seemingly ill-fated events turning against their hopes. Twelfth Night exemplifies Shakespearean comedy in the sense that the audience laughs at the silly misconceptions and ridiculous manipulations perpetrated in the play. Within Twelfth Night we have other common Shakespearean elements such as the fool, gender disguise and complicated love triangles...more I remember these peppered irritations of tragedy in Shakespeare’s comedies. We laugh at the tragically misunderstood or deceived characters and the seemingly ill-fated events turning against their hopes. Twelfth Night exemplifies Shakespearean comedy in the sense that the audience laughs at the silly misconceptions and ridiculous manipulations perpetrated in the play. Within Twelfth Night we have other common Shakespearean elements such as the fool, gender disguise and complicated love triangles, squares or pentagons!

I enjoyed the play and nothing more. I found it fun.

I will remember this clown when reading other fools and clowns in Shakespeare’s plays. He contrasts King Lear’s fool in wisdom but also in action. Several characters invited the Clown into their circle of mischief and partnered with him as an equal. I imagine this familiarizes the audience more with Maria, Malvolio and the Sirs than the Clown himself. He executes their plans and plays a vital role in their manipulations whereas Lear’s fool simply remains at his side providing him ironically disguised counsel. As a woman character written in the 17th century, Olivia intrigued me. She doesn’t behave the way society might expect women to behave. She declines the Duke’s offers of matrimony and her social circles excuse it with grief over her brother’s death. I commend her for denying him at all and not excusing her feelings with sadness over a departed sibling, even though others say as much. She refused to allow others to control her and yet fate deceives her by the disguise of Olivia as Cesario. Even the strong-willed and perhaps a little self-righteous characters can fall victim to Fate’s clever playing.

Consider this issue of control. How much do these characters actually control their destinies? The play begins with shipwreck upon the Duke Orsino’s island, the characters separate and make decisions based on misinformation while the play results in the union of several characters and all misinformation brought to rights. But the play also resulted in the demise of the sadly manipulated Malvolio and careless disregard toward the actions of Sirs Andrew and Toby. The fates of these characters resulted in large part from coincidence and sheer folly – except for the actions of the so-called ridiculous troop of characters against Malvolio. They proved him easier to play on than a pipe. The characters end up happy but not in the way they imagined themselves happy and the path to this happiness seems very much against their inclinations. Perhaps Shakespeare imagines people toiling after illusory control and crafting haughty manipulations and laughs. What’s the famous cliche again?(less)

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Jan 17, 2013 Tyler Jones rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: drama, the-bard

As I read Twelfth Night I had the impression that this must surely be one of Shakespeare's earlier works because it seemed like a model play that his other comedies would be based on. All the familiar Shakespeare themes and plot devices can be found and it seems kind of a basic structure that would serve as blueprint for his more elaborate and interesting comedies. When I found out it was written in the latter half of his career it made me feel that the play was a bit of a money grab on the bard...more

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Dec 14, 2012 Gloria L. rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

So far Twelfth Night is my favorite play from William Shakespeare. The reason for that is because I enjoy reading about romance , and I love laughing and this book has both comedy and romance. There was a ton of interesting characters in this play , and they all seemed to have a disguise whether it was a physical , or an internal disguise. For example Feste the " fool" is not the average fool ,hes actually a whity fool and he knows more than an average fool. Viola, who is the protagonist of the...more

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Dec 14, 2012 Zachary rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.

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Dec 13, 2012 Tiffanie rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I have to admit Twelfth Night was actually an enjoyable play to read. I loved how the ending played out. The ending was something no one ever would have expected (atleast I didnt). viola was a character in particular who caught my attention. She reminded me of myself. Not that I disguise myself and pretend to be a guy, but the fact that she hides her true emotions and has to deal day by day with having to please others, reminds me of myself. Viola is a character who is in love with her master, y...more

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Dec 13, 2012 Tabianna P rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Twelfth night is a very funny and interesting book. Shakespeare sets his characters to be a symbol as "real life". Malvolio is a character that shakespeare characterizes as a puritan. A puritan was a person that was always stuck up and did not have fun. Sir Toby is Olivia's cousin. Olivia is the most beautiful women in Illyria. The duke Orsino thinks he is in love with Olivia. Olivia does not like him but likes Cesario, Orsion's servant. Cesario is real a women disguised as a man. Cesario likes...more

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Dec 13, 2012 Makayla P. rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

This book was very interesting. Viola's character transforms from a women to a man by pretending to be her twin brother. She falls for the Duke Orsino , who believes she is a man, and things go down hill from there. I find it interesting that Shakespeare covered cross dressing and bisexual concepts in his time. I thought that it was interesting to see him incorporate those in a funny way. I thought the theme Shakespeare was trying to cover was People disguise who they really are to hide their tr...more

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Dec 12, 2012 Anab A rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Even though the play is cliche, I still enjoyed reading it. The context was feasible to read and comprehend. In contrast, the last Act was confusing and hard to understand what was happening exactly because there was a lot of things going on with the characters. Through the play, I found it amusing how the characters disguise themselves and hide their true feelings and motives. One character is Viola who disguises herself as Cesario and that impedes her from being with Orsino and it also allows...more

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Dec 13, 2012 Yamilex Gonzalez rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Overall, Twelfth Night was a well written play that was created with a very interesting theme. Shakespeare's plays are challenging to understand, but once I practiced the vocabulary I was able to comprehend the text. This play was confusing at first because all of the characters were in love with each other. There was a lot of misunderstandings and heart breaks when certain characters could not be with the other. For example, Olivia could not be with Cesario because in reality he was a girl. The...more

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Dec 12, 2012 Amar Alam added it · review of another edition

Twelfth Night is a play written by William Shakespeare, which is set in Illyria. This play has an abundance of characters with different personalities, some with personalities that do not fit their appearance. a lady named viola washes ashore Illyria and looks for a job. she comes across Orsino's court where she cross dresses as a man to get the job. Cesario, Violas disguise, fools everyone in thinking of him as a man including Olivia, a lady who lost her brother. as things escalate, the fool be...more

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Nov 07, 2012 Chris rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

This is a fine play, and I certainly wouldn't denigrate the great WS, but it's not quite as good on paper as many other Shakespeare plays. Some read better than others, though of course they were all created for live performances on stage, not to be anthologized, studied, and certainly not tested over in school. Because so much of it is visual, especially the Malvolio subplot, it's not as lyrical as say As You Like It or Hamlet, and thus while it is good to read, it is sometimes a bit tedious, e...more

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Sep 08, 2012 Diane Gihring rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: all students!

Shelves: brit-lit

I have read this a couple of times. It is not one of my favorite Shakespearean comedies, but it certainly has its moments. I do like that Shakespeare's romantic leads are often clever and smart women who get to fence verbally with their romantic counterparts. Viola/Cesario has a lot of great lines in this play. She is clever and funny. Lots of good dramatic irony. And of course Maria is the smartest one out of the whole bunch of the lesser set of characters.

Not sure how Olivia could fall in lov...more

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Aug 29, 2012 Craig Smillie rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shakespeare’s “Twelfth Night” was written around the year 1600. It would be fair to ask then what a play first performed over 400 years ago could possibly have to say of relevance to a new audience in the 21st Century.
Shakespeare’s comedies revel in issues which deal with mistaken identity, gender-bending, love, hate, trickery, slapstick comedy and general mental mayhem. In an age when we feel that life is fast, frenetic and complex and relational issues can be difficult, Shakespeare sets up exa...more Shakespeare’s “Twelfth Night” was written around the year 1600. It would be fair to ask then what a play first performed over 400 years ago could possibly have to say of relevance to a new audience in the 21st Century.
Shakespeare’s comedies revel in issues which deal with mistaken identity, gender-bending, love, hate, trickery, slapstick comedy and general mental mayhem. In an age when we feel that life is fast, frenetic and complex and relational issues can be difficult, Shakespeare sets up exactly this scenario in “Twelfth Night.” Viola and Sebastian are shipwrecked in hostile Illyria. To protect her femininity, Viola is compelled to disguise herself as a man, Cesario. Again, in an age when rape has become a method of warfare and terror, we understand the extra-vulnerability of women.
This is not enough complexity for Shakespeare however: he has to have Olivia fall in love with Orsino, Duke of Illyria, who sends her to court for him Olivia, a beautiful countess – who in turn falls in love with the “boy” Olivia / Cesario in a hopeless love triangle. Within this mistaken gender-bending relationship however, Shakespeare is able to surgically lay bare and analyse the age-old problems between men and women and to explore gender issues and prejudices. Orsino is confident to confess to the “male” Cesario:
“Our fancies are more giddy and unfirm,
More longing, wavering, sooner lost and worn
Than women’s are.”
And yet in the same scene he claims:
“There is no woman’s sides
Can bide the beating of so strong a passion
As love doth give my heart; no woman’s heart
So big, to hold so much.”
Shakespeare seems to understand the male’s self delusions about “superiority” over women. Viola in turn is able, under the guise of masculinity, to lament women’s fate; compelled to sit “like Patience on a monument” while men have the power to act in this sexist world. She condemns men in a style that Orsino cannot fail to hear:
“We men may say more, swear more, but indeed
Our shows are more than will: for still we prove
Much in our vows, but little in our love.”
For a writer writing in Elizabethan England, it is surely amazing that he raises these issues for debate that are still hotly contested today.
But “Twelfth Night” is a comedy. It all works out in the end. Olivia cannot have Viola – but, hey presto, her twin Sebastian appears and, after much mayhem and misunderstanding, he fits the bill. Orsino therefore loses Olivia, but her replacement in Cesario turned Viola more than makes up for the loss; he gains a soul mate whom he really knows – who has talked to him man-to-man.
Shakespeare raises these problems and puzzlements of life and love to a lofty state by surrounding them with the low dealings of the roguish Toby and the foppish Aguecheek. We are reminded that in life there is much nonsense and dirty dealing going on – but we feel that the affairs of our destiny, like that of Viola and Orsino, are “above” all that. Our destiny is noble – and if we conduct ourselves with honesty and integrity then in a “golden time”:
“A solemn combination shall be made
Of our dear souls.”
This surely is the lasting appeal of “Twelfth Night.”(less)

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Jun 04, 2012 Kirstine rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

This has so many things that make my feet crumble; mistaken identities, mocking of innocent (although obnoxious) subjects, trickery and wrong assumptions.

I'm no good with comedies.

I love to watch them when I go to the theatre, but beside that? No. I get so stressed out about it. JUST GET TOGETHER ALREADY, TURKEY-COCKS (actual phrase from the play. I love you, William).

This play is funny, though, it has some excellent lines ("Contemplation makes a rare turkey-cock of him" or "My purpose is, inde...more

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Jun 02, 2012 Lottie rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: favorites

This play has a special place in my affection. I first got to know it when I was I think 11 and it was the school play. I loved it then and I love it now. Someone wrote somewhere that the entire story is "enthused with the spirit of love". Love is presented mostly as a form of madness and sickness but a sickness which we welcome. There is a close parallel between the plague (analogies and references to the plague run through the play). Hundreds of years later Thomas Mann wrote "Death in Venice"...more This play has a special place in my affection. I first got to know it when I was I think 11 and it was the school play. I loved it then and I love it now. Someone wrote somewhere that the entire story is "enthused with the spirit of love". Love is presented mostly as a form of madness and sickness but a sickness which we welcome. There is a close parallel between the plague (analogies and references to the plague run through the play). Hundreds of years later Thomas Mann wrote "Death in Venice" which also pays tribute to the parallels between love as sickness, love and death. At the same time there is the saving grace of a true love requited love, far rarer than unrequited love, nevertheless possible. For young people it is Shakespeare's unnerving depiction of unrequited love which harrows and offers sconsolation in this play. "I was not the first and shall not be the last". What Shakespeare called "the pangs of despised love" haunt this tale. "That strain again! It had a dying fall:" Anyone who has been sick from unrequited love will recognise him/her self in this play, will find some consolation in it too, for it is after all a comedy and at the end, which is death, which is the end of longing but also the reconciliation of hunter and hunted, lover and beloved, all is reconciled and all, or almost all forgiven and resolved. This takes place in a land of illusions-Illyrium. Cesario becomes Orsiono's (Orsino the "little bear", for that is what the word means in Italian, -baited by the hounds of love-in this play of illusions and delusions, disguise, false hopes, double entendres puns and metaphors abound and meanings behind meanings abound) "mistress and his fancy's queen". The obdurate Olivia retruns to life before completing the "seven years' bad luck" mourning her brother's death and Viola's own brother is saved miraculously from drowning. We know this is half fantasy, this side of Ilyrium such bliss cannot be. Only Malvolio swears revenge at the end of the play. Some commentators suggest that Malvolio incorporates the spirit of Puritanism and revolt against the principle of aristocracy in the name of republicanism and Godliness. Many other commentators reject this as fanciful but for me it rings true. Only half a century later the Puritans did rebel, exyecuted the Stuart King and imposed their new moral order on England banning among many other popular entertainments Christmas (and therefore presumably Twelfth Night celebrations) bear baiting and play acting. Truly Malvolio had his revenge. Puritanism is repeatedly dismissed as reactionary and "passé" only to retrun in a new guise with renewed vigour to banish, ban and purge again, taking many by surprise when it does so. Never in my wildest dreams for example, would I have imagined thirty years ago that Britain would have supinely accepted a ban on smoking in public houses. I am sure that Malvolio would have approved of that measure thoroughly. "and thus the whirlgig of time brings in his revenges".(less)

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May 20, 2012 Penny rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

As far as Shakespeare plays go I found this to be an interesting read because I am always forced to study the tragedies rather than the comedies. My expectations were high for this play and i'm sad to say that I was let down. I felt that there could have been so much more done with this play. If Shakespeare can put so much depth into plays like Hamlet, than why couldn't he do the same for this. My opinion of this play would probably be altered were I to see it actually performed because much of...more

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Jan 05, 2012 Kalah W rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Twelfth Night by Williams Shakespeare was a great play to read. At times the play would get a bit confusing when it came to who was in love with whom, and what action was being done by which character because there was so much role playing with in the play. I feel as though Shakespeare did a great job with displaying the deceptive traits of every character and always finding a way to place another twist into the play,especially when Viola's secrete is discovered along with a surprise at the end...more

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About William Shakespeare

William Shakespeare (baptised 26 April 1564) was an English poet and playwright, widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's national poet and the "Bard of Avon" (or simply "The Bard"). His surviving works consist of 38 plays, 154 sonnets, two long narrative poems, and several other poems. His plays have been tr...more William Shakespeare (baptised 26 April 1564) was an English poet and playwright, widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's national poet and the "Bard of Avon" (or simply "The Bard"). His surviving works consist of 38 plays, 154 sonnets, two long narrative poems, and several other poems. His plays have been translated into every major living language, and are performed more often than those of any other playwright.

Shakespeare was born and raised in Stratford-upon-Avon. Scholars believe that he died on his fifty-second birthday, coinciding with St George’s Day. It is an interesting idea that English writer is so closely identified with the Patron Saint of England!

At the age of 18 he married Anne Hathaway, who bore him three children: Susanna, and twins Hamnet and Judith. Between 1585 and 1592 he began a successful career in London as an actor, writer, and part owner of the playing company the Lord Chamberlain's Men, later known as the King's Men. He appears to have retired to Stratford around 1613, where he died three years later. Few records of Shakespeare's private life survive, and there has been considerable speculation about such matters as his sexuality, religious beliefs, and whether the works attributed to him were written by others.

Shakespeare produced most of his known work between 1590 and 1613. His early plays were mainly comedies and histories, genres he raised to the peak of sophistication and artistry by the end of the sixteenth century. Next he wrote mainly tragedies until about 1608, including Hamlet, King Lear, and Macbeth, considered some of the finest examples in the English language. In his last phase, he wrote tragicomedies, also known as romances, and collaborated with other playwrights. Many of his plays were published in editions of varying quality and accuracy during his lifetime, and in 1623, two of his former theatrical colleagues published the First Folio, a collected edition of his dramatic works that included all but two of the plays now recognised as Shakespeare's.

Shakespeare was a respected poet and playwright in his own day, but his reputation did not rise to its present heights until the nineteenth century. The Romantics, in particular, acclaimed Shakespeare's genius, and the Victorians hero-worshipped Shakespeare with a reverence that George Bernard Shaw called "bardolatry". In the twentieth century, his work was repeatedly adopted and rediscovered by new movements in scholarship and performance. His plays remain highly popular today and are consistently performed and reinterpreted in diverse cultural and political contexts throughout the world.

According to historians, Shakespeare write 37 plays and 154 sonnets throughout the span of his life. Shakespeare's writing average was 1.5 plays a year since he first started writing in 1589. There have been plays and sonnets contributed to Shakespeare that were not authentically written by the great master of language and literature.
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“Be not afraid of greatness. Some are born great, some achieve greatness, and others have greatness thrust upon them.” — 10,373 people liked it

“If music be the food of love, play on,
Give me excess of it; that surfeiting,
The appetite may sicken, and so die.” — 3,491 people liked it

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BBCode	[url=http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/10099464-twelfth-night?utm_medium=api&utm_source=blog_book][img]http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1302183602l/10099464.jpg[/img][/url] [url=http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/10099464-twelfth-night?utm_medium=api&utm_source=blog_book]Twelfth Night by William Shakespeare[/url]

Twelfth Night

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