Twelfth Night is both a historic Christian festival and the title of one of William Shakespeare’s most famous comedies, and the two are closely linked.

What is the Twelfth Night (festival)?

  • In the Christian calendar, Twelfth Night is the evening of the twelfth day after Christmas, leading into the Feast of Epiphany (traditionally 5 or 6 January, depending on custom).
  • It marked the end of the Christmas season, often celebrated with feasting, music, and social role‑reversal, where servants might symbolically act as masters and everyday rules were relaxed.

Twelfth Night as a Shakespeare play

  • Twelfth Night (full title often given as Twelfth Night, or What You Will) is a romantic comedy by William Shakespeare, probably written around 1601–1602 for performance during the Twelfth Night festivities at court.
  • The play is set in the fictional land of Illyria and is known for themes of mistaken identity, gender disguise, shipwrecked twins, and festive chaos that eventually resolves into multiple marriages.

Basic plot in a nutshell

  • Twins Viola and Sebastian are shipwrecked and each believes the other has died; Viola disguises herself as a young man named Cesario and enters the service of Duke Orsino.
  • Orsino sends “Cesario” to woo the mourning Countess Olivia on his behalf, but Olivia falls in love with Cesario, while Viola secretly loves Orsino, and later Olivia ends up marrying Sebastian, mistaking him for Cesario.

Why it’s called “Twelfth Night”

  • The title refers back to the Twelfth Night festival spirit: topsy‑turvy roles, disguises, and blurred social and gender boundaries mirror the season’s traditions of masquerade and reversal.
  • The play’s mix of revelry, music, drinking, and pranks—especially the subplot tormenting the stiff steward Malvolio—echoes the boisterous, carnivalesque mood associated with historical Twelfth Night celebrations.

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