William Shakespeare’s TWELFTH NIGHT

The meaning of the title of TWELFTH NIGHT has been a source of confusion and speculation to many.  “Twelfth Night,” to an American ear, holds very little sense or significance.  In the British holiday calendar, however, Twelfth Night marks the arrival of the Wise Men at the site of Jesus’ birth that first Christmas.  In Tudor England, Twelfth Night was the official end of the holiday festivites - period of celebration presided over by a King or ‘Lord of Misrule.’  Thus, Twelfth Night represented a return to the normality and an ordered way of life.  In modern day England, Twelfth Night is the day that holiday decorations should be taken down and stored away (again, the restoration of order).  It is assumed that the play was written for a Twelfth Night celebration in London in 1602.

In Shakespeare’s comedy, we are submersed in a story of confusion and chaos, mistaken identity and misplaced intentions.  It is not until the final moments of the story that the misadventures of the characters are resolved and order is restored.  The series of events in the play mirror the revelries of the holiday season;  by the time the action comes to a conclusion, however, the characters’ mayhem has ended and their lives proceed happily and neatly ever after (we assume). 

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Twelfth Night