Twelfth Night

This play is named after the Twelfth Night holiday of the Christmas season. It was written around 1601 and first published in the First Folio in 1623. Like many of Shakespeare's comedies, this one centers on mistaken identity. The leading character, Viola, is shipwrecked on the shores of Illyria during the opening scenes. She loses contact with her twin brother, Sebastian, whom she believes dead. Posing as a man and masquerading as a young page under the name Cesario, she enters the service of Duke Orsino. Orsino is in love with the bereaved Lady Olivia, whose brother has recently died and decides to use "Cesario" as an intermediary. Olivia, believing Viola to be a man, falls in love with this handsome and eloquent messenger. Viola, in turn, has fallen in love with the Duke, who also believes Viola is a man and who regards her as his confidant. Life of William Shakespeare is a biography of William Shakespeare by the eminent critic Sidney Lee. This book was one of the first major biographies of the Bard of Avon. It was published in 1898, based on the article contributed to the Dictionary of National Biography.