Twelfth Night Study Guide

Characters

• OrsinoAfter threatening Cesario in his jealousy of Olivia, he learns Viola's identity and offers to marry her once the remaining obstacles are settled.First appears: Act 1, Scene 1
• CCurioA lord attending the Duke, who asks whether he will go hunting.First appears: Act 1, Scene 1
• VValentineThe Duke's messenger, who has been refused entry to Olivia's house and brings back her handmaid's account of her mourning.First appears: Act 1, Scene 1
• ViolaStill in men's clothes, she recognises Sebastian through their shared family history, reveals her identity and reaffirms her love for Orsino, who offers her marriage.First appears: Act 1, Scene 2
• The CaptainViola reports that he holds her woman's clothes and is imprisoned at Malvolio's suit, leaving his release to be arranged.First appears: Act 1, Scene 2
• Sir Toby BelchHe arrives injured after fighting Sebastian and insults Andrew when he offers help, while Fabian later reports that he has married Maria in recompense for her letter.First appears: Act 1, Scene 3
• MariaAlthough absent from the scene, she is identified by Olivia as the writer of the forged letter and reported by Fabian to have married Sir Toby.First appears: Act 1, Scene 3
• Sir Andrew AguecheekInjured and still mistaking his attacker for Cesario, he blames Toby for setting him on and receives insults when he offers to help the wounded knight.First appears: Act 1, Scene 3
• FesteHe admits playing Sir Topas and recalls Malvolio's contempt for him as he speaks of revenge, then remains alone to end the play with a song.First appears: Act 1, Scene 5
• OliviaShe discovers that her vows bind her to Sebastian rather than Cesario, welcomes Viola as a sister and acknowledges that Malvolio has been abused.First appears: Act 1, Scene 5
• MalvolioReleased from confinement, he demands an explanation for his treatment, learns that the letter was forged and leaves threatening revenge on the whole company.First appears: Act 1, Scene 5
• SebastianHe returns after exchanging vows with Olivia, greets Antonio with affection and recognises his sister Viola through their shared memories of their father.First appears: Act 2, Scene 1
• AntonioBrought before Orsino under arrest, he defends his devotion to Sebastian and sees the twins together.First appears: Act 2, Scene 1
• FabianHe confesses his and Toby's part in the plot against Malvolio, reports Toby's marriage to Maria and argues for laughter rather than revenge.First appears: Act 2, Scene 5
• SThe ServantA servant who tells Olivia that Orsino's young messenger has returned and is waiting to see her.First appears: Act 3, Scene 4
• FOFirst OfficerAn officer who recognises Antonio despite his missing sea-cap and insists on taking him away.First appears: Act 3, Scene 4
• SOSecond OfficerAn officer who arrests Antonio at Count Orsino's suit and repeatedly urges him to leave.First appears: Act 3, Scene 4
• PThe PriestHe confirms the ceremony of joined hands, kisses and exchanged rings that Olivia takes as proof of her bond with Cesario.First appears: Act 4, Scene 3

Chapter summaries

1. Act 1, Scene 1

   The Duke listens to music with Curio and other attendants, but quickly tires of the pleasure he has just requested. He imagines love as an appetite that might be killed by overfeeding it. When Curio suggests hunting, the Duke describes himself as the hunted creature, pursued by his own desires since first seeing Olivia. Valentine brings a report from Olivia's handmaid that she will veil herself and mourn her dead brother for seven years. The Duke responds by imagining how completely she could love him, turning her grief into material for his own desires. His changing instructions and elaborate images make his experience of being in love more prominent than any knowledge of Olivia's wishes.

2. Act 1, Scene 2

   Viola comes ashore with a Captain and sailors, uncertain whether her brother has drowned. The Captain saw him bind himself to a floating mast, so her grief is accompanied by a specific reason for hope. The Captain names the local ruler as Orsino and describes his unsuccessful courtship of Olivia. Hearing of Olivia's withdrawal after her brother's death, Viola wishes to serve her while keeping her own circumstances private, but the Captain explains that Olivia admits no requests. Viola instead plans to use her musical skills in the Duke's service and asks to be presented as a eunuch. She recognises that an attractive exterior can conceal corruption, yet chooses to trust the Captain's outward signs of honesty. His promise of silence makes her new identity a deliberate arrangement shared with the audience.

3. Act 1, Scene 3

   Sir Toby dismisses his niece Olivia's prolonged mourning, while Maria tries to restrain his drinking and late nights. He answers her demand for order by joking about the clothes and boots he drinks in. Their disagreement extends to Sir Andrew, whose wealth and accomplishments Toby praises but whom Maria calls foolish, wasteful and cowardly. Andrew's arrival lets the audience test these competing descriptions: he mistakes the command to accost Maria for her name and cannot keep up with her jokes. His failure to understand Toby's French also undercuts Toby's claim that he speaks several languages. Andrew intends to go home because Olivia will not see him and has the Count as another suitor, but Toby reassures him that she will not marry above her rank. Andrew agrees to stay, and the scene ends with Toby urging him into a display of dancing rather than any serious attempt at courtship.

4. Act 1, Scene 4

   Valentine tells Viola, now dressed as a man and called Cesario, that she has quickly gained the Duke's confidence. Orsino confirms this intimacy by describing his soul as a book he has opened to the youth. He orders Cesario to insist on an audience with Olivia, even if this means abandoning polite restraint. He thinks Olivia will listen more readily to a youthful messenger than to one of more solemn appearance and praises Cesario's lips and voice for resembling a woman's. The audience knows that these observations describe the person beneath the disguise, while Orsino treats them as advantages in a young male servant. Viola promises to do her best, but her aside reveals that the task conflicts with her own desire to become Orsino's wife.

5. Act 1, Scene 5

   After Maria warns the Clown about his absence, he persuades Olivia to hear him prove that she is the fool for mourning a brother whose soul she believes is in heaven. Malvolio dismisses his wit, but Olivia accuses Malvolio of self-love and defends the freedom allowed to a fool. A drunken Sir Toby cannot give a useful account of the visitor at the gate, and Malvolio then reports that the young messenger refuses to leave without speaking to Olivia. Admitted as Cesario, Viola jokes about her prepared speech and the part she plays, giving the audience meanings that Olivia cannot recognise. In private, Olivia unveils and resists the messenger's praise, plainly stating that she cannot love Orsino despite his merits. Viola imagines how she would woo Olivia if she loved her as Orsino does, and Olivia turns from discussing Orsino to asking about Cesario's parentage and allowing another visit. Alone after Viola's departure, Olivia acknowledges her sudden attraction, summons Malvolio to pursue the messenger with a ring she claims Cesario left against her wishes, and finally appeals to fate while admitting uncertainty about her own actions.

6. Act 2, Scene 1

   Antonio asks Sebastian to stay or let him travel with him, but Sebastian fears that his own bad fortune might harm his rescuer. Moved by Antonio's restraint, he reveals that he is Sebastian rather than Roderigo, the name he previously gave. He believes his twin sister drowned before Antonio rescued him, reports that others found her beautiful and firmly praises her character. His account recalls Viola's uncertainty about her brother after the shipwreck, while his certainty about his sister's death is not shared by the audience. Sebastian refuses Antonio's offer to become his servant and leaves, nearly moved to tears, after naming Orsino's court as his destination. Alone on stage, Antonio admits that he has enemies there but resolves to follow, making his affection stronger than his fear of danger.

7. Act 2, Scene 2

   Malvolio delivers Olivia's ring and repeats her rejection of Orsino, saying that Cesario should return only to report his master's response. Viola refuses the ring, and Malvolio leaves it for her to pick up. Alone on stage, she states that she left no ring and interprets Olivia's distracted behaviour as evidence of attraction. Her soliloquy lets the audience hear her recognise the consequences of a disguise whose success has created a mistaken love. She describes Orsino's desire for Olivia, her own for Orsino and Olivia's for her as a problem in which neither her male appearance nor her concealed womanhood offers an answer. Although she blames disguise and speaks of women's susceptibility, she ends by appealing to time because she cannot solve the knot herself.

8. Act 2, Scene 3

   After midnight, Sir Toby and Sir Andrew drink and pay the Clown to sing a love-song that urges enjoyment of the present. They then sing a catch, and Maria says Olivia must have summoned Malvolio to turn them out. Malvolio arrives with Olivia's warning that Sir Toby must separate himself from his disorderly habits or leave her house. Toby and the Clown answer in song, and Toby challenges the steward's right to restrict his pleasures by invoking their difference in rank. When Malvolio threatens to report Maria, she proposes to exploit his belief that everyone who sees him loves him. She can imitate Olivia's handwriting and plans to leave love letters for him to interpret while others watch. Toby admires the scheme, then urges Andrew to send for more money and reassures him about winning Olivia before proposing still more drink.

9. Act 2, Scene 4

   With Viola, Curio and attendants at his palace, Orsino asks for a song heard the previous night, and Curio goes to fetch Feste. While the tune plays, Viola answers questions about her beloved with descriptions that point to Orsino, though he assumes she means a woman. Orsino advises Cesario that men's feelings change more readily than women's and that a man should choose a younger partner. Feste sings of a lover's death, accepts payment and leaves after comparing the Duke's mind to a changeable opal. Once the attendants retire, Viola asks whether Olivia's inability to love him should end his courtship, but Orsino insists that no woman could match his passion. Viola counters with the story of her father's daughter, whose unspoken love consumes her, using the supposed sister to describe feelings the audience knows she conceals. Viola avoids directly answering whether this supposed sister died and returns to her errand, while Orsino sends a jewel and insists that his suit cannot be refused.

10. Act 2, Scene 5

    Fabian joins Sir Toby and Sir Andrew in the garden, eager to shame Malvolio because he blames him for losing Olivia's favour over a bear-baiting. Maria tells the three men to hide in the box-tree and places a forged letter in Malvolio's path before leaving. Even before finding it, Malvolio imagines becoming Olivia's husband, acquiring servants and rebuking Toby's drunkenness, provoking angry comments from his concealed listeners. He recognises what he thinks are Olivia's handwriting and seal, then forces the letters M, O, A, I to fit his own name despite their awkward order. The letter offers advancement and tells him to behave proudly, oppose a kinsman, be surly with servants, wear yellow stockings with crossed garters and smile. Malvolio accepts its promises and leaves determined to obey, while the watchers praise Maria's skill. On returning, Maria explains that Olivia dislikes the requested colour and fashion and that smiling will clash with her melancholy, exposing the gap between Malvolio's confidence and the knowledge shared by the plotters and audience.

11. Act 3, Scene 1

    Viola meets Feste in Olivia's garden, where his wordplay shows how easily language can be turned to different meanings. After he leaves to announce where she has come from, she reflects that playing the fool well requires close attention to people's moods, rank and timing. Toby and Andrew greet her, and when Olivia enters with Maria, Andrew collects Viola's polished phrases to use himself. Olivia dismisses the others so that she can speak privately to Cesario. She refuses further discussion of Orsino, admits her deception over the ring and tries to read Viola's pity as a step towards love. Viola's statement that she is not what she is tells the audience a truth about her disguise that Olivia cannot understand. Olivia openly declares her love, but Viola says no woman except herself will rule her heart and takes leave, while Olivia invites another visit by suggesting she might reconsider Orsino.

12. Act 3, Scene 2

    At Olivia's house, Andrew tells Toby and Fabian that he is leaving because Olivia has shown Cesario more favour than she has shown him. Fabian reverses the evidence, arguing that she meant to stir Andrew into a display of courage. Toby urges him to challenge Cesario and claims that a reputation for bravery is the best recommendation to a woman. Once Andrew has gone to write, Toby admits how much he has cost the knight and says it will be hard to make him fight. Fabian also sees no sign of cruelty in Cesario, so the proposed contest rests on their manipulation of two apparently unwilling opponents. Maria arrives to report Malvolio's yellow stockings, crossed garters and constant smile, inviting Toby and Fabian to enjoy the effects of another deception.

13. Act 3, Scene 3

    In a street, Sebastian thanks Antonio for following him, though he wishes not to burden his rescuer. Antonio describes both his desire to be with Sebastian and his fear for a stranger travelling without friends or guidance. When Sebastian proposes looking at the town's sights, Antonio explains that he cannot safely walk openly because he fought against Orsino's galleys and refused the repayment others made for what they took. He nevertheless gives Sebastian his purse in case he sees something he wants to buy and arranges to meet him at the Elephant. Their separation follows an act of trust and practical generosity, showing how Antonio's affection shapes his use of money and his response to danger.

14. Act 3, Scene 4

    Maria tells Olivia that Malvolio is possessed, and his smiles, yellow stockings and quotations from the forged letter convince Olivia that he is mad. When a servant announces Cesario's return, Olivia leaves Malvolio in her household's care, but he interprets her concern as proof of love. Toby, Maria and Fabian mock him with talk of devils, and after he leaves Toby proposes binding him in a dark room, turning the joke into a threat of confinement. Andrew brings his challenge, but Toby decides that its foolishness would frighten nobody and substitutes false reports of each opponent's fighting skill. Olivia gives Cesario her portrait and asks for another visit, while Viola continues to plead for Orsino; afterwards Toby and Fabian force Viola and Andrew to draw swords by exploiting their fear and invoking honour. Mistaking Viola for Sebastian, Antonio defends her and is arrested at Orsino's suit, then accuses her of ingratitude when she does not recognise him or have his purse, despite her offer of half her own money. His mistake gives Viola hope that her brother lives, but Toby calls Cesario dishonest, Fabian confirms the charge of cowardice, and Andrew leaves to pursue and beat the youth.

15. Act 4, Scene 1

    Before Olivia's house, Feste takes Sebastian's denials of knowing him as deliberate pretence and insists that he is Cesario. Sebastian gives him money to leave and threatens worse treatment if he stays. Andrew enters with Toby and Fabian, strikes Sebastian and receives several blows in return, then threatens legal action while admitting he attacked first. Toby restrains Sebastian, who demands his freedom and challenges him to draw his sword if he continues. Olivia interrupts, rebukes Toby's behaviour and dismisses him and his companions, asserting her authority over the disorder around her house. Still mistaking Sebastian for Cesario, she invites him inside and asks him to be ruled by her. Sebastian wonders whether he is mad or dreaming, but the pleasure of her welcome makes him willing to accept what he cannot explain.

16. Act 4, Scene 2

    At Olivia's house, Maria gives Feste a beard and gown so that he can visit Malvolio as Sir Topas the curate, while she fetches Toby. With the two plotters watching, Feste treats Malvolio's appeals as signs of possession and denies that his prison is dark. Malvolio asks for a rational test of his sanity, but the supposed curate refuses to recognise his sanity unless he accepts Pythagoras's belief that a human soul can inhabit a bird. Maria points out that the costume is unnecessary because Malvolio cannot see it, making voice the effective means of disguise. Toby now wants Malvolio released if possible because he fears the consequences of continuing while Olivia is angry with him. After Toby and Maria leave, Feste speaks in his own voice and impersonates a conversation with Sir Topas, keeping Malvolio dependent on an apparent helper who is also his tormentor. Malvolio describes the attempt to make him doubt his own wits and offers a reward for help in writing to Olivia, while Feste finally promises the materials and leaves singing.

17. Act 4, Scene 3

    Alone in Olivia's garden, Sebastian uses the air, sun and pearl she has given him as evidence that his experience is real. He has looked for Antonio at the Elephant and learned that his friend went out to seek him, leaving him without the advice he wants. His soliloquy weighs the possibility of error against madness, while Olivia's orderly management of her household makes him doubt that she is mad. The audience knows the mistaken identity behind his confusion, but his reasoning cannot yet explain the favour he receives. Olivia enters with a priest and asks for a private pledge of faith in the nearby chantry to quiet her jealousy and doubts, promising secrecy until Sebastian wishes it known and then a celebration suited to her rank. Sebastian agrees to accompany them and remain true once he has sworn, accepting a commitment while the mistake itself remains unexplained.

18. Act 5, Scene 1

    Before Olivia's house, Antonio is brought before Orsino and mistakes Viola for Sebastian, accusing her of betraying his devotion, while Olivia calls Cesario her husband and the Priest confirms that a ceremony took place. Orsino threatens the servant he believes Olivia loves, and Viola declares her love for him despite the threat. Andrew blames Cesario for his and Toby's injuries, but Sebastian's arrival puts the twins together on stage, allowing shared memories of their father to establish Viola's identity and turn their fears of loss into recognition that both survived the shipwreck. Sebastian explains Olivia's mistaken betrothal, and Orsino offers Viola his hand, changing her position from servant to future wife while she remains in men's clothes and the Captain who holds her garments remains imprisoned. Malvolio's letter brings him out of confinement, Olivia recognises Maria's handwriting in the forgery, and Fabian admits the plot and reports that Toby has married Maria. Fabian asks for laughter rather than revenge, but Feste recalls Malvolio's earlier insults and Malvolio exits threatening the whole company, leaving Orsino to request a reconciliation that is not shown. After the others leave with a joint wedding celebration still planned, Feste's song moves through childhood, adulthood, marriage and drunkenness, setting repeated rain beside its closing pledge to try to please the audience.

Key quotes