edies whichfolloware much darker. Twelfth Night embodies many of the themes from his earlier comedies. Forinstance, he employed the device of having a woman fall in love with another woman disguised as aman. In some ways, Twelfth Night can be termed Shakespeare's apology to Phebe.Whereas Rosalind dominates As You Like it, we have many centers of interest in Twelfth Night.Orsino continues the theme of overly idealistic love we have seen in Orlando. The setting has adifferent feeling from Merchant of Venice and As You Like It--two plays in which Shakespeareclearly contrasts the world of reality with some more tranquil environment. Instead (rather like thesingle setting of Much Ado About Nothing), we see in Twelfth Night the twin centers of power--theestate of Orsino and the estate of Olivia. Illyria itself is a very different place from the Forest ofArden, and before the play began, Antonio has been in battle against the forces of Orsino.The interpretation of Malvolio will be crucial to your overall response to the play. I would observethat his appearance cross-gartered with yellow stockings almost inevitably delights audiences. Buthow much sympathy do you give to Malvolio? Unlike Jaques and Duke Frederick, he is an unwillingscapegoat. I propose that the older the actor playing Malvolio, the more seriously and tragically theaudience will take him.One must also consider the similarities and differences between two other sorts of characters fromAs You Like It: Viola vs. Rosalind and Feste vs. Touchstone....
