Twelfth Night Plot Review
Fill in the blanks with the words in the word bank.
stern, stuffy
Illyria
Maria
Cesario
Cesario
wealthy
Viola
a woman
Orsino
Yellow crossgartered
stockings
pining
revenge
forges a letter
loyal
shut
lock
Olivia
Olivia
Olivia
beautiful
Sebastian
Sebastian
Sebastian
Sebastian
Sebastian
mourning
dead brother
miserable
a man
Malvolio
Malvolio
old enemies
deeply
embittered
velvet gown
get married
betrayed
rejecting
rejects him
love messages
Sir Toby Belch
in a rage
Feste
torment
two officers
abhors
send a letter
mad
mad
spoil their fun
husband
fresh and boldly
handwriting
deeply
offended
Sir Toby
released
Feste’s
sword
M.O.A.I
Cesario/Viola
betrayed and
abandoned
Antonio
Antonio
his money
shipwreck
smile
a duel
dungeon
gotten married
Sir Andrew
Aguecheek
devastated
practical joke
siblings
the captain
seven
falling in love
money
pick a fight
grief
Married
(additional
word)
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In the kingdom of Illyria, a nobleman named Orsino lies around listening to music, pining
for the love of Lady Olivia. He cannot have her because she is in mourning for her dead
brother and refuses to see or speak to any man for seven years.
Meanwhile, off the coast, a storm has caused a terrible shipwreck. A young woman
named Viola is swept onto the shores of Illyria. She assumes that her twin brother,
Sebastian, has been drowned in the wreck and she grieves for him. Finding herself alone
in a strange land, Viola tries to figure out what sort of work she can do. A friendly sea
captain tells her about Orsino’s failed attempts to get Olivia to marry him. Viola wishes she
could go to work in Olivia’s home so they could share their grief over their lost brothers.
However, since Olivia has shut herself away from the world, refusing to talk with anyone,
Viola realizes that she cannot look for work with her. With the help of the captain, she
disguises herself as a man, taking on the name of Cesario. She goes to the household of
Duke Orsino and gets a job there.
Cesario/Viola quickly becomes a favourite of Orsino and Viola soon finds herself falling in
love with him—a great complication, as Orsino believes her to be a man! Orsino sends
Cesario to deliver love messages to Olivia. Olivia persists in rejecting Orsino’s pleas.
Despite herself, Olivia finds she has fallen for the beautiful young Cesario, whom she does
not know is really a woman. The love triangle is complete: Orsino loves Olivia, and Olivia
loves Cesario/Viola and Viola/Cesario loves Orsino - and everyone is miserable.
Meanwhile, we meet the other members of Olivia’s household: her rowdy drunkard of an
uncle, Sir Toby Belch; his foolish friend, Sir Andrew Aguecheek, (who is also in love with
Olivia); Olivia’s witty and pretty servant, Maria; Feste, the clever clown of the house; and
Malvolio, the stern, stuffy steward of Olivia’s household. Malvolio finds them being raucous
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in the kitchen and chastizes them. Sir Toby and the others take great offense at Malvolio’s
constant efforts to spoil their fun. Maria comes up with a practical joke to humiliate
Malvolio, by making him think that Olivia is in love with him. She forges a letter, supposedly
from Olivia. The letter is convincing because Maria’s handwriting looks exactly like Olivia’s.
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Later, they all hide in the garden, where they see Malvolio, lost in a daydream in which he
is married to Olivia. He imagines himself dressed in a velvet gown ordering everyone
around. He finds the letter and reads it. The letter is addressed to an ‘unknown beloved’,
whose name is indicated by the letters M. O. A. I. Malvolio assumes it is written to him
because the letters are all in his name, though in a different order. The letter instructs the
reader that if he wants to earn Olivia’s favour, he should dress in yellow cross-gartered
stockings, act fresh and boldly, smile constantly, and refuse to explain himself. Malvolio is
delighted and goes off to prepare to present himself to Lady Olivia.
Elsewhere in Illyria, we discover Sebastian is still alive after all, but believes his sister Viola to
be dead. A young man, Antonio has cared for Sebastian since the shipwreck. Antonio is
passionately loyal to Sebastian, so much so that he gives Sebastian all his money and
follows him to Orsino’s town, in spite of the fact that he and Orsino are old enemies and
Antonio owes Orsino money and is a wanted man in the town. 41
Malvolio presents himself to Olivia in exactly the manner described in the letter.
Unbeknownst to him, she abhors yellow cross-gartered stockings, and she is deeply
offended by his manner. Since she has known him for so long, she assumes he has gone
mad, and she asks Sir Toby to take him away and take care of him.
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Now, Sir Andrew, having observed Olivia’s attraction to Cesario, challenges Cesario to a
duel. Sir Toby, who sees the prospective duel as entertaining, eggs Sir Andrew on. Sir Toby
warns Cesario, telling what a great fighter Sir Andrew is, and then tells Sir Andrew what a
great fighter Cesario is. Sir Andrew meets Cesario and much to Cesario’s dismay, draws his
sword to begin the fight. Suddenly, Antonio appears on the scene and, thinking Cesario is
Sebastian, steps in to stop the duel. Unfortunately, two officers identify Antonio and arrest
him. He pleads to Cesario (whom he thinks is Sebastian) to give him back his money, so he
can buy his freedom. Cesario, of course, has no idea what Antonio is talking about.
Antonio is dragged off by the guards and is devastated as he believes Sebastian has
betrayed and abandoned him. As Antonio calls out Sebastian’s name, Viola suddenly
realizes that her brother may still be alive! 54
Shortly afterward, Sebastian—who looks just like the disguised Viola—appears on the
scene with Feste and they are arguing over Sebastian’s identity. Sir Andrew and Sir Toby
arrive and pick a fight with Sebastian, thinking that he is Cesario. Olivia enters amid the
confusion and berates Sir Toby for his behaviour towards Sebastian, thinking that Sebastian
is Cesario. She then lures him off to get married. Sebastian is baffled, since he has never
seen her before, but she is wealthy and beautiful, and he is more than willing to go along
with her.
Maria, Sir Toby, and the rest are delighted to have the opportunity to lock Malvolio in a
dungeon for his ‘treatment’. They torment him there. Feste dresses up as "Sir Topas," a
priest, and pretends to examine Malvolio, declaring him definitely insane in spite of his
protests. However, Sir Toby begins to think better of the joke, and with Feste’s help, lets
Malvolio send a letter to Olivia.
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Cesario/Viola and Orsino make their way to Olivia’s house. Orsino is in a rage when Olivia
rejects him once more and begins to storm off. As Cesario/Viola runs after him, Olivia
chastises Cesario, whom she thinks is Sebastian, for running after Orsino, and refers to
Cesario as her husband. Orsino is furious, thinking Cesario has betrayed him, while
Cesario/Viola is very confused! In the midst of this, Sir Andrew arrives, accusing Cesario of
wounding him in a fight. Cesario/Viola is even more confused!
Sebastian appears and all the confusion is finally resolved. The siblings are joyfully reunited
and Viola reveals her true self. Orsino, now that he knows she is woman, realizes that he
loves Viola and asks her to marry him. Antonio is greatly relieved that his dear friend did
not, in fact, betray him. Feste announces that Sir Toby and Maria have also gotten
married. Feste gives Olivia Malvolio’s letter and, realizing he is not mad, she insists he be
released immediately. He presents to Olivia the letter Maria wrote and Olivia gives him the
bad news that she did not actually write it. The whole trick is revealed and the deeply
embittered Malvolio storms off, swearing to get revenge on them all. The happy couples
celebrate their love.
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