Twelfth Night: Plot Summary (OCR A Level English Literature)

Plot Summary

Examiners always praise students who clearly know the plot of the texts they are studying, as having this base of knowledge leads to the best exam responses. Below you will find:

• A general overview of the whole play

• Detailed summaries by act

Overview

Twelfth Night is a dramatic comedy written by the playwright William Shakespeare in 1601. The play takes audiences on a whirlwind of tangled romantic schemes and practical jokes. The protagonist, Viola, shipwrecked on unfamiliar shores, disguises herself as a man as she believes her twin brother to be dead at sea. This sets off a series of ridiculous and humorous situations involving mistaken identities, romantic delusions and trickery. The play makes use of typically comedic aspects such as song and dance, which creates a light-hearted tone. However, the play comments on serious themes such as hypocrisy, gender roles and excess. Although the story centres around chaos and confusion, it is resolved at the end with another comedic convention: marriage. In fact, three marriages take place at the end of the play.   

Act-By-Act Plot Summary

Act I

• Orsino, Duke of lllyria, pines for the love of the Countess Olivia

• However, Olivia is in mourning, grieving the death of her brother and denying all male company for seven years

• Meanwhile, sailors rescue Viola from a storm at sea and she is brought to the Illyrian shore

• Viola believes she has lost her twin brother Sebastian at sea

• Feeling vulnerable and in need of work, she disguises herself as a man

• She calls herself Cesario and goes to work as a page for Duke Orsino

• Viola, now known as Cesario, falls in love with the duke, but in her disguise must say nothing

• Orsino sends his page Cesario (Viola in disguise) to court Countess Olivia in his behalf

• Unfortunately, Olivia, despite being in mourning, falls in love with Cesario (Viola)

• She sends her servant, Malvolio, to propose to Cesario (Viola) on her behalf

Act II

• The act opens with Olivia's uncle, Sir Toby Belch, his friend, Sir Andrew Aguecheek, and her servant, Maria, plotting to play a trick on Malvolio

• They believe Malvolio to be vain and arrogant and Sir Andrew also wants to marry Olivia

• They send a letter to Malvolio and say it is from Olivia:

  • The plan is to trick him into believing Olivia loves him so he humiliates himself in front of her

  • The letter details how much Olivia wants Malvolio to dance for her in yellow stockings    

• Malvolio, desperate to win Olivia’s love, performs a ridiculous dance for her

• After the dance Olivia believes Malvolio to be mad and sends him away to be locked up

• The audience learns that Viola's twin brother, Sebastian, survived the shipwreck:

  • He arrives in Illyria with his friend, Antonio:

    • Antonio is an enemy of the Duke Orsino as he has stolen from him in the past

Act III

• Sir Andrew Aguecheek grows jealous of Cesario (Viola) over the Countess Olivia’s love

• He declares a duel with Cesario (Viola) to determine who will win Olivia’s love

• Sir Toby Belch makes up a rule that they must fight to the death:

  • At this, neither Sir Andrew Aguecheek or Cesario (Viola) wish to fight

  • This scene builds tension as Viola (pretending to be Cesario) has not been trained to fight 

• Antonio, Sebastian’s friend, sees Cesario (Viola) and believes her to be Sebastian (Viola’s twin brother)

• He steps in and offers to fight but is arrested once he is recognised by Duke Orsino’s men

• The real Sebastian arrives and conflict breaks out between him and Sir Andrew Aguecheek (who thinks Sebastian is Cesario)

• Sebastian, a trained soldier, wins the fight

• The Countess Olivia invites Sebastian (whom she believes to be Cesario) to her home

• Sebastian, confused, decides to stay with her despite her delusion

• The act ends as Olivia and Sebastian are married 

Act IV

• In the dungeons, Malvolio, who has been accused of madness, is teased and tortured by Maria, Olivia’s servant, and Sir Toby Belch

• The court jester or fool, Feste, disguised as a priest, involves himself in the trick:

  • He tries to convince Malvolio that he is actually mad 

• However, the tricksters begin to think they may have taken it too far, and will, themselves, be punished for their poor treatment of Malvolio:

  • They allow him to write a letter to Olivia

Act V

• Antonio, brought before Duke Orsino, sees Cesario (Viola) and believes her to be Sebastian (Viola’s twin)

• He accuses Cesario (whom he thinks is his friend Sebastian) of betraying him to the duke

• Fortunately, the real Sebastian enters on a visit to the duke to apologise for his fight with Sir Toby

• At this point, Cesario (Viola) sees her brother, Sebastian, and they rejoice

• Feste, the fool, brings Malvolio’s letter to the duke and Malvolio is released:

  • Maria’s fake letter ‘from Olivia’ is exposed

  • However, Feste declares he will seek revenge on Maria and the others for their tricks

• Maria, meanwhile, has married Sir Toby Belch, having fallen in love during their trickery with Malvolio in the dungeons

• Duke Orsino, realising his own love for Cesario (Viola), allows Olivia and Sebastian to be together

• As the play comes to a close, the duke asks Viola to marry him once she decides to become a woman again