Understanding Shakespeare: Twelfth Night
It is a brilliant irony that Shakespeare’s most joyous play should be compounded out of the sadness of his principal characters. Yet the sadnesses are, for the most part, those mannered sadnesses that the Elizabethans savored.
(page 299)
The glittering plot is reinforced by some of Shakespeare’s best and most delicate dramatic poetry. Moreover, the drama is suffused with bittersweet music, and the idyllic setting in Illyria blends with language and imagery to create a most delightful atmosphere wholly appropriate to the celebration of love and the enjoyment of this world. (page 300)
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