One of the best-loved comedies ever written, Twelfth Night is perhaps Shakespeare's most lyrical as well as most experimental play. This Penguin Shakespeare edition is edited by M M Mahood with an introduction by Michael Dobson. 'If music be the food of love, play on...'. Separated from her twin brother Sebastian after a shipwreck, Viola disguises herself as a boy to serve the Duke of Illyria. Wooing a countess on his behalf, she is stunned to find herself the object of his beloved's affections. With the arrival of Viola's brother, and a trick played upon the countess' steward, confusion reigns in this romantic comedy of mistaken identity. This book contains a general introduction to Shakespeare's life and Elizabethan theatre, a separate introduction to Twelfth Night, a chronology, suggestions for further reading, an essay discussing performance options on both stage and screen, and a commentary.