Twelfth Night, or What You Will by William Shakespeare

Twelfth Night was written by William Shakespeare about 421 years ago, but the issues of personal preference, ideology, identity, orientation, and beliefs that existed then in secret have been thrust into the forefront of discussion, debate, and politics today with explosive reactions. What Shakespeare suggests in his tactful dialogues has been, and is still is, subject to interpretation. What Shakespeare put subtly, I attempt to make a bit more obvious, though not blatantly so. Some of his passages I have interpreted freely to clarify meanings that have multiple interpretations. In some passages where there was no rhyme -- or reason to rhyme, – I freely placed into a rhyming, rhythmic pattern for the purely aesthetic enjoyment of applying Elizabethan characteristics to a modern message. This version, as my other adaptations of Shakespeare’s works do, does not pretend to be an authoritarian, historically exact, unequivocal rendition. It is what I felt at the moment of reading and writing with backup references and notes provided by LitCharts and the Shakespeare Navigator series. It is not a tedious delving into annotative clarifications. It does have as its goal a clear and understandable reading of a play that has subtle, suggestive humor on a baudy level that was appropriate for the time. It was enjoyable effort to write it, and I would hope it will be an equally enjoyable, effortless task to read. When in doubt about the truth of interpretation of the message intended, I went with my gut feeling, my heart’s approach, and my mind’s sensibilty.