Twelfth Night - Murray Paul Leonard

The Silly Shakespeare for Students edition of Shakespeare's Twelfth Night simplifies the famous play without dumbing it down. It's perfect for introducing students to the Bard and helping English Language Learners practice speaking and oracy skills while grappling with the classics. Author Paul Leonard Murray, director of the Belgrade English Language Theater, has cut the play down to an hour or so and made the language more accessible. But he's kept all the funny parts! Not only that, the whole thing is written in rhyming couplets.

Twelfth Night or What You Will is a wonderful and whimsical comedy of mistaken identities, love triangles, and the throwing over of social norms. Viola is shipwrecked and believes her twin brother, Sebastian, has drowned. In order to find work, she disguises herself as a boy (using the name Cesario) and becomes a servant to Lord Orsino. Orsino is in love with Olivia and sends Viola to woo her. Olivia falls for Cesario instead! Meanwhile, Sir Toby Belch, Olivia's uncle, and his friends play pranks on Malvolio, Olivia's uptight steward, who has ambitions of marrying her. Their schemes lead to hilarious misunderstandings and chaos. When, Sebastian shows up, this causes even more confusion as everyone mistakes Sebastian for Cesario. The play wraps up with multiple weddings and the revelation of true identities, emphasizing that love can be unpredictable and sometimes a little crazy.

The book also includes: ideas for the playing style, a summary of the play, discussion of the history of the tragedy and key themes as well as why it persists. Everything you need is here to teach and put on the play, even if you've never done drama in class before!

Looking for something different for drama club, student theater, or speaking class? Want to spice up your literature or reading class and give students a new appreciation for Shakespeare? This is the book for you!