Twelfth Night is one of the most popular of Shakespeare's plays in the modern theatre and this
edition places particular emphasis on its theatrical qualities throughout. Peopled with lovers
misled either by disguises or their own natures it combines lyrical melancholy with broad
comedy. The introduction analyses its many views of love and the juxtaposition of joy and
melancholy while the detailed commentary pays particular attention to its linguistic
subtleties. Music is particularly important in Twelfth Night and this is the only modern
edition to offer material for all the music required in a performance. James Walker has
re-edited the existing music from the original sources and where noe exists has composed
settings compatible with the surviving originals.
