Twelfth Night – Ed. Swain

Book excerpt: This volume includes the text of Twelfth Night as prepared and annotated by David Swain for The Broadview Anthology of British Literature, and is accompanied by the excellent introduction and supplementary materials from the anthology. The diverse and extensive appendices acquaint readers with Shakespeare’s sources and contextualize the play within Elizabethan society. The appendices include an excerpt from Barnabe Riche’s “Of Apollonius and Silla,” Shakespeare’s primary source of inspiration for the play; selections from Galen, Plato, and others illustrating Elizabethan attitudes toward gender and sexuality; excerptions illuminating contemporary moral discomfort with the theatre, such as Philip Stubbes’s “Of Stage-plays and Interludes, with their wickedness”; and pieces on music and duelling that illustrate cultural conventions important to the interpretation of Twelfth Night. This is one of several Broadview Anthology of British Literature Editions being released this year; those wishing to teach the text will have the option of including the convenient stand-alone book as part of a specially-priced shrink-wrapped package together with a volume of the anthology.