Twelfth Night Setting

Twelfth Night is set in the imaginary Dukedom of Illyria. Illyria happens to correspond to a place on the Adriatic coast, a place most Elizabethans knew nothing about and where most Londoners had never been. This distant and mysterious sounding place makes it a perfect setting for Shakespeare to stage his play. The thing that draws Viola to Illyria is the same thing that draws in the audience – the promise of mystery, romance, and all that good stuff we associate with dreamy, far-off places.

So, what do we actually find when we follow Viola to Illyria? Well, a world that's kind of out of whack. Over at Olivia's, Toby and Sir Andrew have turned the Countess's pad into something like an English "alehouse," where Toby and his crew party 24/7. Even though we're in the land of the…