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Analysis of Twelfth Night William Shakespeare, arguably the most important writer in all of English literature, is certainly the most influential playwright of the English Renaissance. Born in 1564 in Stratford-upon-Avon in rural northern England, he was the son of a middle-class glovemaker. Competing against such illustrious company as Christopher Marlowe and Ben Johnson, Shakespeare quickly became one of the most popular playwrights in the city of London and a favorite of the monarch, the powerful …

…The play met the expectations of the varied audience of Shakespeare’s time. It was entertaining for the lower class, whose members loved characters like Maria, Toby and Malvolio playing tricks on each other. And it was interesting for the upper class that wanted to observe the characters’ moral and intellectual conflicts, like Violas disguising as a guy, and leading the life of a man with woman’s feelings and in love with her master.