Is Twelfth Night a Christmas - Epiphany season play?
If Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night is related to Christmas and Epiphany, how so? Some would say only by title [1] and only in a secular sense for having Sir Toby Belch as a “Lord of Misrule,” a secular Christmas tradition [2]. There’s no baby Jesus, no shepherds, no angels, no Magi. But consider: Viola and Sebastian come from far away, like the Magi. They are shipwrecked, like St. Paul, saved from water, or like the inhabitants of Noah’s ark (which Sir Toby mentions) after storms and flood. The scripture readings for both St. Paul’s shipwreck and Noah’s ark were read every year in English churches during the Christmas season [3]. The twins are refugees in enemy land, like the Holy Family in Bethlehem under Herod the Great [4]. “Wise men/man” is spoken six times in the play by various characters [5]. The use of Sir Toby Belch as “Lord of Misrule,” and the downfall of the proud and Puritanical Malvolio, echo what the Virgin Mary says in reply to the angel Gabriel on being told ...