I read this play a while ago, but I knew I could learn more from the story the second time around. The first thing I learned was, like my other books, how to write interesting characters that change. This time, there were more main characters and they all had a certain idea of what they wanted. More specifically who they wanted to marry. In the beginning of the play, the main characters were pining after people who were uninterested in them. For example, Orsino was convinced he loved Olivia, "Oh, when mine did see Olivia first, methought she purged the air of pestilence." They both end up marrying different people.
The second thing I learned was that not all characters have to be smart and know everything. Because this is a comedy, at least most of the characters make a fool of themselves at least once. For example, one of the main characters, named Viola, was shipwrecked at the beginning of the play. She decided to start a new life on the island she landed on and dressed like a boy to become a page. Coincidentally, her twin brother is on the same island. Most of the other characters interact with both of them, but at different times. They all assume that they are the same person, regardless of what the twins say. The twins don't even see each other until the end, and even then they refuse to accept the fact that both of them are alive. "Were you a woman,...i should my tears let fall upon your cheek and say 'Thrice-welcome, drowned Viola!'"
The third thing I learned is how to have an effective sub-plot. In this play, the sub-plot starts with Olivia's serious head servant Malvolio making Sir Toby and Sir Andrew hate him. This ensues an elaborate prank that is played on Malvolio, where he thinks that Olivia is in love with him. This of course is comedic and not intertwined with the main story, and yet is effective. "This practice hath most shrewdly passed upon thee"
The second thing I learned was that not all characters have to be smart and know everything. Because this is a comedy, at least most of the characters make a fool of themselves at least once. For example, one of the main characters, named Viola, was shipwrecked at the beginning of the play. She decided to start a new life on the island she landed on and dressed like a boy to become a page. Coincidentally, her twin brother is on the same island. Most of the other characters interact with both of them, but at different times. They all assume that they are the same person, regardless of what the twins say. The twins don't even see each other until the end, and even then they refuse to accept the fact that both of them are alive. "Were you a woman,...i should my tears let fall upon your cheek and say 'Thrice-welcome, drowned Viola!'"
The third thing I learned is how to have an effective sub-plot. In this play, the sub-plot starts with Olivia's serious head servant Malvolio making Sir Toby and Sir Andrew hate him. This ensues an elaborate prank that is played on Malvolio, where he thinks that Olivia is in love with him. This of course is comedic and not intertwined with the main story, and yet is effective. "This practice hath most shrewdly passed upon thee"