Twelfth Night Characters
Thomas Rowlandson British
Not on view
Twenty-four small figures on this sheet embody the roles of King, Queen, Lord Flutter, Lady Careless, Sir Timothy Spruce, Miss Busy, Lord Zealous, Lady Flutter, Jemmy Dazzle, Miss Sparkle, Sir Simon Solid, Mr. Nimble, Dolly Diligent, Lady Peaceable, Captain Dash, Lady Lydia Blaze, Giles Diligent, Priscilla Prudent, Sir Peter Puff, Lady Racket; Major Matchless, Mrs. Friendly, Sir Charles Worthy, Miss Gadabout.
Once cut into cards, Regency era party-goers could draw these figures out of a hat, then perfom the characters–a host might also send such cards to guests in advance to allow them to prepare suitable costumes. Festivities on January 6th, which is also known as Three Kings' Day or the Feast of the Epiphany, concluded the Christmas season and often included games that disrupted the normal social order; a servant, for example, might be elevated to monarch of the feast. Specially decorated cakes were enjoyed and examples appear here next to the king and queen.
Rowlandson's figures have no obvious connection to Shakespeare's "Twelfth Night." Scholars do, however, posit that that play may have first been performed at the end of the Christmas season, and note how the the dramatic shifts of fortune, costume and gender that occur in the plot echo Tudor Twelfth Night revels.
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