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Twelfth Night's full title is Twelfth Night, or What You Will; Subtitles for plays were fashionable in the Elizabethan period. "Twelfth Night" is a reference to the twelfth night after Christmas Day which was called the Feast of Epiphany. It was originally a Catholic holiday, but prior to Shakespeare's play, the day had become a day of revelry. Servants often dressed up as their masters, men like women, and so forth. This is an important basis for the shenanigans of the play.
The play was probably finished between 1600 and 1601. The name of its male lead, Orsino, was likely suggested by Orsini, Duke of Bracciano, an Italian nobleman who visited London in the winter of 1600 to 1601.
The play was not printed until its inclusion in the First Folio in 1623.