Original: Madam, you have done me wrong,
Modern: My lady, you have wronged me,

Original: Notorious wrong.
Modern: Terribly wronged me.

Original: Lady, you have. Pray you, peruse that letter.
Modern: My lady, you have. Please, look at that letter.

Original: You must not now deny it is your hand:
Modern: You cannot deny that it’s your handwriting:

Original: Write from it, if you can, in hand or phrase;
Modern: Try to write differently from it, if you can, in handwriting or words;

Original: Or say ‘tis not your seal, nor your invention:
Modern: Or say it’s not your seal, or your idea:

Original: You can say none of this: well, grant it then
Modern: You can’t claim any of this: well, then admit it

Original: And tell me, in the modesty of honour,
Modern: And tell me, with honest decency,

Original: Why you have given me such clear lights of favour,
Modern: Why you gave me such obvious signs of your love,

Original: Bade me come smiling and cross-garter’d to you,
Modern: Told me to come to you smiling and wearing cross-gartered stockings,

Original: To put on yellow stockings and to frown
Modern: To wear yellow stockings and to scowl

Original: Upon Sir Toby and the lighter people;
Modern: At Sir Toby and the frivolous people;

Original: And, acting this in an obedient hope,
Modern: And, doing all this in hopeful obedience,

Original: Why have you suffer’d me to be imprison’d,
Modern: Why did you allow me to be locked up,

Original: Kept in a dark house, visited by the priest,
Modern: Kept in a dark room, with a priest coming to see me,

Original: And made the most notorious geck and gull
Modern: And made the most famous fool and victim

Original: That e’er invention play’d on? tell me why.
Modern: That any trick was ever played on? Tell me why.

Act V, Scene i of Twelfth Night, Or What You Will takes place before Olivia’s house, and serves as the play’s final scene, in which all of the play’s tangled mistaken identities and romantic confusions are brought to resolution. Duke Orsino arrives with Viola (still disguised as Cesario) and encounters Feste and Fabian, followed shortly by Antonio, who is brought in under arrest. Antonio tells Orsino that he rescued Sebastian from the sea and that he has been betrayed by the very youth he befriended — referring to Viola, whom he mistakes for Sebastian. Orsino recognizes Antonio as a known enemy of Illyria, and as the men debate, Olivia enters and declares her love for Cesario, whom she believes to be her new husband. When Orsino, stung by Olivia’s apparent rejection of him, threatens to harm Cesario out of spite, Viola declares her willingness to die for the Duke, professing her deep devotion to him.

The scene reaches its peak of confusion when Sir Andrew and Sir Toby enter, having been wounded in a fight they believed was with Cesario. Shortly after, Sebastian himself arrives, and the sight of two identical figures — Sebastian and Viola standing together — causes astonishment among all present. Sebastian and Viola recognize each other and confirm their identities, revealing that Viola is in fact a woman who has been disguised as a man throughout the play. With the confusion of identity resolved, Orsino turns his affections toward Viola, proposing to her, while Sebastian and Olivia are confirmed as husband and wife. Malvolio is released from his confinement and confronts Olivia with the letter he believed she had written, learning that Maria and Toby were behind the prank. Malvolio departs in anger, vowing revenge, while Orsino sends after him in hopes of reconciliation, and the remaining characters celebrate the happy resolutions as Feste closes the scene with his final song.

Twelfth Night, Or What You Will opens with Viola and her twin brother Sebastian being separated in a shipwreck off the coast of Illyria. Believing Sebastian to be dead, Viola disguises herself as a young man named Cesario and enters the service of Duke Orsino, who is desperately in love with the Countess Olivia. Olivia, however, is in mourning for her dead brother and refuses to receive Orsino’s advances. When Orsino sends Cesario (Viola) to woo Olivia on his behalf, Olivia instead falls in love with the disguised messenger.

Meanwhile, in Olivia’s household, her uncle Sir Toby Belch lives as a disruptive houseguest alongside his drinking companion Sir Andrew Aguecheek, who foolishly hopes to win Olivia’s hand. Olivia’s clever waiting-woman Maria, the witty Fool Feste, and these two knights conspire against Malvolio, Olivia’s pompous steward. They forge a letter supposedly from Olivia declaring her love for Malvolio and instructing him to wear yellow stockings, cross-gartered, and to smile constantly. Malvolio follows these instructions, leading Olivia to believe he has gone mad.

The confusion deepens when Sebastian, who has survived the shipwreck and arrived in Illyria with the sea captain Antonio, is mistaken for Cesario by various characters. Sir Andrew challenges Cesario to a duel, but when Antonio intervenes believing Sebastian to be Viola, he is arrested by officers who recognize him as a wanted man. The climax occurs when Sebastian encounters Olivia, who mistakes him for Cesario and persuades him to marry her immediately.

All confusions are resolved when Viola and Sebastian are finally reunited, revealing their true identities. Orsino, realizing that Viola loves him, proposes marriage to her. Sebastian and Olivia remain married despite the mistaken identity that led to their union. Malvolio is released from imprisonment but storms off angrily when the trick played on him is revealed, while the other characters celebrate the multiple unions and the restoration of order.