Twelfth Night is one of the masterpieces of William Shakespeare. This gender confused romance has always been regarded as a comedy. The story starts when a pair of twins which look very much alike was separated by a shipwreck. The sister in the twins, Viola, disguised as a eunuch to serve the duke, Orsino, in order to survive. The story further develops when Viola found herself in love with the passionate Duke while his dream girl, Olivia, is attracted to the boy Viola disguises. The story ends when the real identities were exposed. Viola married Orsino and Olivia found her love in Viola's twin brother, Sebastian. The story is a perfect comedy with a happy ending. But throughout the play, the writer deliberately twisted some tragic elements, or incidents, into comic ones.
             There are many refused love in the play. First, the sentimental Duke Orsino sent his messengers to the beautiful countess, Olivia to declare his love. But Olivia can't help falling in love with the handsome eunuch that Viola disguises while Viola is deeply in love with Orsino. The greedy steward of Olivia, Malvolio has been longing for his mistress's love and the vague feelings of Antonio to Sebastian are also examples of one-side love. Reasonably, we would think such a hopeless relationship would be sour and bitter, which, if not tragic, must be sad. But as Shakespeare develops the plot, these incidents happened gradually into happy ones. When Sebastian, the twin brother of Viola, shows up, the situation was cleared and Viola is able to regain her female identity. Everyone in the play eventually find their true love. Other than the development of plot, the insertion of comic relief also lightens the originally tragic parts. Somehow, the readers are more attracted to the pranks and jokes set up by Sir Toby, Fabian and Maria. Further, the wise fool, Feste's encounter with different characters dilutes the tragic atmosphere. The refused love, which ...