Some critics maintain that Twelfth Night is a pure comedy and that there are no real themes of consequence. It is a comedy; we are supposed to laugh, enjoy, go home and get a good trouble-free sleep. Perhaps, but I think Shakespeare always wanted to say something to his audience as well as entertain the crowds. Love in Shakespeare's mind represents the irrational impulses that humans possess. When Shakespeare talks about love he is referring to that part of the human psyche not subject to reason. Some students refer to Shakespeare's plays as Renaissance Soap Operas, but I think that misses some big points. Soap Operas overly dramatize the tension in human relationships. They often represent people making emotional decisions based on the pretext of reasonable choices. Shakespeare says reason never enters into it, and if you think it does, you are terribly misguided. To make his point he has people falling in and out of love for no reasons we can see. This is certainly the case in Twelfth Night, where Orsino's affections are quickly transferred to Viola as soon as he finds out she is a woman. Is this what a sound marriage is based upon? And none of these people go for pre-nuptial counseling! Even the priest does not recommend it for Olivia and Sebastian. Shakespeare seems to say that people will do it if it feel right and sort out the practicalities later.

Religion does figure into this play. When Henry VIII reformed the English Church nearly 70 years before Twelfth Night was written, he did not dramatically change the church as it was presented to the average person. That is to say, the ceremonial aspect of the Church was only slightly altered. Henry tried to get rid of the monks and nuns (or at least their lands), he got rid of what was referred to as saint worshiping, and most importantly, he separated from the Pope. ...