Shakespeare's play Twelfth Night is a romantic comedy created through a complex circle of love crafted through deception, disguise, and pranks. The use of deception by the characters in the play creates many unintended and undesirable results. Through the art of deception, Shakespeare explores the ideas of deception and self-deception, which in turn creates comedic situations within the play. Many characters go through extremes to get what they want, which is the love they desire, by deceiving everyone and sometimes even deceiving themselves. The characters' use of deception illustrates how love can be a burden. be due to the fact that it is the source of their pain and suffering throughout the play. The element of love in the play also reveals homosexual ideas through the interaction of the characters and their reaction to certain events that occur. The motif of love as a burden is represented through the way the character reacts to love, as if it were more of a curse than a blessing; a feeling that attacks its victims in a sudden and disruptive way, but at the same time they are ready to do anything for their love. Throughout the play, various characters do ridiculous things to try to woo their love interest or to get their attention. Shakespeare uses disguise and deception as primary sources to examine patterns of love and courtship as well as gender and sexuality. There are many altercations due to the characters using disguises to trick each other; through the changing role of gender, disguise and deception of characters, Shakespeare explores gender and sexuality which ultimately results in conflict, confusion and cases of mistaken identity. T...... middle of paper ......e this is not the case. [...]My breast is full of goodnessANTONIO The sweetness of all the gods accompanies you!2.2.30-39It could also be argued that there are homosexual connotations in the love triangle of Olivia, Orsino and Viola (Cesario ). This is because Olivia seems to like Cesario's somewhat feminine aspects such as his "contempt [which] is beautiful in the scorn and anger of his lips" (3.2.142-143). However, it all ends heterosexually with Olivia's seemingly unquestioning acceptance of Sebastian when she is introduced to him as Viola's twin as well as Orsino's immediate acceptance of Viola, even after discovering that she was Cesario. “Twelfth Night.” The Norton Anthology of English Literature. Ninth ed. Flight. B. New York: WW Norton, 2012. 1189-250. Print. The 16th century and the beginning of the 17th century.