Twelfth Night has been described as one of the saddest of Shakespeare's Comedies. Disscuss.

There is no doubt that the ending of this play is very convenient and works out happily for the main characters, with them all falling quite naturally into couples - even the potential disaster of the twins' confused relationships is simply resolved. It could in fact be said that the play moves from a potentially tragic situation created by the shipwreck and two women mourning supposedly dead brothers, to the joyous realm of a romantic …

…to find love and happiness - and perhaps Shakespeare was trying to present the idea that for every happy relationship there are going to be those who are denied the one they love. However, this only makes a comedy sad if these characters are presented to the audience in a way that makes us sympathetic to their situation, as is demonstrated in "Twelfth Night" with the characters of Antonio, Sir Andrew and perhaps even Malvolio.