There's plenty of humor in the play but at the same time Twelfth Night addresses complex controversial issues – like sex, gender, love, social ambition and mental instability. It just does so using humour, which can be the most effective way to address a heavy topic.

The element of the improbable or supernatural can mean magic and fairies in some Shakespearean comedies. In Twelfth Night, the miraculous is demonstrated right from the beginning when Viola and Sebastian both survive the shipwreck and end up on the same island. Big coincidence!

There is also the fact that Viola is able to convince everyone she is a man for most of the play. Mistaken identities often occur

Because there are multiple strands of action competing for our attention, we never get too deeply involved. It is easier to laugh when you are not too deeply invested.

Instead we are intellectually alert and uncommitted, able to compare and contrast different experiences.