There are many recurring themes in shakespeare's plays. in twelfth night, the character of viola disguises herself as a boy and then falls in love with the count orsino, the man she is serving. in romeo and juliet, juliet takes a sleeping potion the friar has given her to pretend she is dead. when romeo sees her lying apparently lifeless, he kills himself. what theme do these two plays have in common? love makes people miserable. love makes people do crazy things. never pretend that you are dead. things are not always what they appear.