As You Like It is one of the best romantic comedies of
Shakespeare. In a romantic comedy, romantic and comic elements are mingled. The
romantic elements delight and thrill, the comic elements make us laugh and
forget our anxieties. Emotions, imaginations and fancy are common phenomenon of
romantic comedy. As You Like It keeps us laughing most of the time, despite some
saddling incidents in it. The laughter is aroused in us by Rosalind, Celia, by
Touchstone, by Jaques.
There are some criteria of romantic comedy. They are
first sight love, influence of nature, supernatural elements, role of forest,
the romantic setting, happy ending and so on. In As You Like It, we see
the first sight love between Rosalind and Orlando. The central theme of this
play is love and marriage. This is the youthful love of Rosalind and Orlando.
In romantic play nature plays a vital role. Nature dominates the human life. In
As
You Like It, we see the forest of Arden. Gradually al the characters
come to the forest. Romantic comedy starts with love. There is a obstacle in
the middle and a happy ending. According to Shakespeare, the course of true
lover never did run smooth.
Jaques’ speech about the seven period of a man’s life shows
his cynical wit.
All the world’s a stage
And all the men and women merely players
They have their exists and their entrances