One of Shakespeare's early plays, As You Like It (1598-1599), is a stock romantic

comedy that was familiar to Elizabethan audiences as an exemplar of "Christian"

comedy. Although the play does include two offstage spiritual conversions, the
"Christian" designation does not refer to religion itself. Instead, it denotes the
restoration and regeneration of society through the affirmation of certain Christian
values such as brotherly love, marital union, tolerance for different viewpoints, and
optimism about life at large.

The plot is very simple: the resolution of the dramatic problem in the warped attitudes
of two evil brothers toward good brothers, and related obstacles to marriage for
several couples in the play (most notably Rosalind and Orlando) are easily overcome,
and a happy ending is never in doubt. On one level, the play was clearly intended by
Shakespeare as a simple, diverting amusement; several scenes in As You Like It are
essentially skits made up of songs and joking banter. But on a somewhat deeper level,
the play provides opportunities for its main characters to discuss a host of subjects
(love, aging, the natural world, and death) from their particular points of view. At its
center, As You Like It presents us with the respective worldviews of Jaques, a
chronically melancholy pessimist preoccupied with the negative aspects of life, and
Rosalind, the play's Christian heroine, who recognizes life's difficulties but holds fast
to a positive attitude that is kind, playful, and, above all, wise. In the end, the
enjoyment that we receive from the play's comedy is reinforced and validated by a
humanistic Christian philosophy gently woven into the text by a benevolent
Shakespeare.

As You Like It Summary

Orlando, youngest son of the late Sir Rowland de Boys, complains to Adam, an
elderly family servant, that his brother Oliver has unfairly withheld his late father's
inheritance and prevented him from being educated as a gentleman. Oliver enters and
a heated argument ensues. When Oliver learns that his brother plans to challenge
Charles, Duke Frederick's hulking wrestler, he plots with Charles to break his
brother's neck during the match.

The next day Duke Frederick, his daughter Celia, and his niece Rosalind witness the
competition. Charles has subdued his first three opponents, but Orlando manages to
defeat his adversary. Duke Frederick is infuriated when he learns the identity of
Orlando's father, in life his bitter enemy, but Rosalind is captivated by Orlando and
gives him a chain from her neck as a reward for his victory. Orlando is immediately
taken by her charm, yet he finds himself speechless to thank her.

Rosalind, daughter of the banished Duke Senior whom Frederick has usurped, tells
Celia that she has fallen in love with Orlando. Duke Frederick has allowed Rosalind
to remain at court because of her friendship with his daughter, but now he banishes
her, despite Celia's pleas to allow her to remain. Rosalind and Celia make plans to
join Rosalind's father in the Forest of Arden. They decide to travel in disguise,
Rosalind as Ganymede, a young man, and Celia as Aliena, a peasant girl. Touchstone,
Duke Frederick's court jester, agrees to accompany them