Romantic and Realistic Love in Shakespeare's 'As You Like It'

Essay from the year 2013 in the subject English Language and Literature Studies - Literature, grade: 1,0, University of Paderborn, language: English, abstract: As typical for romantic comedy, the central theme in William Shakespeare's 'As You Like It' is love in its various forms. In total, there are four conventional couples (Rosalind & Or-lando, Celia & Oliver, Phebe & Silvius, Audrey & Touchstone) and one rejected country fellow (William). Nevertheless, the forms of love differ between those couples. Most of the relationships in 'As You Like It' are based on the principle of love at first sight, implying an abrupt and overwhelming falling in love; this can be seen with Rosalind and Orlando right at the beginning of the comedy as well as with Celia and Oliver later in the play, although in the case of the latter the audience does not know at what point of the plot they actually fell in love with each other. An overwhelming romantic, however, is also experienced by Silvius, but his beloved Phebe dismisses him because she believes his love to be a fantasy, mocking thus the principle of love at first sight as well as the impulsive love expressions.