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As You Like It, a la Shmoop. Being a bride isn't just about showing off

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the ring and receiving gifts with a gracious smile.

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Oh, no. The bride has to pull a wedding together in which everyone has fun, no one gets insulted,

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and the event stays at or under budget.

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And while the end result may be the most awesome celebration ever...

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...you may find yourself wondering if as much thought went into the newlywed couple's decision

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to marry as into the decision to have the bridesmaids wear tangerine-colored dresses.

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William Shakespeare put his thoughts about marriage into his comedic play, As You Like

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It.

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Rosalind and Celia are forced to flee from the usurper Frederick into the Forest of Arden.

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Because Rosalind is disguised as a boy, she has to fight off the attentions of another

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woman while continuing to engage the affection of the man she loves, Orlando.

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Everything turns out fine: everyone marries who they're supposed to and all the villains

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repent of their naughtiness.

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But...what does As You Like It really have to say about marriage?

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At first, it seems as if the play is all in favor of the practice.

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Rosalind and Orlando, Celia and Oliver, Phoebe and Silvius, and Audrey and Touchstone all

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get hitched in the end, presumably to live happily ever after...

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...although given how Shakespeare treats some of the characters in his other plays, that's

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never a safe bet. The problem is that love makes these characters

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act like...idiots.

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You have Rosalind, dressed as a guy, who tries to convince Orlando to let him/her take Rosalind's

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place so he/she and Orlando can act out the relationship Orlando would like to have with

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Rosalind. Awkward.

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You have the shepherdess Phoebe, who's fallen for Rosalind-dressed-as-a-guy, and you'd think

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Phoebe would sense something amiss there, but apparently not.

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You end up with a massive argument in which everyone fights over who's going to marry

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who.

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And let's not forget that As You Like It is rife with jokes about wives cheating on their

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husbands.

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Either Shakespeare was a bit one-note on his humor in this play, or he didn't think much

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of marriage. But maybe what Shakespeare really wants is

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for us to take an honest look at marriage and the person we're going to vow to love

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and cherish for the rest of our lives.

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There's a great deal of disguise and deceit in As You Like It; many of the characters

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are not who they present themselves to be.

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Today's dating world is very much like Shakespeare's play: people will say anything to get a hot

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date.

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Perhaps Shakespeare is encouraging us to truly get to know the people we're attracted to and to understand what

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making a lifelong commitment means so that...

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...if we decide to take that big step and spend thousands of dollars on a beach wedding in

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Cancun, we won't be regretting the expenditure six months later.

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So, what do you think Shakespeare was trying to say about marriage?

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Did he think that wedding vows were a waste of time?

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Or was he pro...putting a ring on it? Shmoop amongst yourselves.

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