As You Like It - Comedy

"As You Like It" is a comedy because no one dies at the end of the play like in Othello.  Instead, there is a happy ending, and good rules over evil.  It is primarily romantic because most of the main characters are in love or want to get married by the end of the play.  The audience does not really experience any drama as they just watch it take place on stage.  There are not very many moments, if any, that make the audience feel any sort of emotion in this particular play.  One instance in the play where there is no emotion displayed, just a retelling of the story, is in Act I, scene i.  On page three, Charles says, "the old duke banished by his brother the old duke, and three of four loving lords" (I.i.pg 3)  Shakespeare could have portrayed this banishment taking place, and the audience could have had sympathy for Duke Senior.  Instead, he has a character explain the event to make the audience feel less emotion.  I like to relate to the characters I read about and feel their emotions, but Shakespeare did not allow me to do that in this play.