The variety of romantic relationships in Shakespeare's As You Like ItOne of the main concerns of man throughout the centuries has probably been to define the concept of love and to understand its complexities. which govern romantic relationships between people. William Shakespeare seems to have been fully aware of the necessity and value of love, since his work transcends time and place. Love is at the center of As You Like It. This comedy presents different attitudes towards love, which may arise from the conversations between its characters and the romantic attachments depicted in them. By comparing the different romantic relationships in the play, we can better appreciate important facts about the concept of love. Furthermore, love is also depicted as the force that rules over all kinds of human bonds other than romantic bonds, namely family and friendship bonds. The purpose of this article is to analyze the concept of love depicted in As You Like It and to explore the different varieties of romantic relationships between its characters. A reading of As You Like It can lead us to an understanding of the concept of love. as embodying different ideas, which could be observed through the characters in the play. These ideas, the richness of love, the truth of love, and the order of love, are expressed in the characters' perception of love and in the way they interact with each other. One of the interpretations attributed to the concept of love in this comedy, and often represented in Shakespeare's plays, is that of love as a kind of wealth, as a commercial enterprise in which men and women trade . In this light, the bond of battered lovers acquires a mercantilist value and can therefore be seen as a kind of contract...... middle of paper ...... described in Shakespeare's As You Like It, and to examine love relationships in him. Through careful observation of the characters' perceptions of love and how they engage in romantic relationships, we can conclude that the concept of love can be assigned different meanings, depending on individual and personal beliefs . Our conclusion can be derived from the different types of comic relationships: family, sexual, romantic and friendly. Works cited and consulted Howard, Jean E., “Intoduction to As You Like It”. The Norton Shakespeare ed. Stephen Greenblatt, et.al. New York: WW Norton & Company, 1997. Shakespeare, William. As you like it. The Norton Shakespeare. Ed. Stephen Greenblatt. New York: WW Norton Company, 1997. Sparknotes. As You Like It, by William Shakespeare. November 8, 2004 http://www.sparknotes.com/shakespeare/asyoulikeit/