As You Like It was written in this year, just after Much Ado About Nothing, Henry V, and Julius Caesar, and just before the writing of Hamlet in 1600. Unlike many of Shakespeare's plays, As You Like It seems to contain few references to the world outside the theatre; unlike the political history Shakespeare reworked in his "history plays," or the commentaries on kingship and power that pervade his tragedies, Shakespeare's comedy plays generally seem to be light-hearted works, meant to entertain and amuse, but not to provoke thought about anything more politically sensitive than the n...

• Word Count: 1477
• Approx Pages: 6
• Grade Level: High School

Magic and supernatural beings occur in one-forth of Shakespeare-s comedies, 60% of his plays, and 60% of his tragedies (Hoffman67). ... In addition, magic cures are given in All's Well, evil curses are chanted in Richard III, and prophecies are told in Julius Caesar. ... Dameron describes it as a "revelation of the changing and darkening attitude toward the supernatural- and "a heavy tragedy- that foreshadow the gloom of Macbeth (97). ...

• Word Count: 1725
• Approx Pages: 7
• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: High School