One of the most intriguing aspects of As You Please by William Shakespeare concerns the question of gender. This issue generates a lot of interest and discussion due to its complexity. The main reason for such concern in the play is cross-dressing and role-playing. The central love interest between Rosalind and Orlando challenges conservative wisdom about men and women and their gender roles. It also challenges our presumptions about these roles in courtship, love, and relationships. At the center of this courtship is a very complex ambiguity, difficult to fully appreciate without a production to compare with. Here we have a man, playing the role of a woman, who has disguised himself as a man and pretends to be a woman, who then courts Orlando. This is a fairly complex list of roles. In modern times, even if a young male actor did not play the role of Rosalind, the theatrical irony remains far beyond the complexity of most plays. This theatrical irony is particularly relevant in act four, scene one. In this scene, Orlando and Rosalind/Ganymede are on stage together. Rosalind, dressed as Ganymede, meets Jaques for the first time. He explains that he prefers to be moody and gloomy because he has seen the world, and his reflections on what he has seen and experienced make him sad. Rosalind tells him that she prefers a fool, who makes her happy to experience, which makes her sad. Orlando arrives and Rosalind says goodbye to Jaques. Orlando then approaches her and calls her Rosalind. She scolds him for being an hour late and then accuses him of not really being in love. Rosalind finally tells Orlando that she is in the right frame of mind and is in a good mood enough to woo her. He was in the middle of paper......to offer opinions and observations about them. It also makes us, as readers and viewers, think about true love and what it means. I found this piece to be incredibly interesting, insightful, and an overall wonderful text to read and analyze. Works cited by Gerlach, Jeanne, Rudolph Almasy and Rebecca Daniel. “Revisiting Shakespeare and Gender.” Revisiting Shakespeare and Gender. The National Council of Teachers of English Assembly of Women in Literature and Life, 1996. Web. April 23, 2014. Montrose, Louis A. “A Brother's Place” in As You Like It: Social Process and Comic Form. Shakespeare Quarterly 32.1 (1981): 28-54. Shakespeare, William and Juliet Dusinberre. As you like it. London: Arden Shakespeare, 2006. Print.Shakespeare, William. As you like it. The Norton Shakespeare: Essential Plays. Ed. Stephen Greenblatt et al. New York: WW Norton, 2009. Print.