Romantic Tradition and Shakespeare (with special reference to 'As You Like It')

The play ‘As You Like It’ was adapted from a romance in prose called ‘Rosalynde’ by Thomas Lodge. The play was in the romance tradition and at the same departure from it.
Disguise and mistaken identity were also the techniques that Shakespeare borrowed from the romantic literature. These techniques brought confusion in their wake and also resulted in humourous situations. They also enabled Shakespeare to focus attention on the theme that in this world appearances are often deceptive.
Shakespearean comedy owes the concept of poetic justice to romance literature. Everything according to the satisfaction of everyone --- well-rounded conclusions with only an occasional dissatisfied human being left as if to suggest that life doesn’t lend itself to such cut and dried solutions and cannot be seen in water-tight compartments. For example, Malvalio in ‘Twelfth Night’, Jaques in ‘As You Like It’.

The individual additions made by Shakespeare:

INTRODUCTION OF SUB-PLOT
The sub-plot was introduced to bring down the play to the level of the watching public, to make the audience realize that life is not sailing on clouds and that it has harsher sides too and to give the impression that it is both high and low which make up this world.

ELEMENT OF HUMOUR
The element of humour through situational comedy has been reduced by Shakespeare in his plays. The Fool is more of a philosopher or a word-player.

LANGUAGE
In romantic literature the poetry was a little contrived, artificial and in matters of love quite unrealistic. In Shakespeare such a language is beginning to disappear though in the verses of Orlando such romantic liturgy is visible. However, Shakespeare consciously and deliberately – through Rosalind and Touchstone – makes fun of such verses and aims to cure the watching public of such unworldly flights of fancy.