As You Like It geographical details are irrelevant. The Arden edition of Shakespeare makes the suggestion that the name "Arden" comes from a combination of the classical region of Arcadia and the biblical garden of Eden, as there is a strong interplay of classical and Christian belief systems and philosophies within the play. Arden was also the maiden name of Shakespeare's mother and her family home is located within the Forest of Arden. Love is the central theme of "As You Like It", like other romantic comedies of Shakespeare. Following the tradition of a romantic comedy, "As You Like It" is a tale of
As You Like It Ayres", published in London in 1600 contains a musical setting for the song "It was a lover and his lass" from "As You Like It". This evidence implies that the play was in existence in some shape or other before 1600. It seems likely this play was written after 1598, since Francis Meres did not mention it in his "Palladis Tamia". Although twelve plays are listed in "Palladis Tamia", it was an incomplete inventory of Shakespeare's plays to that date (1598). The new Globe Theatre opened some time in the summer of 1599, and tradition has it that the new