The country versus the court
This is the play's central opposition - life at the court of the tyrannical Frederick is corrupt, dangerous and restrictive, while life in the Forest of Arden seems simple and free. As they are about to depart for the forest, Celia remarks, "Now go we in content/ To liberty, and not to banishment" (I.3.135-6).
But to a certain extent life in the forest is idealised. Charles the wrestler does much to create this mood when he tells Oliver of Duke Senior's condition:
"They say he is already in the Forest of Arden, and
Many merry men with him; and there they live like the
Old Robin Hood of England: they say many young
Gentlemen flock to him everyday, and fleet the time
Carelessly as they did in the golden world." (I.1.108-12)
The Duke's speech at the beginning of Act II as the scene shifts to the forest for the first time draws explicit contrast between forest life and "the painted pomp" of "the envious court" (II.1.4). But the picture he paints contains its own hardships - he feels the winter's cold in contrast to the warmth of courtly comfort and flattery. But the speech ends on an ideal note as the Duke "Finds tongues in trees, books in the running brooks,/ Sermons in stones, and good in everything" (II.1.16-17). Later, the song "Under the greenwood tree" (II.5.1) praises the natural life free from ambition.
Immediately following the Duke' speech comes the account of Jacques' lament for the sobbing deer in which he accuses the Duke and his followers of being usurpers in the forest (II.1.27). Jacques parodies "Under the greenwood tree" in which he mocks the folly of anyone who leaves "his wealth and ease,/ A stubborn will to please" (II.4.14). Touchstone, too, is unhappy in the forest, remarking "When I was at home, I was in a better place" (II.4.14). His debate with Corin compares the merits of this shepherd's life with the life the clown has left behind:
"In respect that it is solitary, I like it very well; but in respect that it is private it is a very vile life. Now in respect that it is in the fields, it pleaseth me well; but in respect it is not in court, it is tedious" (III.2.15-17).
He doesn't completely outwit Corin, but amid the absurdity Shakespeare allows him to make some telling points.
The various viewpoints on the debate make for an ambiguous conclusion. Therefore, it's no surprise at the end of the play, in spite of their avowal never to leave the forest, Duke Senior and his comrades immediately return to court as soon as the opportunity arises. But, given the ridicule heaped upon courtly wooing and the general movement of the play towards a mode of expression less affected and more natural than the traditional modes, the balance is weighted in favour of the natural rural life. The setting of As You Like It in the Forest of Arden certainly offers an indirect critique of the supposedly more civilised life at court.
Romantic love
The harmonious ending celebrating the numerous marriages upholds the values of romantic love as defined in Shakespeare's source, Lodge's Rosalynde or Euphes' Golden Legacy. But through the devise of disguise many of these features are mocked and ridiculed - the postures of the courtly wooer for instance being undercut when Orlando's verses are satirised. The disguised Rosalind mocks these affectations and tells Orlando that he is too smartly dressed and controlled in demeanour to be taken seriously as a man in love (III.2). Her 'cure' for love-madness is to present him with an unflattering picture of women (III.2.391-9) that quells his romantic enthusiasm. Though he rejects this cure, it does inject a note of realism into the proceedings, further reinforced when, in response to his avowal of eternal love, she bids him:
"Say 'a day' without the 'ever'. No no, Orlando, men
Are April when they woo, December when they wed;
Maids are May when they are maids, but the sky
Changes when they are wives." (IV.1.135-8)
His over-extravagant opinion that if reject he will die (IV.1.84) is also revealed to be an illusion. Parallel to this is the mockery of the old-style pastoral love as represented by Phebe and Silvius. Like Orlando, Phebe is schooled by Rosalind to accept reality.
In further contrast is the unromantic marriage of Touchstone (who is marrying for sex) and Audrey (who is marrying for respectability).
But despite all the mockery, Rosalind's love for Orlando is shown to be sincere. We believe her when she proclaims to Celia:
"O coz, coz, coz, my pretty little coz, that thou didst
Know how many fathom deep I am in love! But it
Cannot be sounded: my affection hath an unknown
Bottom, like the Bay of Portugal" (IV.1.190-3)
The notion of romantic love is therefore endorsed without illusion.
Built into the structure of the play is also a critique of the basic assumptions of the romantic genre upon which it depends. However, As You Like It simultaneously upholds these illusions, even offering alternatives, even that of Jacques (ie not the marrying kind). These different perspectives serve to pre-empt and channel the audience's scepticism so that the ending can be enjoyed by the romantic and the unromantic, the idealistic and the cynical, who can take the play and its romantic theme as they like it.