Changes of Heart

" 'Duke Frederick, hearing how that every day/ Men of great worth resorted to this forest,/ Address'd a mighty power; which were on foot,/ In his own conduct, purposely to take/ His brother here and put him to the sword./ And to the skirts of this wild wood he came;/ Where meeting with an old religious man,/ After some question with him, was converted/ Both from his enterprise and from the world/ His crown bequeathing  to his banish brother,' " V.iv. pg 78

This is just one example of the quick "changes of heart" that occur multiple times in the course of this play. The other most significant one is when Oliver decides to love his brother after Orlando saves him form a snake and a lion. These changes of heart are one of the greatest factors that make this play a satire rather than a legitimate example of romance. Rosalind in the epilogue implores the audience to appreciate the play as much as they desire, but to consider it carefully, which helps the audience understand that the love at first sight in the play was more of a joke than actual romance. Besides love at first sight, the quick changes of heart that Oliver and Duke Frederick experience are the closest examples of satire in the play. They make the fast paced action seem more satirical, which was Shakespeare's intent all along. The fact that the others characters accept the changed characters without question is even further testament. The ridiculously happy ending is the final addition that makes the play an official mockery of the chick flicks and paperback romances that must have existed in Shakespeare's time as well as our own.