Throughout fairy tales, there are quite a few popular terms and phrases that pop into mind. Popular examples would include “Once Upon a Time,” or “Happily Ever After,” but none of these terms are as meaningful or as powerful as the phrase “As You Wish,” spoken by Westley in the 1987 movie The Princess Bride. It means a true and loyal love, to which there are no boundaries on the actions one would make to keep their love happy. In the story of The Princess Bride, Westley uses this term to say I love you to buttercup. The definition of this phrase is shaped by Westley’s undying love and desire to make buttercup happy, his devotion and loyalty to her, and our everyday use of this term in examples such as Star Wars. Throughout the history of fairy tales, the idea of a wish has been necessary to many plot lines. A wish represents something magical and uncommon that can change a person’s life. It is seen time and time again in fairy tales such as Aladdin, …show more content…
In Star Wars, Boba Fett answers “As You Wish” to the Empire’s commands, while this may not be a fairy tale story, it demonstrates the use of the phrase in other contexts. Boba Fett didn’t mean I love you when using this term, but instead meant that he would go above and beyond to meet the Empire’s wishes, which is similar to how Westley would go to any lengths in order to fulfill buttercup’s wishes. The similarities when using this term help to give it a more concrete definition of going to any extent in order to satisfy someone’s demands. In our everyday use of “As You Wish,” we use this term to be analogous to the term whatever you desire. A more detailed version would be no limit to the lengths one would go to complete the request given. When this definition is applied to fairy tales, it needs to be given a more romantic definition, hence the term being used to describe the extent to which someone would go to make their love