shakespeare's very frequent references to paganistic gods and concepts, such as hymen bringing about the resolution of "as you like it", are not a reflection of his own belief but a necessary device to present deity on stage, where christian figures were, in contrast to the presentation of the mystery plays of earlier times, prohibited. some commonplace christian allusions, involving no physical manifestation of religion, in quarto editions of the history cycle were replaced with harmless references to pagan gods when the first folio appeared.