As You Like It
The most expansive and philosophically rich of Shakespeare's pastoral comedies, As You Like It sends its characters into the Forest of Arden where they play out debates about love, nature, time, and the good life — while the incomparable Rosalind, disguised as a boy, orchestrates the play's resolution.
At a Glance
- Genre: Comedy (Pastoral)
- Approximate date: c. 1599–1600
- Setting: Duke Frederick's court and the Forest of Arden
- Source: Thomas Lodge's prose romance Rosalynde (1590)
- Acts: 5
Dramatis Personæ
| Character | Description |
|---|---|
| ORLANDO | Youngest son of Sir Rowland de Boys; falls in love with Rosalind |
| OLIVER | Orlando's eldest brother; cruel; later converted |
| JAQUES DE BOYS | Middle brother; brings good news at the end |
| ADAM | Orlando's old faithful servant |
| DENNIS | Servant to Oliver |
| DUKE SENIOR (FERDINAND) | Rightful duke; living in exile in Arden |
| ROSALIND | Duke Senior's daughter; the play's magnificent center; disguises as Ganymede |
| CELIA | Duke Frederick's daughter; Rosalind's devoted cousin |
| TOUCHSTONE | Court fool; witty commentator; woos Audrey |
| DUKE FREDERICK | Usurper; Celia's father; banished Rosalind |
| JAQUES | Melancholy lord attending Duke Senior; famous for the "seven ages" speech |
| AMIENS | Lord attending Duke Senior; sings |
| CHARLES | Duke Frederick's wrestler; defeated by Orlando |
| LE BEAU | Courtier attending Duke Frederick |
| CORIN | Old shepherd; philosophical |
| SILVIUS | Young shepherd; hopelessly in love with Phoebe |
| PHOEBE | Shepherdess; scorns Silvius; falls for Ganymede (Rosalind) |
| AUDREY | Country wench; marries Touchstone |
| WILLIAM | Country fellow in love with Audrey |
| SIR OLIVER MARTEXT | Vicar; performs (nearly) Touchstone and Audrey's wedding |
| A PERSON REPRESENTING HYMEN | God of weddings; appears at the end |
Plot Summary
Act I: Orlando is treated as a servant by his brother Oliver. Rosalind, daughter of the banished Duke Senior, lives at Duke Frederick's court with her cousin Celia. Orlando defeats Charles the wrestler against all odds; he and Rosalind fall in love at first sight. Duke Frederick banishes Rosalind. Celia resolves to go with her; they take Touchstone and depart. Rosalind disguises as a young man named Ganymede; Celia as his sister Aliena.
Act II: In the Forest of Arden, Duke Senior and his lords live a pastoral life, philosophizing about nature and adversity. The melancholy Jaques provides ironic commentary. Orlando arrives with the aged Adam, both exhausted; Duke Senior feeds them. Jaques gives the famous "All the world's a stage" speech on the seven ages of man.
Act III: Orlando carves love poems to Rosalind on the trees. Rosalind (as Ganymede) offers to "cure" Orlando of love by pretending to be Rosalind and acting out the impossible demands of a real woman. Orlando agrees to the game. Touchstone prepares to marry Audrey. Silvius woos Phoebe; Phoebe falls in love with Ganymede instead.
Act IV: The "courtship" game continues; Orlando and Ganymede/Rosalind explore every aspect of love's idealism and disappointment. Orlando is late for one appointment, saying he was wounded — Rosalind briefly faints. Phoebe writes a letter of love to Ganymede; Silvius delivers it unwittingly.
Act V: Oliver arrives, reformed: Orlando saved his life from a lioness. Oliver and Celia fall in love. Rosalind promises to produce the real Rosalind. Hymen appears and unites all four couples (Rosalind/Orlando, Celia/Oliver, Phoebe/Silvius, Audrey/Touchstone). News arrives that Duke Frederick, marching on Arden to destroy his brother, has converted on meeting a hermit; he restores the dukedom. Jaques, alone, refuses to return to court.
Key Themes
- Nature vs. court — Arden is a refuge from political corruption, but it's also idealized; the play maintains ironic distance
- The nature of love — the play examines romantic love from every angle, comic and serious
- Performance and identity — Rosalind plays Ganymede playing Rosalind; the layers of role-playing are the play's richest resource
- Melancholy — Jaques's philosophical disenchantment contrasts with the play's general festivity
Notable Quotations
"All the world's a stage, / And all the men and women merely players." *(Jaques, II.vii)*
"O, how bitter a thing it is to look into happiness through another man's eyes!" *(Orlando, V.ii)*
"Do you not know I am a woman? When I think, I must speak." *(Rosalind, III.ii)*
LibriVox Recording
As You Like It audiobook on LibriVox — Free public domain recording. (Multiple versions available)
Cross-references
- Comedies — genre context
- Twelfth Night — Viola's male disguise echoes Rosalind's; both use the "play-within" of the disguise to explore love
- A Midsummer Night's Dream — pastoral and natural settings as comic space
- The Winter's Tale — pastoral retreat and return in the romances