As You Like It: Characters and Plot

Overview

• As You Like It is a pastoral comedy by William Shakespeare.
• It was likely written in 1599 and published in the First Folio in 1623.
• The play may have premiered at Wilton House in 1603.
• The play's main themes are love and escape.

Characters

• Old Sir Rowland (recently deceased).
• Duke Senior (exiled duke).
• Duke Frederick (usurping duke).
• Rosalind (romantic lead).
• Orlando (romantic lead).
• Jaques (melancholy traveler).
• Celia (Rosalind's cousin).
• Touchstone (court fool).
• Corin, Oliver, Adam, Audrey, William, Silvius, Phebe, Monsieur Le Beau, Lord Amiens, Charles the Wrestler, Hymen, and Sir Oliver Martex also appear.

Plot Summary

• Rosalind flees her uncle's court with her cousin Celia to the Forest of Arden, seeking safety and love.
• They encounter Jaques, who delivers the famous "All the world's a stage" speech.
• Rosalind disguises herself as Ganymede, and Celia as Aliena.
• Orlando, fleeing persecution from his brother, Oliver, also arrives in the forest and posts love poems for Rosalind.
• Rosalind, as Ganymede, meets Orlando and pretends to counsel him on love.
• Phebe falls in love with Ganymede, while Touchstone woos Audrey.
• Oliver repents after Orlando saves him from a lioness, and he falls in love with Aliena.
• The play concludes with four weddings: Orlando and Rosalind, Oliver and Celia, Silvius and Phebe, and Touchstone and Audrey.
• Frederick repents and restores the dukedom to Duke Senior.
• Jaques declines to return to court, choosing a religious life in the forest.

Setting

• The play begins in the court of Duke Frederick.
• Most of the action occurs in the Forest of Arden.
• The Forest of Arden is based on both the French Ardennes and the English Forest of Arden, including parts of Warwickshire, Shropshire, Staffordshire, West Midlands, and Worcestershire.

Sources and Composition

• The primary source is Thomas Lodge's Rosalynde, Euphues Golden Legacie.
• Rosalynde is based on "The Tale of Gamelyn".
• The play's composition is estimated to be between late 1598 and mid-1599.

Analysis and Criticism

• Critical reception has varied, with some finding the play of great merit and others considering it lesser than other Shakespearean works.
• George Bernard Shaw criticized the play's artistry, while Tolstoy objected to its immorality.
• Harold Bloom praised Rosalind as one of Shakespeare's best female characters.
• Gender reversals are a key focus for modern critics.
• Rosalind disguises herself as a man.
• The play challenges traditional gender roles, with Rosalind's character being both strong-willed and intelligent.

Themes

• Court life versus country life.
• Usurpation and injustice.
• Recovery of harmony through nature and forgiveness.
• Love in its various forms, including romantic love, parody of love, and love between women.
• Gender roles and identity.

Music and Language

• As You Like It has more songs than any other Shakespeare play.
• Notable songs include "Under the Greenwood Tree," "Blow, Blow, Thou Winter Wind," and "It Was a Lover and His Lass."
• Shakespeare uses prose for about 55% of the text, contrasting with the verse used by courtly characters.

Notable Monologues

• Jaques' "All the world's a stage" monologue presents a person's life as a play in seven acts.

Performance History

• A possible premiere occurred at Richmond Palace in 1599.
• Another possible early performance took place at Wilton House in 1603.
• Notable modern productions include the 1936 Old Vic production with Edith Evans and the 1961 Shakespeare Memorial Theatre production with Vanessa Redgrave.
• Katharine Hepburn starred in a long-running Broadway production in 1950.
• The Stratford Festival in 2005 set the play in the 1960s with music by the Barenaked Ladies.

Adaptations

• Laurence Olivier starred in a 1936 film adaptation.
• Helen Mirren starred in a 1978 BBC videotaped version.
• Kenneth Branagh directed a 2006 film adaptation set in 19th-century Japan.
• The Public Theater's Public Works program presented a musical adaptation in 2017.
• Bard on the Beach introduced a musical adaptation with songs by The Beatles in 2018.