As You Like It

Shakespeare's romantic comedy 'As You Like It' sets up a number of dualities that are explored but never resolved, exposing the complex relationships that exist between romance and realism, nobleman and commoner, and male and female. This invaluable new study guide to one of Shakespeare's greatest comedies contains a selection of the finest criticism through the centuries on As You Like It, including commentaries by such important critics as Samuel Johnson, George Bernard Shaw, W. H. Auden, and many others. Students will also benefit from the additional features in this volume, including an introduction by Harold Bloom, an accessible summary of the plot, an analysis of several key passages, a comprehensive list of characters, a biography of Shakespeare, essays discussing the main currents of criticism in each century since Shakespeare's time, and more.

William Shakespeare (baptised 26 April 1564) was an English poet and playwright, widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's national poet and the 'Bard of Avon' (or simply "The Bard"). His surviving works consist of 37 plays, 154 sonnets, two long narrative poems, and several other poems. His plays have been translated into every major living language.

Shakespeare was born and raised in Stratford-upon-Avon. Scholars believe that he died on his fifty-second birthday, coinciding with St George’s Day. At the age of 18 he married Anne Hathaway, who bore him three children: Susanna, twins Hamnet and Judith. Between 1585 and 1592 he began a successful career in London as an actor, writer, and part owner of the playing company the Lord Chamberlain's Men, later known as the King's Men. He appears to have retired to Stratford around 1613, where he died three years later.

Shakespeare produced most of his known work between 1590 and 1613. His early plays were mainly comedies and histories, genres he raised to the peak of sophistication and artistry by the end of the sixteenth century. Next he wrote mainly tragedies until about 1608. He was a respected poet and playwright in his own day, but his reputation did not rise to its present heights until the nineteenth century. The Romantics, in particular, acclaimed Shakespeare's genius, and the Victorians hero-worshipped Shakespeare. In the twentieth century, his work was repeatedly adopted and rediscovered by new movements in scholarship and performance. His plays remain highly popular today and are consistently performed and reinterpreted in diverse cultural and political contexts throughout the world.

William Shakespeare’s As You Like It is one of his most charming and humane comedies. Written around the end of the sixteenth century, the play explores love, family, identity, exile, freedom, and the possibility of becoming a better person. Although it contains betrayal, injustice, and hardship, its overall spirit is playful and hopeful. Shakespeare places many of his characters in the Forest of Arden, far away from the restrictions of court life, and uses this natural world as a space where people can discover who they really are.

The story begins with a family divided by jealousy and resentment. Orlando, the youngest son of the late Sir Rowland de Boys, has been badly treated by his elder brother, Oliver. Although their father wanted all his sons to be properly educated, Oliver has denied Orlando an education and has kept him in a condition close to servitude. Orlando is angry about this unfair treatment and eventually challenges his brother.

At the same time, the court is also divided. Duke Frederick has taken power from his older brother, Duke Senior, and banished him from the court. Duke Senior has gone into exile in the Forest of Arden, where he lives with a group of loyal followers. There, surprisingly, he finds a simpler and more peaceful life than the one he had at court.

Duke Frederick’s daughter, Celia, remains at court with her close friend and cousin Rosalind, Duke Senior’s daughter. Rosalind has been allowed to stay because Celia loves her deeply. The two women have a friendship that is one of the emotional centers of the play.

When Orlando participates in a wrestling match against the powerful wrestler Charles, Rosalind becomes attracted to him. Orlando wins the contest, but he is still unhappy because of his brother’s treatment. Rosalind gives him a chain as a token of her affection, and Orlando immediately falls in love with her.

Their happiness is short-lived. Duke Frederick suddenly banishes Rosalind from the court because he fears that she is becoming too influential and because he associates her with her exiled father. Celia refuses to abandon Rosalind. The two women decide to escape together. For protection, Rosalind disguises herself as a young man named Ganymede, while Celia disguises herself as a poor shepherdess named Aliena. They are accompanied by the court fool, Touchstone.

The three eventually reach the Forest of Arden, where Duke Senior and his followers are living. The forest becomes a completely different world from the court. Here, social rank matters less, people live close to nature, and characters are able to escape the roles imposed upon them by society.

Orlando also has to flee to the forest. After discovering that his brother intends to have him killed, he escapes with the elderly servant Adam. Their journey is difficult, but they eventually reach Arden. Orlando is still deeply in love with Rosalind. Unable to speak to her directly, he begins hanging poems expressing his love for her on the trees throughout the forest.

Rosalind discovers these poems and realizes that Orlando is the author. Although she loves him too, she decides to test the sincerity of his feelings. Still disguised as Ganymede, she approaches Orlando and offers to help him “cure” his love by pretending that she is Rosalind. Orlando agrees to participate in this strange arrangement because he believes Ganymede can teach him how to behave as a lover.

This creates much of the play’s comedy. Orlando believes he is speaking to a young man, while the audience knows that Ganymede is actually Rosalind. Rosalind can therefore interact with the man she loves while remaining safely disguised. She teases him, challenges his romantic ideas, and asks him to behave as though Ganymede were Rosalind. In doing so, she learns more about Orlando’s character while also enjoying the freedom her disguise gives her.

The forest contains several other love stories. Silvius, a young shepherd, is hopelessly devoted to the shepherdess Phebe. Phebe, however, rejects Silvius and becomes attracted to Ganymede instead. This produces another comic complication because Phebe does not know that Ganymede is actually Rosalind.

Meanwhile, the courtship between Touchstone and Audrey provides a more earthy and humorous version of love. Touchstone is less idealistic than Orlando and frequently mocks the exaggerated language of romantic lovers. Through these different relationships, Shakespeare presents love in many forms: passionate, foolish, sincere, physical, idealistic, and sometimes painfully unbalanced.

Another important character is Jaques, one of Duke Senior’s followers. Jaques is thoughtful, melancholy, and often cynical. His famous speech beginning “All the world’s a stage” describes human life as a series of stages, from infancy to old age. Unlike the other characters, Jaques does not easily embrace the happiness and reconciliation taking place around him. He observes life with skepticism and prefers solitude and reflection.

The story becomes more serious when Oliver, Orlando’s older brother, enters the Forest of Arden. Orlando has saved Oliver from a dangerous encounter with a wild animal, despite the hatred that Oliver has shown him. This act of generosity transforms Oliver. He realizes how cruelly he has treated his brother and sincerely repents. Soon afterward, Oliver meets Celia and falls in love with her. His transformation is so complete that the brothers are finally reconciled.

Meanwhile, Rosalind’s complicated plan must eventually come to an end. Several relationships are waiting to be resolved: Orlando wants Rosalind, Phebe wants Ganymede, Silvius wants Phebe, and Oliver loves Celia. Rosalind finally reveals her true identity and promises that the tangled relationships will be settled.

The resolution comes when the god Hymen appears at the wedding celebration. Rosalind marries Orlando, Celia marries Oliver, Phebe agrees to marry Silvius, and Touchstone marries Audrey. The multiple marriages create a sense of harmony after all the confusion and misunderstanding.

There is also a final change in the political world. Duke Frederick, who had been determined to destroy his brother’s family, encounters a religious man while traveling toward the forest. He undergoes a sudden moral transformation, abandons his hostile plans, and restores Duke Senior to his rightful position. Duke Senior can therefore return to his former life, although the characters have been changed by their experiences in exile.

At the end, the different characters choose different futures. Most return to society and marriage, while Jaques decides to remain in the forest because he prefers contemplation to celebration. His choice reminds us that Shakespeare does not force every character into the same idea of happiness.

At its heart, As You Like It is a play about discovering freedom through temporary escape. The Forest of Arden allows people to step outside their ordinary identities. Rosalind becomes Ganymede, Orlando becomes a more thoughtful lover, Oliver becomes a kinder brother, and Duke Senior discovers dignity outside the court.

Rosalind is the emotional and intellectual heart of the play. Her disguise does more than create comedy: it gives her the freedom to speak openly, test Orlando, and control her own romantic destiny. Through her, Shakespeare suggests that identity is not always fixed. People can change when circumstances give them the freedom to see themselves differently.

Ultimately, As You Like It celebrates love, forgiveness, friendship, and renewal. It does not pretend that life is free from injustice or disappointment. Instead, it suggests that people can grow through hardship and that leaving familiar surroundings can sometimes help them understand what truly matters. The Forest of Arden is therefore more than a setting—it is a place of transformation, where wounded people find themselves again and return to the world with greater wisdom, generosity, and hope.