As You Like It (William Shakespeare)

 Introduction:

“As You Like It” by William Shakespeare is a pastoral comedy with major themes of love, gender, sexuality, and injustice. Duke Frederick usurps the dukedom from his brother, the rightful Duke Senior, and banishes him. Several of the characters seek refuge in the Forest of Arden where they learn of love and forgiveness in nature.

Plot:

Orlando and Oliver are brothers who are fighting bitterly over their inheritance. Oliver is the older brother so after the death of their father, he assumes control of the wealth and the household. Oliver convinces Charles who is Duke Frederick’s champion wrestler that Orlando is unworthy, setting Charles up to badly hurt or kill Orlando in their match.

Meanwhile, in the Forest of Arden, Duke Senior has fled there to escape his brother Duke Frederick, who usurped the throne. His daughter Rosalind is still allowed at Frederick’s court because she is best friends with his daughter Celia. Rosalind confesses her attraction to Orlando after the match. Frederick returns after the match and accuses Rosalind of conspiring against him for her father, and throws her out of court. Celia and Rosalind decide to move to Arden together in disguise: Celia is “Aliena” and Rosalind is a man named “Ganymede” They also bring Frederick’s jester Touchstone with them. They purchase a cottage with some sheep and settle down to a quiet life. They befriend a shepherd named Silvius who is in love with a woman named Phoebe. At the same time, Orlando learns of a plot against his life by his brother Oliver, so he and Adam also set out to live in Arden.

Frederick is furious at his daughter’s departure, so he orders Oliver to find Orlando Orlando runs into Ganymede one day and confesses he is lovesick over a girl named Rosalind, not realizing that Rosalind is Ganymede in guise. She pledges to help him get over his lovesickness if he comes to woo her each morning. Ganymede runs into Oliver, who reveals that Orlando saved him from a poisonous snake and a lioness. Meanwhile, Oliver and Aliena stumble across each other and fall in love instantly, and Touchstone falls for a goat herder named Audrey. Later, Rosalind, still disguised as Ganymede, secures a promise from Phoebe that she will marry Silvius. She also gets Duke Frederick to agree that his daughter could marry Oliver if she were around to do so. The two girls take off their disguises, and the four couples: Orlando and Rosalind, Celia and Oliver, Silvius and Phoebe, and Touchstone and Audrey, wed in the end. Frederick announces that on his way to attack Duke Senior, he met a holy man that made him reevaluate his life. He puts down his arms against his brother and returns the throne to him.

Themes:

Gender Fluidity

In “As You Like It” a woman disguises herself as a man in order to keep herself safe and manipulate those around her: when Rosalind retreats into the forest, she becomes Ganymede, and gets closer to Orlando through her use of disguise. This cross-dressing suggests that gender is fluid

Love

As with most Shakespearean comedies, a central theme of “ As You Like It” is love and desire. The play presents a number of romantic pursuits throughout its five acts, culminating with four marriages at the very end. Furthermore, Phoebe, for instance, marries Silvius simply because she has promised to do so, suggesting that their relationship is born of duty rather than emotional connection.

Foolishness

The play's often ironic representation of love reveals its deeper investment in the nature of foolishness and folly. Many characters are presented as absurd or ridiculous, including Orlando and his Petrarchan conception of courting. Notably, the character who speaks most wisely about this foolish behavior is Touchstone. 

Change and Transformation

“As You Like It” appears to have some sort of transformative power over the characters. When characters enter the Forest of Arden, they experience major changes – some physical, like the transformation of Rosalind into Ganymede, and others psychological, like Lover and Duke Frederick, who dispel with their malicious behavior.

Family and Inheritance

“As You Like It” features two notable representations of sibling relationships: the first is between Orlando and his oldest brother, Oliver, and the second between Duke Frederick and Duke Senor. In fact, the only "healthy" familial relationship that seems to exist in the play is between cousins Rosalind and Celia.

Conclusion:

“As You Like It” is a romantic comedy in its treatment of some sweet songs that add special charm and melodious atmosphere in the play. A romantic comedy is a play in which the romantic elements are mingled with comic elements. Thus, Love is a central theme in “As You Like It”. Throughout the play, several types of love are experienced, including love at first sight between Orlando and Rosalind, Phoebe and Ganymede, and Oliver and Celia.