As You Like It An experimental comedy about love, language and the inevitable complications!

A Pastoral Comedy A country setting – in this case the Forest of Ardenne Moves sophisticated urban characters into the countryside Focuses on love (all sorts) and the language of love

Plot structure A series of conversations between characters who happen to run into each other amid the trees The characters serve a thematic purpose Not designed to be psychologically plausible (it doesn’t matter if a character has a deeper motivation – the purpose of the character to is portray a theme within the work)

Theme Remember: Theme is the central idea the author wants the reader to glean from the story. Theme is not necessarily a moral but does impart truth or knowledge. The pastoral comedy is a vehicle for a satire on urban values – such as the corrupting manners of the court.

The Pastoral Setting: The Forest of Ardenne Serves to contrast city life and country life (theme) There are no clocks in the forest The exiles have no regular work schedule Plenty of food – communal hunt Absence of complex hierarchy Free from deceits of flattery and doubling dealing (life at court)

Country Life Forest provides important freedom for characters to experiment with their own lives People can talk openly with whoever they might happen to meet Characters are free to live in the moment This freedom makes Rosalind’s transformation possible

Rosalind and the Role of Women Shakespeare’s greatest and most vibrant comic female role Has a clear intelligent sense of love Her job to educate the other characters (particularly Orlando) who falsify love with over sentimentality

Rosalind’s Point of View Rosalind falls in love with Orlando at first sight (standard Shakespeare) Celebrates her passion for her love Does not play games or deny her feelings She does not suffer from ANY sentimentality Love activates her – drives her to take charge of her fate (which she is free to do so in the forest)

Orlando Orlando also falls in love with Rosalind (at first sight) At first is overly sentimental - he writes drippy love poems and hangs them from trees He wants to luxuriate in his feelings of love rather than focusing on the reality of the experience.

Example If Rosalind rejects him, Orlando believes he will die. Rosalind refutes this: “Men have died from time to time, and worms have eaten them, but not for love.” (Act 4, scene 1, line 92)

Rosalind and Orlando Rosalind’s realistic view of love helps to focus Orlando on the experience of love, without false sentimentality (really bad poetry) Rosalind understands that time will diminish the experience and as a result she embraces every feeling joyfully She speaks in prose which helps to convey the difference between her view of love and the rest of the characters

Jaques – Prototype of Hamlet Rosalind’s foil A moody cynic Speaks in poetic reflections to anyone who will sit and listen Harmless yet disliked by Rosalind and Orlando Speeches are seductive though extremely negative

“Seven Ages of Man” Act 2, scene 7 Supposed “gem” of Shakespearian wisdom Cynical evaluation of emptiness of human life In old age men become “… useless lumps of flesh.” Jaques is not wise – he learns nothing from his time in the forest Only true flat character in the play

The question of gender Challenges conventional roles of men and women – especially in the matter of courtship By disguising herself as a man, Rosalind is able to move freely about, give advice and consort with men. Rosalind/Ganymede is clearly the most intelligent and active character in the play – but only because her disguise gives her freedom to fully express her personality

Touchstone The clown is a stock character in Shakespearian comedies Constant commentator His humor helps the audience understand what is going on The way key characters treat him is an indicator of their sensibilities