by William Shakespeare (1599-1600) AS YOU LIKE IT by William Shakespeare (1599-1600)

Opening suggests a dark world, not a comedy Begins at a corrupt and suspicious court Two warring brothers, one is lovable (Orlando) and the other “altogether misprised” (Oliver) Their enmnity is mirrored by the usurpation of Duke Senior by his brother Duke Frederick The “good” brothers are banished to the forest

Shakespeare’s comedies often begin this way Ultimately, we are guided to the play’s heroine ROSALIND The play’s action concerns itself with ‘coupling’ (four couples are wed at the end of the play) One of the happiest of comedies Brothers are reconciled Legitimacy and prosperity is restored The evil convert Each lover is appropriately matched

Significance of setting Play’s action is set in the Forest of Arden in Warwichshire Shakespeare’s mother’s name was Arden The play suggests both French and English characters and places…seemingly nowhere and everywhere A magical place where anything can happen

Your If is the only peacemaker… Rosalind invites Orlando to imagine his life IF he had not met “your very very Rosalind” She poses and solves a complex set of riddles at the climax IF IF I CAN IF I COULD IF EVER I MARRY WOMAN IF EVER I SATISFIED MAN IF WHAT PLEASES YOU CONTENTS YOU

Villains are miraculously changed Oliver tells Celia “Twas I. But ‘tis not I.” Like Eden, Arden is not wholly safe Arden is cold and people must hunt for food Lions and snakes threaten sudden death It is threatened with invasion from the usurping Duke

Setting is pastoral Except for Corin, nobody seems to work All can find plenty of time to sing, philosophize and fall in love It is not, however, an alternative to civilization. It is “nature” as opposed to “culture” Perhaps Shakespeare is parodying the pastoral excesses of writers like Philip Sidney in works such as ARCADIA (1590) It is not simply a play, it is a play about how people write about love Act One, The Wresling Match A 19th century painting

Sources for the play Thomas Lodge wrote ROSALYNDE, EUPHUES’ GOLDEN LEGACIE in 1590 and Shakespeare borrows freely from its characters and plot He excises a bloody battle between the feuding dukes and replaces it with Frederick’s conversion and retirement He invents the characters of Jacques, Touchstone and Audrey John Lyly wrote EUPHUES, THE ANATOMY OF WIT (1579) The previously mentioned ARCADIA (1590)

A musical world Play contains more songs than any other Shakespeare play Most famous is “It was a lover and his lass” (V.3) The song was arranged and published by Thomas Morley in 1600

Lovers grow up Rosalind and Orlando escape the gloom, confinement and danger of court by escaping to the forest…and growing up This requires Rosalind and Orlando; Celia and Oliver to move from the family they were born into to the family one starts and presides over “from one’s father to one’s child’s father” (1.3) As with Ophelia (Hamlet), Cordelia (King Lear) and Desdemona (Othello), Rosalind’s relationship with her father is changed Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre Production, 2010

Celia and Rosalind As both separate from their father’s; they also outgrow their friendship The threat to marriage is not only Rosalind’s attachment to Celia, but also Orlando’s attachment to Ganymede (the homo-erotic theme described by some) Further expressed by Rosalind taking on the identity of Ganymede (Jove’s cupbearer and “lover”)

Disguises Rosalind as Ganymede Celia “darkens” her face to be seen as less “fair” Ganymede seems to relish being a man…as a woman, she could not buy property, but as a man she buys a “cottage, pasture and flock” Rosalind’s disguise seems to enhance her confidence while doing the opposite to Celia Still Rosalind does woo Orlando, not girl to boy, but man to man Perhaps these disguises are simply pragmatic since boys played the female roles in Elizabethan theatre

Four couples Rosalind and Orlando Marriage offers a different kind of ending, as well as a different kind of beginning for four couples

Four couples Celia and Oliver

Four couples Audrey and Touchstone

Four couples Phebe and Silvius Marriage offers a different kind of ending, as well as a different kind of beginning, for each of the four couples

All the world’s a stage… Jacques speech from Act Two, scene 7 is rightly one of the most famous in all of Shakespeare Of the SEVEN AGES, only one really relates to the action of the play… And then the lover Sighing like furnace, with a woeful ballad Made to his mistress’ eyebrow Jacques (and Adam) help to put the marriages into perspective

First printed edition Folio edition, 1623 Production was entered into the Stationers Register by the Lord Chamberlain’s Men as one of four plays “to be staied” (withheld from publication)

AS YOU LIKE IT on film

'As You Like It' at Shakespeare's Globe Theatre (2010) 149 min Directed by Thea Sharrock Michael Benz Silvius Philip Bird Duke Senior Sophie Duval Audrey Naomi Frederick Rosalind Brendan Hughes Duke Frederick Jack Laskey Orlando de Boys Trevor Martin Adam Tim McMullan Jacques Jamie Parker Oliver de Boys Laura Rogers Celia Dominic Rowan Touchstone

As You Like It (2006) Directed by Kenneth Branagh Bryce Dallas Howard Rosalind David Oyelowo Orlando De Boys Richard Briers Adam Patrick Doyle Amiens Romola Garai Celia Adrian Lester Oliver De Boys Alfred Molina Touchstone Kevin Kline Jaques Janet McTeer Audrey Brian Blessed Duke Senior & Duke Frederick

AS YOU LIKE IT (1992) Directed by Christine Edzard Hiding out in an industrial wasteland from the murderous wrath of a regional ruler, a woman, disguised as a boy, gives wooing lessons to the edgy lad who proclaims he loves her.

As You Like It (1987 - BBC) Director: Basil Coleman   Helen Mirren Rosalind Brian Stirner Orlando Richard Pasco Jaques Angharad Rees Celia James Bolam Touchstone Clive Francis Oliver Richard Easton Duke Frederick Tony Church Duke Senior

1936 Film Director: Paul Czinner Writers: William Shakespeare (play) J.M. Barrie (treatment) Robert Cullen (scenario) Carl Mayer (adaptation) Cast: Henry Ainley Exiled Duke Elisabeth Bergner Rosalind Felix Aylmer Duke Frederick Laurence Olivier Orlando Leon Quartermaine Jacques

Other adaptations AS YOU LIKE IT (Williamstown Theatre Festival) 1999 Gwyneth Paltrow starred in a modern setting against a background of modern jazz ALL SHOOK UP (Broadway musical) 2004 The songs of Elvis Presley and source material from Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night and As You Like It. AS YOU LIKE IT (India, West Bengal, 2012) Director: Suprio Chakrabarty QAdaptation: Kanchan Amin