"As You Like It" is a pastoral romance, a subgenre of fiction that describes itself as "a pastoral poem or prose narrative in which the action takes place in a country idyll or imaginary landscape." In the play "As You Like It" written by William Shakespeare, a group of banished princes and lords arRead more
“As You Like It” is a pastoral romance, a subgenre of fiction that describes itself as “a pastoral poem or prose narrative in which the action takes place in a country idyll or imaginary landscape.” In the play “As You Like It” written by William Shakespeare, a group of banished princes and lords are living in an area known as the Forest of Arden.
Duke Senior is banished by his brother and runs away to the forest of Arden. Orlando, the male protagonist of the play, also runs away from the city and begins his pastoral romance in Arden. In the forest, Orlando falls in love with Rosalind, a young woman who is the daughter of the Duke’s courtier.
Rosalind has a secret identity, as she is actually a man named Ganymede. After Rosalind reveals her true identity to Orlando, they marry. During their time in the forest, Orlando meets many other characters including Silvius and Phebe, the two lovers from the story of Pyramus and Thisbe. The play ends with Duke Frederick’s coronation and the marriage of his daughter, Celia, to Paris.
As the whole play takes place in the forest, it can be considered as a pastoral romance. In addition, Shakespeare uses an idyllic setting for his story and focuses on the love between man and woman.
Read detailed summary of As You Like It
See less
The play As You Like It is a comedy in which romance is also a leading theme. In the play — and in Shakespeare's plays generally — love is a subject which is treated with great seriousness, and love is seen to be very powerful. Rosalind is a young woman who has been raised by her father, Duke FredeRead more
The play As You Like It is a comedy in which romance is also a leading theme. In the play — and in Shakespeare’s plays generally — love is a subject which is treated with great seriousness, and love is seen to be very powerful.
Rosalind is a young woman who has been raised by her father, Duke Frederick, in his country estate. Her father has recently died and she is about to be married to her cousin Oliver.
Rosalind falls in love with Orlando, a young man of noble birth who has no money and no property. They fall in love because they have nothing in common and are totally opposed in every way. But they fall in love nonetheless, and the play follows their journey through the forest as they try to come together and find their way out of the forest, the place of all evil. The whole point of the play is that love is stronger than all other things.
This play is a Romantic Comedy. In this play, love is not treated as a joke or a joke subject. Love is not something which is taken lightly. It is treated with great seriousness, and is seen to be very powerful.
Read detailed summary of As You Like It
See less