As You Like It | Disguise and Role-Playing

In the first excerpt, Nancy K. Hayles discusses Shakespeare's use of sexual disguise in As You Like It, arguing that this device is developed in distinct stages. In the second excerpt, Thomas F. Van Laan points out several instances where the characters in Arden either take part in or discuss role-playing sessions, proposing that the forest in a sense becomes the stage for these brief "playlets," and that Shakespeare composed variations of this theme to explore the circumstances surrounding the way in which the play's four couples fall in love.

Nancy K. Hayles
[In the excerpt below, Hayles discusses Shakespeare's use of sexual disguise in As You Like It. The critic argues that this device is developed in distinct stages: first, Rosalind assumes layers of disguise for the journey to Arden, then the layers are slowly removed as she gradually renounces the role of Ganymede, and finally they are eliminated altogether when the heroine abandons her disguise to marry Orlando. The layering-on movement, Hayles contends, suggests selfish control and creates conflict in the play, while the removal...

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