Home > As You Like It Summary & Study Guide > Historical Background
As You Like It | Historical Background
As You Like It was probably written in 1599 or 1600, at the midway point of Shakespeare's career as a playwright. His principal source for the play was Thomas Lodge's pastoral romance, Rosalynde. Lodge's novel, published in 1590, was in turn adapted from The Tale of Gamelyn, a 14th-century narrative poem. Shakespeare rewrote the story even further; he introduced new themes and created a number of new characters including Jaques, Touchstone, William, and Audrey. He also gave his characters far more depth and dimension than they had in Lodge's novel and added humor to the...
[The entire page is 674 words long]
Join eNotes
The above is a free excerpt. Get total access to this content with the:
Summary and Analysis – Themes – Characters – And much more...
Join eNotes
Over 3,500 study guides, question and answer forums, literature criticism, reference content, and much more!
Navigate
- As You Like It: Introduction
- As You Like It: Reading Shakespeare
- As You Like It: Summary
- As You Like It: William Shakespeare Biography
- As You Like It: List of Characters
- As You Like It: Historical Background
- As You Like It: Summary and Analysis
- As You Like It: Critical Commentary
- As You Like It: Quizzes
- As You Like It: Themes
- As You Like It: Character Analysis
- As You Like It: Principal Topics
- As You Like It: Essays
- As You Like It: Criticism
- As You Like It: Selected Quotes
- As You Like It: Suggested Essay Topics
- As You Like It: Sample Essay Outlines
- As You Like It: Modern Connections
- As You Like It: FAQs
- As You Like It: Bibliography and Further Reading
- As You Like It: Pictures
- Copyright
Tell a friend about As You Like It at eNotes.
