Editor's Choice
Analyze Touchstone's quote in As You Like It, Act 3, Scene 2.
"Truly, shepherd, in respect of itself, it is a good life; but in respect that it is a shepherd's life it is naught."
Quick answer:
Touchstone's quote highlights his disdain for the pastoral life, despite acknowledging its intrinsic value. He states that while the shepherd's life is inherently good, it is devalued by being a shepherd's life, reflecting his preference for court life over the countryside. This dialogue with Corin underscores the play's theme of contrasting court and rural life. Touchstone's sophisticated rhetoric contrasts with Corin's simple, sincere defense of pastoral living, suggesting both lifestyles have their own merits.
In this scene, Touchstone, the court fool who comes to forest of Arden with Celia and Rosalind, is questioned by Corin, a real rustic. Corin asks Touchstone if he enjoys the life of a shepherd. Touchstone replies, to paraphrase the quote above, that for a shepherd's life it is a good life, but because it is a shepherd's life, it is basically without value to him. To put it another way, Touchstone is saying the following: if you have to be shepherd, this life in the forest of Arden is fine, but who would ever want to be a shepherd?
Touchstone continues to talk out of both sides of his mouth in discussing life in the forest. He makes it clear he would prefer to be back at court. As a touchstone is used to measure the value of gold, so Touchstone is used to measure the value...
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of other characters' words. Against his double talk, the good-hearted Corin comes across as honest and sincere in his defense of thepastoral life.
This quote comes at the beginning of the conversation between Touchstone and Corin, who in this scene debate the various merits of country living vs. living in the court. The quote you have highlighted is Touchstone's first comment, which clearly indicates his preference for court life compared to the delights of living in the countryside. A major theme in the play is how these two spheres compare to each other, and here in this quote we see Touchstone displaying typical cleverness and rhetoric in order to advance his argument. However, what is interesting is that if we analyse the argument that Touchstone and Corin have, where Corin argues that country living is superior and then Touchstone argues that court living is imminently better, in spite of Touchstone's sophistication and learning, it is Corin that sets out the better, simpler and more effective argument. Rather than the argument being resolved, it is clear that both types of living have their relative merits, and in spite of Touchstone's belief of the superiority of court life, the two ways of living both must co-exist happily.