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What conflicts do the main characters encounter in As You Like It?
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The main conflicts in "As You Like It" include familial betrayal and banishment, particularly Duke Senior's exile by his brother Duke Frederick, and the parallel discord between Orlando and his brother Oliver. These conflicts drive characters into the forest. Romantic tensions also arise, such as Orlando's love for Rosalind, who disguises herself to test his affections. Ultimately, all conflicts resolve in reconciliation and love, emphasizing themes of loyalty and the roles people play in life.
By and large, the conflicts in As You Like It deal with banishment and betrayal. The Duke Senior is banished from his own court by the treacherous Duke Frederick, his own brother. He and his loyal followers flee to the woods. Rosalind stays in court for a time, comforted by her cousin Celia, but unlike Senior and Ferdinand, these two are loyal to one another and eventually flee the court on their own.
The conflict between Orlando and his brother, Oliver, parallels the conflict between Senior and Frederick in that they are two brothers not on the best of terms. Oliver's mistreatment of Orlando causes the boy to flee into the forest.
The other conflicts deal with frustrated love. Orlando and Rosalind want one another, but Rosalind wants to see if he really loves her or not by teaching him about how to woo a woman in...
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the guise of "Ganymeade." Oliver falls for Celia. The clown,Touchstone, falls for simple country girl Audrey. At the end, all the couples end up together and all the family conflicts are resolved. What begins with people being torn apart by human folly ends with everyone being brought back together again in reconciliation and love.
The following is one of the most well-known quotes from this play:
"All the world's a stage/and all the men and women merely players"
This quote sums up the conflicts of the characters, who are "playing" parts to each other, just trying to fill the roles that have been given to them.
The main problem encountered by Orlando at the beginning of the play is his rejection by his brother Oliver and, as the play continues, Oliver's plot to take Orlando's life. This is what sends him fleeing into the forest to take refuge there. Rosalind faces a similar challenge. Her father has been usurped by his brother and has fled into the forest. At first Rosalind was allowed to stay at court, then she was also banished and forced to flee into the forest.
Orlando's situation is complicated by the fact that he has fallen in love with Rosalind and cannot approach her because of his situation. Furthermore, Duke Frederick was an enemy of Orlando's father and would never approve the match. When Frederick's daughter disappears with Rosalind, Frederick is sure that Orlando is involved and gets Oliver involved with the search. As the plot thickens, Oliver falls in love with Celia, Fredericks daughter.
These situations lead to the disguises and games of love that go on in the forest until the situations are resolved and the loving couples in the play all get together as they want.