As You Like It Themes
The main themes of As You Like It include the performance of life, the performance of gender, and the performance of love.
- The performance of life: The play stresses that one’s experience unfolds according to scripted patterns, much like a theatrical performance.
- The performance of gender: Rosalind and others successfully pretend to be the opposite gender, demonstrating that gender is performative.
- The performance of love: The play explores the conventions and pretensions of courtship, investigating how lovers act for one another.
Themes: All Themes
Themes: Entertainment and Goodwill
At the conclusion of As You Like It, Rosalind remains on stage to end the play with a standard epilogue. After acknowledging that it is unusual to assign the epilogue to a female character, she sends the audience home with the words, "My way is to conjure you and I begin with the women. I charge you, O women, for the love you bear to men, to like as much of the play as please you; and I charge you, O men, for the love you bear to women … that...
(Read more)Themes: Choice Between Courtly Society and Natural World
We are at liberty to choose how we wish to live and to experience life, Shakespeare tells us in As You Like It. The most obvious choice presented to us in the play is between the civilized realm of the courtly society and the natural world of Arden. As the veteran shepherd Corin tells us, "those that are good manners at the court are ridiculous in the country as the behavior of the country is most mockable at court" (III.ii.46-47). The Forest of...
(Read more)Themes: Jaques' Melancholic Worldview
The most consistent and recognizable worldview in As You Like It belongs to Jaques, the melancholic member of Duke Senior's court who finds fault not with individuals but with life at large. The constant target of ridicule from Amiens and the hearty lords of Duke Senior's sylvan court, Jaques recites the play's most famous speech in Act II, scene vii, in which the melancholy loner tells us that:
All the world's a stage,(Read more)
And all the men and women...
Themes: Tempered Humanism and Compassion
While several of the play's other characters recognize that love fades, that people are often ridiculous and cruel, and that human life becomes worm fodder, they are generally willing to embrace the joys of being alive. Rosalind serves as the prime example of this tempered humanism. For example, in her disguise as Ganymede, Rosalind tells Orlando that "love is merely madness" (III.ii), but in the next act she confides to her cousin Celia that she...
(Read more)Themes: Love and Time
Love and time are among the subjects that occupy the conversation in Arden, and we are exposed to varied viewpoints on these themes. Alongside the seemingly perfect romantic love of Rosalind and Orlando, for instance, we see an imperfect and somewhat common love of Touchstone and Audrey and, beyond that, the lopsided love of Silvius for Phebe. Time marches on as Jaques reminds us, but we are also presented with positive models of the aged,...
(Read more)Themes: Wordplay and Language
Lastly, there is an enormous amount of wordplay in the text of As You Like It. In Act II, scene v, for example, Jaques sings a parody song in which the nonsense word "ducdame" is repeated three times. When he is asked what a ducdame is, Jaques replies that it is "a Greek invocation, to call fools into a circle" (60). This type of amusing banter is the stock and trade of Touchstone, the great corrupter of language, a fool who is able to make his...
(Read more)Themes: Contrast Between Court Life and Arden Forest
In As You Like It, numerous contrasts underscore Shakespeare's preference for the pastoral simplicity of the Arden Forest over the chaotic life at court. Duke Frederick's court is a place of disorder, primarily due to political corruption. Duke Frederick has unlawfully seized Duke Senior's domain, creating political unrest. This turmoil is compounded by personal strife, as the dukes, who are brothers, are in conflict. This tension is mirrored in...
(Read more)Themes: Fortune vs. Nature
Another closely related dichotomy to the contrast between court life and the Forest of Arden is the opposition between fortune and nature. "Fortune" signifies both material wealth—attained through power, inheritance, or ownership—and an unpredictable force that randomly influences events. On the other hand, "Nature" embodies both the cleansing spirit of Arden and the fundamental human condition, devoid of wealth, authority, and material...
(Read more)Themes: Time
The theme of time is portrayed differently between the court scenes and those set in the Forest of Arden. In the court, time is precise and measured by specific intervals, emphasizing the corrupt and violent nature of Duke Frederick's rule. For example, Duke Frederick demands that Rosalind leave the court within ten days or face execution, and he gives Oliver a year to find Orlando, or else his land and possessions will be confiscated. In...
(Read more)Themes: Sexual Disguise and Role-Playing
The themes of sexual disguise and role-playing are intricately woven into As You Like It, with a particular focus on Rosalind. She adopts the identity of a young man, Ganymede, to ensure her safe passage to the Forest of Arden. Although she could discard her male disguise upon arrival, she opts to retain it until the play concludes. Critics largely concur that by staying in character as Ganymede, Rosalind frees herself from the traditional,...
(Read more)Themes: The Performance of Life
Performance is a comprehensive theme throughout the play. In act II, scene V, Jaques says, “All the world’s a stage, / And all the men and women merely players” to suggest that life is a performance for everyone, from the characters on the stage to the people in the audience. In this way, the experiences that one considers unique or special can be seen as a typical script that follows the “seven ages of man,” from infancy to death. While Jacues’s...
(Read more)Themes: The Performance of Gender
Throughout the course of the play, Shakespeare examines the extent to which gender is a performance. While many Shakespeare plays feature women who dress as men (Twelfth Night, Merchant of Venice, Two Gentlemen of Verona, Cymbeline) or men who disguise themselves as women (The Merry Wives of Windsor, Taming of the Shrew), the self-referential cross-dressing in Shakespeare’s As You Likeoffers more of a commentary on gender roles in Shakespeare’s...
(Read more)Themes: The Performance of Love
Orlando plays the part of a romantic poet: he writes sentimental, hyperbolic love poetry and makes dramatic statements to Rosalind about his undying love for her. Because Orlando plays the vapid version of a romantic hero, Rosalind must correct his behavior and transform him into a respectable lover. This plot line defines the difference between romanticized love and natural love. Romanticized love can be understood as love at first sight: the...
(Read more)Themes: The Performance of the Pastoral
The pastoral is a literary tradition that depicts—and usually idealizes—country life. Pastoral works often feature courtiers or other city dwellers entering a paradisiacal countryside where life is simple, calm, and peaceful (for more details see historical analysis below). Duke Senior’s harmonious court in the Forest of Arden embodies the pastoral tradition. The courtiers sing like shepherds, the Duke is accepting and forgiving towards his...
(Read more)Themes: The Struggles and Bonds of Family
As You Like Itcenters around family strife: Duke Senior’s younger brother, Duke Frederick, usurps his throne and throws the courtly world into disarray. This moment of betrayal and corruption of the family order puts the play into motion. This plotline is doubled in the relationship between Oliver and Orlando. Oliver, the elder brother, hates his younger brother. He first tries to get his brother Orlando killed by entering him into a fight that...
(Read more)Expert Q&A
How is the theme of adversity presented in "As You Like It"?
In "As You Like It," adversity is presented as a transformative force that can lead to personal growth and unexpected benefits. The play illustrates this through the banished Duke, who finds freedom and contentment in the forest, contrasting with the artificial court life. The theme is encapsulated in the idea that adversity can reveal hidden strengths and foster new opportunities, much like the precious jewel found in the head of an ugly toad.
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