As You Like It
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| As You Like It | |
|---|---|
| Name | As You Like It |
| Writer | William Shakespeare |
| Genre | Pastoral comedy |
| Setting | Arden |
| Premiere | c. 1599–1600 |
| Original language | Early Modern English |
| Subject | Exile, love, identity |
As You Like It
As You Like It is a pastoral comedy by William Shakespeare traditionally dated to c. 1599–1600. The play stages courtly intrigue, romantic entanglements, and philosophical reflection in the Forest of Arden, juxtaposing urban corruption with rustic simplicity. It has influenced theatrical practice, literary pastoral, and adaptations across Europe and the United States from the early modern period to the present.
Introduction
The play originates in the milieu of late Elizabethan London and reflects connections with contemporary figures such as Queen Elizabeth I, patrons like the Earl of Southampton, and theatres including the Globe Theatre and the Rose Theatre. Scholars situate its composition amid works by contemporaries Christopher Marlowe, Ben Jonson, and Thomas Kyd. Textual witnesses include the First Folio, while editorial traditions intersect with printers linked to Edward Alleyn and companies such as the Lord Chamberlain's Men and the King's Men. The play's pastoral setting nods to sources such as Jacques Cartier-era exploration narratives and continental pastoral texts associated with Giovanni Boccaccio, Ariosto, and Torquato Tasso.
Characters
Principal figures include the exiled duke Duke Senior and his usurping brother Duke Frederick, pastoral lovers Rosalind and Orlando, the witty shepherd Touchstone, and the melancholy courtier Jaques. Secondary personae involve family members and servants: Celia, Oliver, Charles (contestant), Silvius, Phebe, Adam (servant), Le Beau and Audrey. The dramatis personae reflect archetypes familiar from commedia figures popularized by companies associated with actors such as Richard Burbage, Will Kempe, and John Heminges.
Synopsis
The plot opens in a courtly milieu where Duke Senior is deposed by Duke Frederick, precipitating exile to the Forest of Arden with loyal retainers including Amiens. Meanwhile, Orlando arrives in pursuit of honor and love, after conflicts with his brother Oliver and encounters with wrestling contests hosted by courtiers like Charles (contestant). Rosalind, daughter of the banished duke, is retained at court by Celia but sent into exile when Duke Frederick banishes her; she flees with Celiea to Arden disguised as the youth Ganymede, accompanied by the fool Touchstone and the faithful Jaques who wanders philosophically. In Arden, pastoral life fosters meetings: Orlando hangs love poems on trees, attracting Rosalind/Ganymede who tests his constancy; shepherds Silvius pines for Phebe, who falls for Rosalind's male disguise; Oliver undergoes moral reform through encounters with Adam and danger involving a lioness. The play culminates in multiple reconciliations, marriages, and the restoration of political order when Duke Frederick repents after converting under the influence of a religious hermit, enabling the return of Duke Senior to power.
Themes and motifs
Central themes include identity and cross-dressing explored via Rosalind's male disguise, reflecting broader concerns with gender and performance seen in works by John Lyly and debates from Elizabethan court culture. The forest motif evokes pastoral conventions from Virgil and Theocritus via Renaissance transmissions tied to Matthew Parker and Erasmus. Philosophical melancholy, embodied by Jaques, engages with humors theory current in the writings of Galen and English physicians like Thomas Willis. Love, pastoral simplicity, social mobility, and restitution intersect with legal and dynastic concerns echoing cases adjudicated in institutions such as the Court of Chancery and referenced in contemporary pamphlets associated with Stationers' Company printers.
Sources and textual history
Shakespeare drew on a range of sources: narrative strains from Roger Williams-era chronicles, pastoral models in Philip Sidney's Arcadia, and plot elements akin to works by Thomas Lodge and Robert Greene. The play's textual history is primarily transmitted via the First Folio (1623) with editorial emendations from later editions including those by Nicholas Rowe, Samuel Johnson, and Edmund Malone. Critical philology has involved scholars associated with institutions such as King's College, Cambridge, British Library, and editorial projects like the Oxford Shakespeare and the RSC scholarly editions. Debates over authorship, emendation, and staging derive from archival evidence involving companies like the Lord Chamberlain's Men and bibliographers including W.H. Auden and A.C. Bradley.
Performance history
Early performances likely occurred at the Globe Theatre and courtly masques for figures linked to Elizabeth I and later James I. Restoration revivals adapted pastoral elements in productions at venues such as the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane and under actors-managers including David Garrick. Nineteenth-century stagings involved star performers like Sarah Siddons and directors connected to Samuel Phelps and Henry Irving. Twentieth-century innovations include productions by the Royal Shakespeare Company, directors Peter Brook and Trevor Nunn, and experimental stagings in the United States and India incorporating influences from Stanislavski-derived methodologies and choreographers from the Ballets Russes tradition.
Adaptations and cultural impact
The play inspired operatic, film, and television adaptations: settings by composers linked to Benjamin Britten-era circles, film versions featuring actors from Laurence Olivier's milieu, and television broadcasts by the BBC. It influenced novelists such as Jane Austen in thematic direction, and dramatists including Tom Stoppard in intertextual practice. Translations circulate in languages across Europe and Asia, and adaptations reframe gender and identity debates in contexts involving LGBTQ discourse, academic programs at Harvard University and Yale University, and community theatre traditions linked to festivals like Stratford-upon-Avon and the Edinburgh Festival Fringe. The play continues to appear in curricula, digital humanities projects hosted by Folger Shakespeare Library and MIT, and popular culture references in films, music, and fine art exhibitions at institutions such as the Tate Modern and the Metropolitan Museum of Art.