Andrew's Blog

“As You Like It”, a play by William Shakespeare written around 1599 is a story of romance, deception, and marriage, like many of the Shakespearean Comedies. This play is an extraordinary tale of love and romance but when you start to look between the lines you can see that it is about so much more. One of the main topics that we see in this play is the way that the characters change and develop throughout the play. The biggest catalyst for this change is the Forest of Arden, as we see the way that it represents change throughout the play. Another interesting detail we see in this play is how when in the Forest of Arden, the characters tend to change for the better. The main point that Shakespeare is trying to teach to the reader is how good change is possible in even the worst kinds of people. 

            In the beginning of the play, we see one of the most prevalent themes is betrayal by family. This becomes a major theme for the first two acts of the play, as many of the characters are betrayed by close family members. The first where you see this at the very beginning of the play when the play when they are told of the usurping of Duke Senior by Duke Frederick. “There’ no news at the court, sir, but the old news. That is, the old duke is banished by his younger brother the new duke, and three or four loving lords have put themselves into voluntary exile with him.” (Act 1 lines 91-94) We see similar situations with Oliver and Orlando as well as with Duke Fredrick and Rosalind, as Orlando and Rosalind are both betrayed by their families. This shows the reader that this betrayal by family is a common theme throughout the play which allows the main conflict of the play to develop. This conflict and events are majorly important to the story as they set up the great changes that not only Orlando and Rosalind go through, but Oliver and Duke Frederick as well. It is also because of this banishment that leads to Rosalind dawning the disguise of Ganymede, a Shepard boy, which is a main plot point throughout the play. 

            Deception and disguise are very important themes for this play as well, as deception is used by both Orlando and Rosalind throughout the play. Orlando in the beginning of the play decides to disguise himself as a wrestler, but the main deception comes when Rosalind is forced to disguise herself as Ganymede to protect herself from the duke. “I’ll have no worse name than Jove’s own page, And therefore look you call me Ganymede.” (Act 1 Scene 3 Lines 128-129) This leads to some of the most important scenes in the play because Rosalind uses this deception to her advantage. Rosalind does this by tricking Orlando and helping him to love her better. She uses this deception to trick Phoebe into marrying Silvius towards the end of the play. Deception is a key aspect of the play, but what makes Shakespeare’s use of it interesting as that the deception is not used selfishly as it tends to be used for. Shakespeare uses deception in this play as comedic irony through the last few acts of the play, and it is used to set the comedic tone of the play. Many of the scenes in which we see this deception take place in the Forest of Arden, because the forest is a symbol for change and growth that we see throughout the play. 

            Possibly the most important symbol in the play is the Forest of Arden, as it stands for change and is also one of the major settings in this play. Many of the scenes in acts two, three and four all take place in the forest, and this is where we see the growth of many characters throughout the play. We see in the beginning that Orlando is a very aggressive person but once he is in the forest and has dinner with Duke Senior, he loses this aggressiveness. It is important to mention that the forest only promotes positive change as well, as the forest is not directly affecting them. The first time this becomes truly clear is when Oliver comes to the forest looking for Orlando. At first, he wants to capture him to bring him back to the duke but after Orlando saves him from a lioness, he has a major and sudden change in his deminer and attitude. “This seen, Orlando did approach the man and found it was his brother, his elder brother.”  (Act 2 Scene 2 Line 146-147) This shows the reader that anyone can enter the forest and begin to change for the better. This happens again when Duke Frederick enters the forest as well. When he enters, he encounters a priest that converts him to a man of peace. After this Duke Frederick allows everyone to come back to the kingdom where they marry. The fact that Duke Frederick was able to change teaches us that everyone is possible of great change. 

            The main idea that Shakespeare is trying to teach us throughout this play is that anyone is capable of great change. This is apparent throughout the play as Shakespeare starts the play by establishing antagonists in Oliver and Duke Frederick. These characters control a lot of the power of the kingdom during the play and are made to seem as though they are standoffish and stubborn. Shakespeare does this to set these characters as people you one would think incapable of great change. This is a deliberate attempt by Shakespeare to show how even stubborn and selfish people are capable of changing for the better, as we see that when Duke Fredrick enters the woods and is confronted with a religious man. “And to the skirts of this wild wood he came, Where, meeting with an old religious man, After some question with him, was converted Both from his enterprise and from the world.” (Act 5 Scene 4 Lines 161-165) The speed in which the religious man was able to convert the Duke shows the readers how change is apparent in the forest. We also see the small changes that the main characters go through in this play as well, as we see Orlando change form a person that was aggressive and wanting to go to school to get an education, but by the end we see that he loses this aggressiveness and chooses to save his brother from the lioness. 

            Another aspect of the play that relates to this main idea is the theme of Court vs Country. Court vs Country is a major theme that the reader can see throughout the play, as many of the characters start in a courtly scene and later transition into the Forest of Arden. The forest of Arden is also a symbol for the country, while the court of Duke Fredrick represents the court. These two settings play major rolls in the play as we see the two different ways that the characters act while in the two settings. In the Court of Duke Fredrick, we see that a lot of the characters are unhappy and in a cycle of betraying each other. Duke Senior especially feel this as he mentions that being out in the forest is much better than living in the court. “Hath not old custom made this life more sweet than that of painted pomp? Are not these woods more free from peril than the envious court?” (Act 2 Scene 1 Lines 1-4) For instance, we see in the beginning of the play the way that Oliver and Orlando are very aggressive with each other and do not get along. This hatred for Orlando grows in Oliver while he remains in the court, and when Orlando leaves, he doesn’t keep his hatred towards his brother. The reader knows this because we see Orlando save Oliver when Oliver comes to the Forest, we see Oliver has a massive change in his attitude and character. What Shakespeare is trying to tell the reader with this theme is that life in the country is much simpler and more peaceful, than that of life in the court. 

            The main idea that Shakespeare is attempting to address in this play is not only the idea of change but positive change. We see characters go through a constant state of change throughout the play, as the characters develop alongside each other and learn from one another. Many of the themes and symbols that the reader sees in this play relate heavily to the main idea of change that can be seen in the play, as we see themes of change and Country vs Court. Setting is another aspect of the path that works well with this main idea, as the Forest of Arden is a catalyst for change. These literary devices help the reader to understand what the play is trying to teach them about positive change. 

Work Cited

Shakespeare, William. As You like It. Edited by Richard Andrews and Rex Gibson, Cambridge University Press, 2000.