As You Like It Annotated With Biography And Critical Essay

As You Like It was written around 1599 and is one of Shakespeare’s comedies. It is set in a pastoral world (an idealized rural setting) and is full of jokes, songs, puns, and romance. It is one of the most light-hearted of Shakespeares works. There are more songs in As You Like It than any other Shakespeare play. The play makes many references to classical mythology and medieval folklore. It was inspired by Thomas Lodge’s story Rosalynde published in 1590. The play is partly set in the countryside in France, in the Forest of Arden (or, alternatively, Ardenne). In contrast, the other setting is the court of a duchy. In the duchy, Duke Frederick has successfully usurped his brother Duke Senior from his position as ruler. Duke Senior has been exiled to the Forest of Arden, where he vows to begin anew, along with his followers and supporters. The exiles talk about the qualities of court life and how they compare to country life. This annotated edition includes a biography and critical essay.

A collection of essays about Shakespeare's comedic play As you like it, addressing its structure, themes, and subject matter.

Using an innovative theory of the significance of the Globe's stage space, Penny Gay examines As You Like It's presentation of issues of power, sexuality, gender and genre.

As You Like It is one of Shakespeare's finest romantic comedies, variously lyrical, melancholy, satiric, comic and absurd.

As You Like It is a pastoral comedy by William Shakespeare believed to have been written in 1599 and first published in the First Folio in 1623. The play's first performance is uncertain, though a performance at Wilton House in 1603 has been suggested as a possibility. As You Like It follows its heroine Rosalind as she flees persecution in her uncle's court, accompanied by her cousin Celia to find safety and, eventually, love, in the Forest of Arden. In the forest, they encounter a variety of memorable characters, notably the melancholy traveller Jaques who speaks many of Shakespeare's most famous speeches (such as "All the world's a stage", "too much of a good thing" and "A fool! A fool! I met a fool in the forest"). Jaques provides a sharp contrast to the other characters in the play, always observing and disputing the hardships of life in the country.

As You Like It is a pastoral comedy by William Shakespeare believed to have been written in 1599 and first published in the First Folio in 1623. The play's first performance is uncertain, though a performance at Wilton House in 1603 has been suggested as a possibility.As You Like It follows its heroine Rosalind as she flees persecution in her uncle's court, accompanied by her cousin Celia to find safety and, eventually, love, in the Forest of Arden. In the forest, they encounter a variety of memorable characters, notably the melancholy traveller Jaques who speaks many of Shakespeare's most famous speeches (such as "All the world's a stage", "too much of a good thing" and "A fool! A fool! I met a fool in the forest"). Jaques provides a sharp contrast to the other characters in the play, always observing and disputing the hardships of life in the country.

Readers and audiences have long greeted As You Like It with delight. Its characters are brilliant conversationalists, including the princesses Rosalind and Celia and their Fool, Touchstone. Soon after Rosalind and Orlando meet and fall in love, the princesses and Touchstone go into exile in the Forest of Arden, where they find new conversational partners. Duke Frederick, younger brother to Duke Senior, has overthrown his brother and forced him to live homeless in the forest with his courtiers, including the cynical Jaques. Orlando, whose older brother Oliver plotted his death, has fled there, too.