As You Like It is one of the great comedy plays by William Shakespeare.

It is
considered to be one of Shakespeare's lightest comedies. It contains memorable
characters and happy ending. The play begins at the French court, but most of As You
Like It goes down in the Forest of Arden where people go to escape the dishonesty and
politics of court life. The forest represents the purity of other !ature and anyone who
goes near it seems to absorb this purity to some e"tent. As #ou $ike It is also a lo%e story
with the end of the play showing four different couples getting married.
It also focuses on issues between brothers. As often happened at that time, one child
recei%ed more inheritance than another. &owe%er, unlike many other plays, in As #ou
$ike It all of the 'bad( characters are changed for the better by the end of the play. There
really is an entirely happy ending, which makes it )uite different from Shakespeare(s
other comedies.
Rosalind* is considered to be one of Shakespeare(s most delightful heroines.She is
independent minded, strong*willed, good*hearted, and terribly cle%er. +ather than slink
off into defeated e"ile, +osalind resourcefully uses her trip to the Forest of Ardenne as an
opportunity to take control of her own destiny. When she disguises herself as ,anymede
-a handsome young man-and offers herself as a tutor in the ways of lo%e to her
belo%ed .rlando, +osalind(s talents and charms are on full display. .nly +osalind, is
both aware of the foolishness of romantic lo%e and delighted to be in lo%e. She teaches
those around her to think, feel, and lo%e better than they ha%e pre%iously, and she ensures
that the courtiers returning from Ardenne are far gentler than those who fled to it.
+osalind is a particular fa%orite among feminist critics, who admire her ability to defeat
the limitations that society imposes on her as a woman. She is witty, intelligent and
confident. Shakespeare has written other female characters who possess these
)ualities,such as $ady acbeth in acbeth..ne of the more unusual aspects of the play
is that +osalind is gi%en the epilogue. As she states in that speech, it is %ery unusual for a
female character to be gi%en that pri%ilege. This again points to her importance in the
play and the way in which her whole character breaks with the con%entions of femininity
of the era.
Orlando is of noble character, full of noble purposes, and lo%ed by people. As his lo%e
tutorial shows, he relies on commonplace clich/s in matters of lo%e, declaring that
without the fair +osalind, he would die. &e does ha%e a decent wit, howe%er, as he
demonstrates when he argues with 0a)ues, suggesting that 0a)ues should seek out a fool
who wanders about the forest..rlando performs tasks that re%eal his nobility and
demonstrate why he is so well*lo%ed1 he tra%els with the ancient Adam and makes a fool
out of himself to secure the old man food2 he risks his life to sa%e the brother who has
plotted against him2 In the beginning of the play, he laments that his brother has denied
him the schooling deser%ed by a gentleman, but by the end, he has pro%en himself a
gentleman without the formality of that education.
Jaques got a well*deser%ed reputation for being 3melancholy.3 We might e%en say that
0a)ues enjoys being sad because he purposefully seeks out e"periences that are
depressing. &e sees the world as a stage where men and women are players, and their
different ages represent different acts and scenes in the play. &is descriptions suggest that
the roles are largely beyond the players4 control. &e has no particular interest in being
part of an established society.5y the end of the play we see his great strength of
character. &is main concern seems to be freedom to say and do what he wants. &e is not
willing to compromise as he must do if he returns to court.While the other characters
merrily re%el, he determines that he will follow the reformed 6uke Frederick into the
monastery, where he belie%es the con%erts ha%e much to teach him. &ere, the play makes
good on the promise of its title1 e%eryone gets 7ust what he or she wants.