AS YOU LIKE IT

2010 STUDY GUIDE

American Players Theatre

PO Box 819
Spring Green, WI
www.americanplayers.org
 AS YOU LIKE IT BY WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE
2010 STUDY GUIDE
Cover Photo: Hillary Clemens as Rosalind and Matt Schwader as Ganymede.
Photo by Carissa Dixon
All photos by Carissa Dixon and Zane Williams.

MANY THANKS!
APT would like to thank the following for making our program possible:
Alliant Energy Foundation • Chuck & Ronnie Jones APT‘s Children‘s Fund at the
Madison Community Foundation • The Dane County Cultural Affairs Commission with additional
funds from the American Girl‘s Fund for Children, the Evjue Foundation and
the Overture Foundation • The Einhorn Family Foundation • Richard & Ethel Herzfeld Foundation
IKI Manufacturing, Inc. • Janesville Education Foundation • Marshfield Clinic
Pepsi-Cola Bottling Company • Promega • The Sauk County Arts, Humanities and
Historic Preservation Committee • The Shubert Foundation, Inc.
Dr. Susan Whitworth Tait & Dr. W. Steve Tait

AND OUR MAJOR EDUCATION SPONSORS

This project was also supported in part by a grant from the

Wisconsin Arts Board with funds from the State of Wisconsin.

American Players Theatre‘s production of All’s Well That Ends Well is part
of Shakespeare in American Communities: Shakespeare for a New
Generation, sponsored by the National Endowment for the Arts in coopera-
tion with Arts Midwest.

If you have any questions or comments regarding the exercises or the

information within this study guide, please contact Emily Beck, Educa-
tion Coordinator, at 608-588-7402 x 107, or
[email protected].

For more information about APT’s educational programs, please visit our website.
www.americanplayers.org
 Who’s Who in As You Like It
(From The Essential Shakespeare Handbook)

Oliver (Darragh Kennan) Rosalind (Hillary Clemens)

Eldest son of Sir Rowland de Daughter of the exiled Duke

Boys, he plots to kill his younger Senior, she disguises herself as a
brother, Orlando. youth named Ganymede and
poses as the brother of Aliena, the
name taken by her dear cousin,
Celia.

Orlando (Matt Schwader) Touchstone (David Daniel)

Youngest son of Sir Rowland, he A clown in the court of Duke

falls in love with Rosalind; and Frederick, he finds life in the
even Oliver refers to him as Forest of Arden both pleasing and
―enchantingly beloved.‖ tedious; he makes his peace with
rustic life when he courts and
marries Audrey, a country girl
played by Colleen Madden.

Duke Frederick (Brian Mani) Duke Senior (Brian Mani)

The younger brother of Duke The rightful Duke, banished to the

Senior, he usurps the dukedom. Forest of Arden by his brother.

Celia (Tiffany Scott) Jaques (James Ridge)

Daughter to Duke Frederick, she A melancholy lord attending on

disguises herself as Aliena in Duke Senior, he likes ―to rail
order to accompany Rosalind into against the mistress of the world.‖
the Forest of Arden.
 ABOUT THE PLAY
ACT I
Sir Rowland de Boys was a nobleman who had three sons. And when he died, most of the estate went
to the oldest, Oliver. As for the youngest brother, Orlando, Oliver inexplicably came to hate him and
kept Orlando from his inheritance. When the long-running (and understandable) tension between
Orlando and Oliver comes to a head, Oliver sets out to kill his brother via a wrestler named Charles.

While pondering the banishment of her father Duke Senior by his own brother, ROSALIND has the
Duke Frederick, young ROSALIND is trying to cheer herself up with the help most lines of any of
of her cousin Celia and the court fool Touchstone. Entertainment soon rears its Shakespeare’s female
character, prompting
head in the form of a wrestling match between none other than Orlando and many to refer to her as
Charles. Though he‘s clearly outmatched, Orlando pulls off a win, and he and “the female Hamlet .”
Rosalind fall instantly in love.

BOY: Cross-dressing is a After the ladies depart, a warning arrives for Orlando: the Duke intends him
common occurrence in harm, and he‘d better leave immediately. Orlando makes a wise and hasty
Shakespeare’s plays, with
women dressing as men in
departure, all the while thinking of his new found love, Rosalind. In the
7 of them (partly because meantime, Rosalind is also banished by the Duke. Celia claims that Rosalind‘s
men already played all the banishment is her banishment, too, and they hatch a plan. Rosalind will dress
roles and so were pretty
convincing boys). as a BOY, calling herself Ganymede, and Celia will be her sister Aliena.
Together with Touchstone, they, too, will flee to the woods.

ACT II
In the FOREST OF ARDEN, Duke Senior encourages his FOREST OF ARDEN: Sending his
company to make the best of their exile, while back at court, characters into the woods was another fa-
his usurping brother is fuming mad that Celia and Rosalind vorite plot mechanism. This particular forest
doesn’t exist, but may have been named after
have taken off with Touchstone, and orders a search party. the Forest of Arden in Shakespeare’s
While Orlando is making his escape with the help of his faithful hometown of Warwickshire, or after his
mother, whose maiden name was Arden.
servant Adam, Rosalind, Celia and Touchstone are exhausted
from their travels. When they come across a couple of shepherds who share their food and stories with
the travelers, they decide to buy the farm and stay. Adam and Orlando soon stumble into the Duke‘s
camp. Orlando, thinking they‘re thieves, threatens them and tries to steal their food. When he learns
they are friendly, he and Adam join them as Jaques delivers the famous line ―all the world‘s a stage,
and all the men and women merely players.‖

ACT III
Orlando seems to like the forest, but is spending a great deal of time writing bad love poems about
Rosalind and tacking them onto trees. Eventually Rosalind finds them, and wonders who has written
them. When Celia tells her it was Orlando, Rosalind (still dressed as a boy) hatches a scheme. She goes
to Orlando and tells him she‘ll cure him of his love for Rosalind if he agrees to meet and pretend he
(she) is Rosalind (which of course, she is). He agrees, and they role play. Soon, though, Orlando has to
leave, promising to be back later.
 ABOUT THE PLAY
Continued
ACT III, cont’d.
While they‘re waiting, a lovesick SHEPHERD shows up and Rosalind, feeling a bit
SHEPHERD: The
abundance of rustic scorned herself, yells at the object of his affection (Phebe). Phebe, who evidently
elements in this play likes boys who treat her badly, falls in love with Rosalind (Ganymede), making
categorize it as a
“Pastoral Comedy”
things even more complicated. Touchstone (who seems to be the only one not in
love with Rosalind) has found love with a country girl named Audrey.

Finally, Orlando shows up and Rosalind lets him know that she is not at all pleased with his tardiness.
But after her tantrum, they resume their game of ―pretending‖ to be Rosalind and Orlando, which is
getting more and more difficult for both of them (and also for Celia to watch). Orlando takes his leave
again, promising to be back by 2:00.

ACT IV
Orlando is once again late for his meeting, and Rosalind is once CHANGE OF HEART: Sudden character
again majorly upset. His brother Oliver shows up instead, saying changes (often called deus ex machina, or
that he was nearly killed by both a snake and a lion (almost at “god from the Machine”) wrap up loose
the same time), but Orlando saved him. Orlando was wounded ends nicely, albeit with little explanation.
by the lion and Rosalind passes out when she sees the bloody And Oliver’s isn’t the only one—Duke
Frederick also repents (off-stage) by the
cloth Oliver brought so Orlando wouldn‘t get in trouble again. end of the play.
So as Oliver has a CHANGE OF HEART, he and Celia are
thinking they kind of like each other.

ACT V
Oliver has done a complete about-face, and wants to give Orlando the family fortune and marry Celia
the very next day. This gives Rosalind another idea, and (as Ganymede) she claims to know magic and
tells everyone their love problems will be solved the day of the wedding. Specifically, she says that if
Orlando truly loves Rosalind, the will wed tomorrow, that if she (as Ganymede) would wed any woman
it will be Phebe, but if Phebe refuses the proposal, she must marry Silvius.

WEDDING: Comedy had a When the day of the WEDDING arrives, Rosalind is escorted in by the
different definition in Elizabethan god of marriage, Hymen, and all the things she magically foretold come to
times, and they did not
necessarily have to be funny...they pass. Rosalind and Orlando, Celia and Oliver, Audrey and Touchstone
just had to have a happy ending. and Phebe and Silvius are all set to wed. Off-stage, Duke Frederick has
Shakespeare seemed to hold the denounced his wicked ways and given the Dukedom back to his brother.
opinion that it’s just not a
comedy without a wedding, and So balance returns to the denizens of the forest, and the melancholy Lord
this comedy is a prime example Jaques banishes himself to his eternal cynicism.
with four.
 APT’S AS YOU LIKE IT

E very production of a play is different, and

being on an outdoor stage is different than
most. So plays at APT come with their own
unique challenges (rain, heat, bugs) and amazing
benefits (moonlight, birdsong, summer breeze).
And the outdoors is at the forefront of everyone‘s
minds, from designers to actors to patrons.

―My task is to be authentic and in the moment,‖

says Hillary Clemens who plays Rosalind in this
year‘s production of As You Like It, ―which can be
tricky when performing outdoors to 1148
Hillary Clemens and Matt Schwader. seats. You need to be heard and you need to
make all those little moments reach the back row,
even when it's raining or windy or the whippoorwills are trying to drown you out.‖

Director Tim Ocel, who is working with APT for the first time this year,
made a calculated decision to set this production in the 1930s, based on
rustic nature of the APT stage, as well as the economic climate we‘re
currently living in. ―Times are hard now, as they are in the play. In the
play, as in the Great Depression, life and love continue (not an easy
task) even though times are hard. That‘s why this play is so relevant
now: because we can use a good human comedy to bolster our heads,
hearts, and souls; it's a balm which heals the weariness of the day.
Laughter and thoughtfulness are good things.‖

Tim continues, ―The Depression-era setting emphasizes the difficulty of

being uprooted from your home and the obstacles of hunger and
poverty. Whether that happens thru banishment or foreclosure, one can
either deal with it optimistically or give in to grief. These characters, for
the most part, choose optimism. We encounter these characters
surviving. This is all in the text, by the way; Arden is no country club.‖
Tiffany Scott and Hillary Clemens

The Depression-era time period gave costume designer B. Modern the

opportunity to make lovely court costumes as well as country farmer
attire, and even some Al Capone-like gangster garb. To help protect actors
from the sometimes extreme weather conditions, APT‘s talented costume
designers go so far as to create wardrobe that functions as air conditioning,
with pockets for ice packs built in to keep the company cool. Long-time
costume designer Robert Morgan (who designed for All’s Well That Ends
Well, the other Shakespeare play at APT this year, says: ―Costumes must
be built like armor but look and function like clothing. Heat, wet, athletic
activity, emotional distress—all these take their toll. Costume design
involves intellectual acuity, dramatic insight and intense personal
interaction with the actors. Satisfaction comes from the complex process
of design, the eventual success onstage of the storytelling before a live
Costume rendering by B. Modern
audience, and, selfishly, simply creating beauty.‖
 APT’S AS YOU LIKE IT
CONTINUED

Just as complex is the work done on the set. With

up to five different productions running on the
outdoor stage at a given time, sets are often set up
and torn down in the space of several hours. That‘s
hard work for the production assistants, but it also
offers a challenge to APT set designers.
Fortunately, the theater works with talented scenic
artists like Andrew Boyce, who designed at APT
for the first time this year. As You Like It Director
Tim Ocel made the difficult and deliberate
decision to set this production in the 1930s, which
makes for a fun challenge for the set design.
Model by Andrew Boyce ―Just experiencing this theater and all that barn
board out there just screamed out for something
from that time,‖ says Tim. ―Our set…has an image of the trees looking from below to looking up
because I think the characters in this play look up, they don‘t look down. And I love all the characters
in this play because of that. The walls are tilted…the world is in crisis, the world isn‘t in balance. And
you‘ll see lots of hay being thrown around. It‘s all very John Steinbeckian.‖

While the vision of the director and designers get the play started, much
of the way a character is perceived has to do with the actor‘s
interpretation, and Hillary Clemens and Matt Schwader have some
insights to share about Rosalind and Orlando. According to Hillary, ―I
love that we're setting the play in this time period, and not just because I
get to wear fantastic costumes and play on this gorgeous set. Early on in
the process, our director Tim Ocel spoke to us about how the characters
mature throughout the course of the play—everyone has to grow up a
little (or a lot) to achieve their happy ending. As Tim put it, the 1930s in
America were a time of national "growing up," a transition from the
adolescence of the ‗20s to the adult realities and responsibilities of the
‗40s. For Rosalind specifically, the gender roles of the 1930s support the
freedom she feels when she doesn't have to be a lady. We can also
understand that she chooses to sacrifice a lot of that freedom when she
puts the dress back on and marries Orlando—no matter how progressive
they may be as a couple, a wife in the 1930s was still subject to certain
expectations and constraints.‖ David Daniel as Touchstone
and Hillary Clemens as Rosalind

Hillary continues on to say that some of the things she loves about her character—her wit, generosity,
heart and bravery—are also what lead her to trick Orlando into believing that she‘s a boy. According to
Hillary ―We see in their first scenes together at the court that Orlando is too nervous to speak to
her. When she first addresses him as Ganymede, it's really exciting for her to see how comfortable he is
talking to her. It's a pretty ingenious way for her to find out just how much he loves her, and for her to
get to discuss certain things openly and honestly with him, which she could never really do otherwise.
By the time she reveals herself at the end of the play, they are much more prepared to be together than
they would otherwise have been.‖
 APT’S AS YOU LIKE IT
CONTINUED
Even so, if you think about it, it‘s hard to believe that
Orlando really doesn‘t recognize the woman he claims to
love. Matt Schwader, who plays Orlando, has this to say
about the issue: ―He's fooled because 1: Why would a
princess be wandering the woods dressed as a boy!? And
2: He only met Rosalind once and that was when he was
wrestling for his life. He was a little preoccupied. After
that, when he tried to speak with her he couldn't say a
word. They couldn't converse. The two don't have a lot to
go on after that first meeting! He doesn't get to know her
at all except as Ganymede. That's why they're going to
Matt Schwader (Orlando) and have such an incredible life together. They became friends
Hillary Clemens (Ganymede)
first and lovers after.‖

Finally, one of the most enigmatic characters in the play is the

Lord Jaques, who delivers the famous ―Seven Ages of Man‖
speech that includes ―All the world‘s a stage, and all the men and
women merely players‖, but otherwise doesn‘t seem to do much
other than complain. He does, however, have a very important
role in the play: counterbalancing the often silly antics of the
leads with some cynical reality checks. He doesn‘t dwell on
individual failures, he tracks the human failings of all mankind.
He‘s also special in Shakespeare‘s repertoire for being the one
character that doesn‘t get sucked into happiness at the end of the James Ridge as Jaques
play. While everyone else is making merry at the wedding, Jaques
foregoes the life of the court to live as a learning hermit. It seems knowledge is his one true love,
though it teaches him only sadness. Because of the nature of the play as a comedy, he can‘t be a truly
tragic character, but he is comic in his ability to be so not comic while all this merriment is going on
around him.

In the end, after so much has happened Tim hopes the audience feels hopeful about the future – both in
characters‘ future and their own. ―I hope the audience goes away with a sense of optimism and possible
happiness; that the world is inhabited by all kinds; and that we all need a place and a useful function in
this world. We must find our community and live together.‖
 As You Like It
Photo Summary

After Orlando attacks him, Oliver pays off the wrestler

Charles to put an end to him.

Our story begins with Orlando bemoaning ―I had as life thou didst break his neck as his finger.‖
his fate as the poor captive of his older - Oliver, ACT I, SC I.
brother, Oliver.

―His horses are bred better, for besides

that they are fair with their feeding,
they are taught their manage‖
Orlando, ACT I, SC I

Orlando is outmatched, but miraculously

Needing some cheering up after her father Duke Senior‘s wins. He and Rosalind fall immediately
banishment by Duke Frederick, Touchstone, Rosalind and in love, and Orlando is rendered
Celia decide to watch the wrestling match. It just so speechless by her presence.
happens to be between Orlando and Charles.

―What passion hangs these weights upon my tongue? I

―Is there yet another dotes upon rib-breaking? Should we
cannot speak to her, though she urges conference. O poor
see this wrestling, cousin?
Orlando, thou art overthrown!‖
- Rosalind, ACT I SC II - Orlando, ACT I SC II
 Orlando, too, is getting ready to flee after discovering both Duke
Frederick and Oliver want him gone. So he and Adam, his friend
and servant, make haste for the Forest of Arden.

―But come thy ways; well go along together, and ere we have
Duke Frederick rescinds his offer to shelter they youthful wages spent, we‘ll light upon some settled low
Rosalind in the court, as he fears her virtues content.‖
-Orlando, ACT II SC III.
outweigh those of his daughter, Celia. He
banishes Rosalind to the Forest of Arden.

―Firm and irrevocable is my doom which I have pass‘d

upon her; she is banish‘d.‖
- Duke Frederick, ACT I SC III

Once he settles into Forest life, Orlando finds

Celia and Rosalind have escaped to the Forest, now disguised as himself writing love poetry to Rosalind and
Aliena (Celia) and her brother Ganymede (Rosalind). tacking it to trees.
Touchstone tagged along, too, and they decide to buy a farm.

―I like this place. And willingly could waste my time in it.‖ ―Run, run, Orlando; carve on every tree the
- Celia, ACT II SC IV fair, the chaste and unexpressive she.‖
- Second Lord, ACT III SC II
 When Orlando is late for their third meeting, his brother Oliver
appears instead. He is a changed man, having repented his nasty
ways after Orlando saved him from a snake and a lion. But Orlando
was wounded and ―Ganymede‖ faints.
Rosalind sees the poetry and upon finding
that Orlando is in the woods, tells him that ―Be of good cheer, youth: you a man! You lack a man‘s heart.‖
―Ganymede‖ will cure him of his love if he -Oliver, ACT IV SC III
agrees to meet and pretend that
―Ganymede‖ is Rosalind. Orlando agrees.

―I would cure you, if you would but call

me Rosalind and come every day to my
cote and woo me.‖
Rosalind (Ganymede) ACT III SC. III

―As you
love
Rosalind,
meet: as you
love Phebe,
meet: and as
I love no
woman, I‘ll
meet. So So Rosalind shows up the next day as herself, and she is reunited
fare you with her father. Duke Frederick has a change of heart and
well: I have re-establishes the Dukedom to his brother. Rosalind marries
left you Orlando, Celia marries Oliver, Touchstone marries Audrey and
commands.‖ Phebe marries Silvius, and Rosalind delivers a heart-felt epilogue.
- Rosalind,
ACT V SC II
―Proceed: we will begin these rites, as we do trust they‘ll end in
When Oliver and Celia announce true delights..‖
they‘ll be getting married the next day - Duke Senior, ACT V SC IV
―Ganymede‖ tells everyone she has
magical powers, and all will be wed
and satisfied the next day.
Activities for the classroom

The following exercises have been adapted with permission from Shakespeare Set Free. Please note: unless
stated otherwise, the direction to read in the activities means participation by the full class, reading out loud,
one student at a time with the reader changing with every semi-colon, colon, period or question mark.
All line citations refer to the New Penguin Shakespeare edition of As You Like It. Locations are listed as the
numbers of Act.scene.line(s): for example: 1.2.34-36 would refer to Act One, scene 2, lines 34-36.

Exercise 1: Introduction by similes.

As You Like It seems to be full of smart, colorful people. Similes play a major part in conveying the sense that
characters are very aware and possess vivid imaginations. Jaques, Touchstone, Rosalind and Celia re particu-
larly fond of similes. Just for fun, and to impress the class with the potency of these images, write the follow-
ing similes on separate index cards, distribute them among the class and ask students to introduce themselves
using the following similes. See how many the class can remember.
EXAMPLES: ―I‘m ____________ and I ―live like the old Rob in Hood of England.‖
OR ―My name is ___________ and I ―suite me all points like a man.‖

Similes:
―like the toad, ugly and venomous, wears yet a precious jewel in his head crow like Chanticleer‖
―Like the wild goose flies‖
―creeping like the snail unwillingly to school‖
―sighing like furnace, with a woeful ballad made to his mistress‖
―under a tree like a dropped acorn‖
―like a wounded knight‖
―furnished like a hunter‖
―speak to him like a saucy lackey‖
―live in the skirts of the forest, like fringe upon a petticoat‖
―married under a bush like a beggar‖
―like green timber warp, warp‖
―follow her like foggy south‖
― puffing with wind and rain‖
―will laugh like a hyen‖
―my affection hath an unknown bottom, like the bay of Portugal‖
―defies me like Turk to Christian‖
―bestows himself like a ripe sister‖
―like the howling of Irish wolves against the moon‖
―like two gypsies on a horse‖
―furnishd like a beggar‖
―Like a lusty winter, frosty but kindly‖
―have a swashing and martial outside as many other mannish cowards have‖
―as the icy fang and churlish chiding of the winter‘s wind‖
―true a lover as ever sighed upon a midnight pillow‖
―suck melancholy from a song as a weasel sucks eggs‖
―is plain as the way to parish church‖
―as sensual as the brutish sting itself‖
―as walled town is more worthier than a village‖
―as the ox hath his bow…the hors his curb and the falcon her bells‖
―as full of sanctity as the touch of holy bread‖
―as concave as a covered goblet or a worm-eaten nut‖
―dwells like a miser‖
―as your pearly in your foul oyster‖
If anyone seems unimpressed, ask your students to paraphrase a selection of these similes in as few words as
possible without losing any aspect of the pictures Shakespeare‘s phrases create.

Exercise 2: Inflection
Understanding the meaning of As You Like It beyond the bare bones of the ploy involves the ability to inter-
pret subtext. The following exercise (originally crafted by Paul Cartier, a teacher from Classical High School
in Providence, RI) explores this area and demonstrates its relationship to vocal inflection.

1. On the chalkboard, write: ―I‘m glad you‘re here this evening.‖

2. Ask students what the sentence means. After a brief discussion, have six students read the line,
stressing a different word each time. Compare the meanings. For example: Stressing the word
―I‘m‖ may indicate that nobody else is glad you‘re here, while putting emphasis on ―you‘re‖ im-
plies that the others bore you.
3. Now try the same approach with As You Like It, 1.1.38: ―Know you where you are, sir?‖
4. After each new reading, encourage the class to discuss what the meaning is and to note the differ-
ences implied they stress different words.

Exercise 3: Subtext
Introduce the term ―subtext‖ as a character‘s internal meaning of a line. Subtext is determined by the context
of a particular situation; the character‘s objective in both the particular moment as well as in the larger scope
of the play; and the obstacles that prevent the attainment of these goals. Note that there can be more than one
valid interpretation of a particular line‘s subtext based on these influences.
Next, suggest that vocal inflection is a tool with which actors can convey the subtext they‘re trying to express.
Give five students index cards with one of the following subtexts written on each one:
―How beautiful!‖
―So What?‖
―Look out!‖
―Don‘t be such a jerk.‖
―I don‘t believe it.‖
Ask the students to say ―Oh!‖ in such a way that it conveys the subtext written on their card, and ask the listen-
ers to guess the meaning. (The same exercise can be repeated using the phrase ―Good morning.‖ To imply
―Tell me everything that happened,‖ ―I‘m in a hurry,‖ ―I caught you!‖ and ―I‘m just being polite.‖)
Finally ask the class to apply what they‘ve learned about subtext and inflection to 1.1.27 – 49 (Orlando‘s first
conversation with Oliver) or to 1.2.1-24 (Rosalind and Celia‘s first scene). Ask students to identify each char-
acter‘s objective before they begin to read the lines aloud. Students should support their ideas with information
given in the text. Change readers often and discuss the different possibilities that the lines and situations will
support.

Exercise 4: Subtext of the voice and body

A character‘s subtext or interior thoughts may be conveyed by stressing certain words, inflection, pausing and
speech pacing and even body language. Applying several different scenarios to the same dialogue may illus-
trate this.
Give the following dialogue to several pairs of students:
Student 1: You‘re late.
Student 2: I know. I couldn‘t help it.
Student 1: Are you ready?
Student 2: Well…
Student 1: I understand.
Student 2: Is it time?
Student 1: Take this.
 1. Assign a different set of characters and scenarios to each pair. Some possibilities may be spies ex-
changing information; siblings who have planned to run away from home; a teacher and a student who
has scheduled a make-up text; the master of ceremonies and a performer backstage at a talent show.
2. Warn each pair to keep their characters and scenarios absolutely secret from everyone else, and give
them 10 minutes to prepare their scene. Ask them to work at making their scenarios very clear both in
the way they say their lines and the way they move.
3. Have the rest of the class watch the scenes performed. Can audience members identify each character
and scenario? Discuss the clues they found in the actors‘ vocal and physical presentation.

Exercise 5: Subtext of the voice and body, part II.

Rosalind recognizes that characters ‗ circumstances influence the way they behave when she describes to Or-
lando how time travels ―in divers paces with divers persons‖ (111.2.299-322)

1. Have the class read Rosalind‘s description of the various characters. What can be gleaned about each of
their goals or circumstances? Assign these characters and scenarios to three new pairs of students: a
young woman and the priest just before her wedding; a rich man and a lawyer outside the courtroom
just before the rich man‘s trial for $100 speeding ticket; a priest and a thief at the foot of the gallows.
2. Give them five minutes to prepare to speak the ―You‘re late‖ dialogue. Remind them to assume the cir-
cumstances which Rosalind suggested: the young woman is anxious to marry, the priest ―lacks Latin‖,
etc. Have them perform their scenes for the class.
3. Could the audiences identify the characters Rosalind described when they watched their classmates‘
performances? How did the subtext differ between the maid, the rich man and the pries as character
#1? The priest, the lawyer and the thief as character #2?

Exercise 6: Living Pictures, Part I

This exercise offers a way to clarify the relationships between characters in particular scenes by visually dem-
onstrating them.
1. After several readings of 1.2.139-278, discuss the content of the scene. Have the class list major
occurrences in the story. The list might include: the wrestling match; Rosalind and Celia‘s attempt
to dissuade Orlando from fighting; Duke Frederick‘s disapproval of Orlando‘s parentage; Rosalind
and Orlando falling in love; Celia‘s attempt to make up for her father‘s unfairness to Orlando; Le-
Beau‘s warning to Orlando to flee; etc.
2. Pick two students to portray Rosalind and Orlando. Let other students arrange them in poses that
suggest romantic interest in one another. Try several different poses. Next add a student for Celia.
Have her pose reflect her discovery of the attraction between your cousin and Orlando.
3. While the students hold their poses, have others read 1.2.243-246.If the class feels any part of the
Living Picture doesn‘t reflect what is said, adjust the pose and read the lines again.
4. Pick four other students to lay Rosalind, Celia, Orlando and LeBeau. Pose them to suggest that the
women are seeing Orlando for the first time and asking LeBeau for information about him. Try dif-
ferent poses, including some in which the women are openly curious and some in which they hide
their interest from Orlando. Also try some in which Orlando notices Rosalind and some where he is
more concerned about getting ready to wrestle.
5. When the class is satisfied with a pose for these four characters, freeze the Living Picture while stu-
dents read lines 1.2.141 – 143. Poll the class to assure that they find the pose appropriate to the
lines.
6. Next, add to the pose established for Rosalind, Celia, Orlando and LeBeau a fifth student to play
Duke Frederick and a sixth to play Charles. Arrange them so that the Duke can speak to his daugh-
ter and niece, and also so that they and LeBeau can compare Orlando and Charles as opponents.
Read beginning with line 141 again, but continue through line 150.
 7. Ask students to set up Living Pictures of some of the other significant moments they listed that oc-
cur between the wrestling match and the end of 1.2. Encourage them to explain the reasons for par-
ticular choices in the poses.
8. List the plot and character elements that are most important for determining poses that work satis-
factorily with the lines. Discuss the basic relationships that exist among Rosalind, Celia, Duke Fre-
derick, Orlando, LeBeau and Charles. Ask students to pick one character and write a description of
his or her relationships to the other five.

Exercise 7: Living Pictures, Part II

1. Have the class read through 11.7.140-167 – Jaques‘ famous ―seven ages of man‖ speech – several
times. Discuss the content, answering any questions about unfamiliar words.
2. Select seven pairs of students. Assign each pair one of the ―ages‖ as described by Jaques. Give the
pairs five minutes to prepare a pose which clearly reflects what the words describe. Some Living
Pictures may require two people, others may only need one person. In this case one partner to por-
tray the character, in which case the other partner should direct the action. Have the class sit in a
circle with the students who will actually present the Living Pictures sitting on the floor inside the
circle.
3. Ask the students in the outer circle to read the speech again with the reader changing at every semi-
colon or period. Cue each student posing for the seven ages to get up and strike his or her position
as the appropriate section is read. Make sure they stage their Living Pictures inside the circle where
everyone can see them. Have them hold their positions until the speech is finished and you tell
them to sit down. After the end of the speech, and before anyone moves out of the Living Picture,
allow spectators to suggest any changes that might make the poses more reflective of the words.
4. Have everyone sit down. How did the Living Pictures compare to the images the group had dis-
cussed or imagined as individual? Were there certain aspects of Jaques‘ description that could not
be conveyed in a Living Picture? What words could not be captured by a simple body position?
What sounds are suggested by the speech? What activities? What locations are suggested for the
different ―ages‖? Ask volunteers to read sections of the speech in concert with the students who
posed again if they think they can improve upon the first presentation.
5. Divide the class into groups and repeat this exercise to examine the First Lord‘s speech about
Jaques and the deer, 11.1.26 – 63, and Oliver‘s story about being saved in the forest, IV.34.99 –
121 and 128 – 133. For the very inventive, Touchstone‘s description of the seven degrees of the lie,
V.4.67 – 79 offers a real challenge in visual interpretations.
6. Make sure that in presenting the Living Picture, students coordinate the poses with reading the text
aloud. Let them determine how many poses are necessary to show the whole story. After their pres-
entation, discuss what aspects are most difficult to convey without movement, sound, sets or cos-
tuming. Can any of these images be made clear by a different pose or by accompanying the Living
Pictures with different inflections or stresses in the reading?
7. Ask students to draw pictures or make collages illustrating the Lord‘s deer speech, the ―seven ages
of man‖, Oliver‘s story or the ―seven degrees of the lie.‖
8.
More suggestions for writing and discussion
―Wit‖ is mentioned in As You Like It more than 20 times, suggesting that Shakespeare thought it was an impor-
tant concept in reference to the characters and the situation of the play. Find the following moments in which
wit is mentioned:

Nature has given us wit to flout at Fortune [I.2.45]

You have too courtly a wit for me, I‘ll rest. [IIIO.2.66]

Or else she could not have the wit to do this. [IV.1.1601]

 Make the doors upon a woman‘s wit, and it will out at the casement; shut that, and ‗twill out at the key-
hole; stop that, ‗twill fly with smoke out at the chimney. [IV.1.150-53]

And what wit could wit have to excuse that? [IV.1.1581]

He uses his folly like a stalking horse, and under the presentation of that he shoots his wit. [V.4.1041]

1. Determine the speaker and to whom each is addressed. Explain the meaning of the word in each
situation, based on its usage. How does the meaning of wit change in these different contexts?
2. Considering all these instances, write a complete definition of the word that might satisfy Shake-
speare.
3. Select two characters from among Rosalind, Celia, Touchstone and Orlando and explain how their
stories would change if ―wit‖ did not exist.

Why doesn‘t Rosalind identify herself to Orlando in the forest? Explore this question by considering two very
different ideas about Rosalind: one from Orlando‘s point of view and one uttered by Rosalind disguised as
Ganymede. Read both Orlando‘s poetic description of her which Celia discovers (III.2.137 – 50), and
Rosalind‘s forecast of herself as Orlando‘s wife in IV.1.138 – 145.

1. Define the attributes of the classical heroines which Orlando feels have been ―distilled‖ in Rosa-
lind. Under what circumstance does Orlando write this description? Why does he write it? Who
does he expect to read the poem?
2. Paraphrase the animal images Ganymede predicts in Rosalind in your own words. Under what cir-
cumstances is this description spoken? To whom is it addressed?
3. Write a paragraph describing any problems that Rosalind might encounter in a marriage to Orlando
if he expected her to be as his poem describes. Write another paragraph explaining any disappoint-
ments Orlando might endure in a marriage to Rosalind if she behaved the way Ganymede warns.
4. Describe how Shakespeare uses the friendship that grows between Orlando and Ganymede to re-
duce the potential for misunderstandings in the marriage of Orlando and Rosalind. Cite specific in-
stances where the two ―guys‖ were able to air their ideas more honestly than two avowed lovers
could.

―Love‖ appears in the text of As You Like It over one hundred times, and references to marriage abound.
Shakespeare offers many different views of love.

1. Find the following statements in the play, identify the speaker of each quotation and write a brief
interpretation of what is meant and why it is said.
2. …love no man in good earnest, nor no further in sport neither, than with safety of a pure blush thou
mayst in honour come off again. I.2.26 – 28.
3. If thou rememberest not the slightest folly that ever love did make thee run into, thou hast not
loved. II.4.29 – 31.
4. The worst fault you have is to be in love.
‗Tis a fault I will not change for your best virtue. III.2.274-276
5. Dead Shepherd, now I find they saw of might, who ever loved that loved not at first sight? III.5.81
– 82.
6. …men have died from time to time and worms have eaten them, but not for love. IV.1.96 – 98.
7. …that thou didst know how many fathom deep I am in love! But it cannot be sounded; my affec-
tion hath an unknown bottom, like the Bay of Portugal. IV.1.190 – 194
8. I press in here, sir, amongst the rest of the country copulatives, to swear and to forswear, according
as marriage binds and blood breaks. V.4.53 – 56.
9. What effect has Shakespeare created by presenting such a variety of views on love in one play?
 10. Describe how the structure and content of these moments in II.7 and III.2 fore-
shadow Orlando‘s relationship with the Duke in V.4.1 – 33. Consider also their in-
fluence on your interpretation of V.4.166 – 167.

Touchstone also imitates other‘s speech and attitudes. Examine his exchange with Rosalind in
III.2.84 – 112.
1. Read the passage aloud noting the very regular and choppy rhythm of the verse.
Why would Shakespeare make use of such an odd, halting beat?
2. Be certain that you completely understand the many images. Touchstone‘s are
bawdy. Does Rosalind appreciate his imitation of love poetry? Touchstone normally
speaks only prose in the play. How does this influence the effect of his impromptu
poetry?
3. Interpret Shakespeare‘s purpose in Touchstone‘s response to Orlando‘s poem in
praise of Rosalind. What does it imply about the quality of Orlando‘s verse? What
does it reveal about Touchstone‘s opinion of this mode of wooing? What does it lead
you to expect from Touchstone when he falls in love? Do you think it encourage
Rosalind to be more critical of Orlando‘s approach to wooing?