N
The Daily Insight

What is the synopsis of As You Like It?

Author

James Craig

Updated on March 04, 2026

As You Like It Summary. Rosalind and her cousin escape into the forest and find Orlando, Rosalind's love. Disguised as a boy shepherd, Rosalind has Orlando woo her under the guise of "curing" him of his love for Rosalind. Rosalind reveals she is a girl and marries Orlando during a group wedding at the end of the play.

In respect to this, what is the ending of As You Like It?

There's a lot going on at the play's end: four couples get hitched and the exiles decide to return to court. (That's Shakespeare's way of letting us know that social order has been restored and we can all go home and relax.) Not only that, but Rosalind steps out on stage at the end and delivers a rather sassy epilogue.

Also, who does Oliver marry in As You Like It? Oliver and Celia, still disguised as the shepherdess Aliena, fall instantly in love and agree to marry.

Similarly, what does Silvius say of Phoebe's eyes?

They are so amorous that they embarrass him. They are so dull that they bore him.

Why did Shakespeare write As You Like It?

I don't have time to go through the rest of my analysis, but the one-sentence answer I found to the question "Why did Shakespeare write this?" was this: As a way of showing his audience that we all have our "masks." Our behavior might change in different settings or with different people.

Related Question Answers

What is the main theme of As You Like It?

Love. Love is the central theme of As You Like It, like other romantic comedies of Shakespeare. Following the tradition of a romantic comedy, As You Like It is a tale of love manifested in its varied forms.

Why is it called as you like it?

By William Shakespeare

As a title, As You Like It also seems like a reference to the endless interpretive possibilities of the play, don't you think? For some, the play is all about the nature of love. For others, it's about the fluidity of gender. Some folks even see it as a play that's all about same-sex desire.

At what event do Orlando and Rosalind meet in As You Like It?

As You Like It
A B
Why does Oliver inherit the bulk of his father's estate? Oliver is the oldest son, and therefore guaranteed the inheritance by law.
At what event do Orlando and Rosalind meet? A wrestling match
What name does Rosalind assume for her disguised self? Ganymede

What is the meaning of As You Like It?

As You Like It is a stage play in the form of a comedy, a literary work with a happy ending. The subject matter and setting of most of the scenes also qualify the play as a pastoral romance, a literary work about love and life in the countryside.

Who was Ganymede and Aliena?

Rosalind chooses to go as "Ganymede" (the name of a Trojan youth abducted to Olympus, where he was made the cupbearer of the gods and became immortal), and Celia chooses to go as "Aliena." Shakespeare takes both names from the novel Rosalynde (1590) by Thomas Lodge.

Why did Rosalind and Celia go to the Forest of Arden?

Frederick's daughter Celia is horrified at her father's tyranny, and tries to intercede with him on Rosalind's behalf. But it's all to no avail. As Celia can't prevent her father from banishing Rosalind, she decides to go with her to the Forest of Arden.

Why does Rosalind marry Orlando?

Rosalind's love for Orlando requires the blessing of marriage in order to have currency in the world beyond the forest. Hymen, by his own declaration, is a god not of the forest but “of every town,†and it is to town that the lovers will now return (V. iv. 135).

How does Rosalind test Orlando?

Rosalind is testing his love in a playful and funny way by playing around with the sexes. Orlando is really handsome and Rosalind fell in love with him by first sight.

What does Orlando do to show his love for Rosalind?

Orlando's love for Rosalind takes hold fast, as does her love for him, and he quickly becomes the tortured lover. Orlando, madly in love with Rosalind, writes poems to her and hangs them on the trees of the forest of Ardenne. Orlando's behaviors demonstrate his nobility as a character and endear him to the reader.

Who is the youth that is in love with Audrey?

Switching topics, Touchstone mentions that there is a youth in the forest who loves Audrey. Just then, William, the youth in question, appears. Touchstone asks William if he is witty, and William responds that he is. Touchstone then asks if William is in love with Audrey.

What happens to Duke Frederick in As You Like It?

Duke Frederick is the brother of Duke Senior and the usurper of his throne. In the end, however, he undergoes a spiritual transformation after meeting a religious man on the road, and gives the dukedom back to Duke Senior, its deserving holder.

What name does Rosalind assume for her disguised self?

Rosalind is the heroine and protagonist of the play As You Like It (1600) by William Shakespeare. In the play, she disguises herself as a shepherd named Ganymede.

Who is the father of Orlando?

Orlando is the youngest son of the deceased Sir Rowland de Bois and is the brother of Oliver and Jacques. He is brave, chivalrous, tender, modest, smart, strong, and handsome.

What had Sir Rowland advised Oliver to do?

He begs Oliver to intervene on his brother's behalf, but Oliver replies that Orlando is a conniving and deceitful scoundrel. He convinces Charles that Orlando will use poison or some other trick in order to bring down the wrestler.

What means this lady monologue?

I left no ring with her: what means this lady? Fortune forbid my outside have not charm'd her! She made good view of me; indeed, so much, That sure methought her eyes had lost her tongue, For she did speak in starts distractedly.

What is the relationship between Silvius and Phoebe?

Phoebe and Silvius are both in love, though not reciprocally. Silvius does love Phoebe; she, however, falls in love with Ganymede and is merely tricked into committing herself to Silvius.

Does Audrey love touchstone?

Touchstone is the court jester of Duke Frederick the usurper's court. Touchstone falls in love with a dull-witted goat girl named Audrey. William, an oafish country boy, makes clumsy attempts to woo her as well, but is driven off by Touchstone, who threatens to kill him "a hundred and fifty ways".

Why does Duke Frederick dislike Orlando?

Thus Duke Frederick dislikes Orlando because of the way that he is related to one of his enemies. This automatically taints Orlando by association, making Duke Frederick misinterpret Orlando and his actions and speech.

Who is Phoebe in love with in As You Like It?

Phoebe. A young shepherdess, who disdains the affections of Silvius. She falls in love with Ganymede, who is really Rosalind in disguise, but Rosalind tricks Phoebe into marrying Silvius.

Who shut their coward gates on Atomies?

'Tis pretty, sure, and very probable That eyes, that are the frail'st and softest things, Who shut their coward gates on atomies, Should be called tyrants, butchers, murderers. 15 Now I do frown on thee with all my heart, And if mine eyes can wound, now let them kill thee.

Is Rosalind truly in love with Orlando what is her love based on is Orlando truly in love with Rosalind?

Rosalind is truly in love with Orlando. Rosalind's love is based on all the actions Orlando has done for her love and affection and how they interact with each other. Orlando is truly in love because he shows his love to her.

Where does the final battle of Henry IV take place *?

Part of the fighting is believed to have taken place at what is now Battlefield, Shropshire, England, three miles north of the centre of Shrewsbury. It is marked today by Battlefield Church and Battlefield Heritage Park.

What does the Forest of Arden symbolize in As You Like It?

In As You Like It, the Forest of Arden represents the country life and an escape from corruption while the Duke's court represents corrupted city life.

Who usurped Duke senior position at court?

Having been banished by his usurping brother, Frederick, Duke Senior now lives in exile in the Forest of Arden with a number of loyal men, including Lord Amiens and Jaques. We have the sense that Senior did not put up much of a fight to keep his dukedom, for he seems to make the most of whatever life gives him.

Why does touchstone marry Audrey?

Audrey may be a simple, uneducated country girl, but she evidently very much prides herself in her virtuous chastity and is not likely to relinquish her virtue very easily. What's more, Touchstone is really only interested in a relationship with Audrey for the sake of satisfying his lustful desires.

Do Oliver and Celia get married?

Celia's marriage with Oliver has been criticised by many critics. Stopford Brooke opines that this marriage is against probability because it looks strange that Oliver should change in a moment from the scoundrel. But her marriage with Oliver does not bring disgrace to her character.

How did Celia fall in love Oliver?

Celia Is the love interest of Oliver in Shakespeare play As You Like It. Celia was talking with Oliver and was falling in love with him after he help her get down the tree. So when her cousin marry Orlando Celia marry Oliver and heard the news her father gave back the castle to her uncle.

Does Felicity fall in love Oliver?

Oliver (Stephen Amell) and Laurel had romantic feelings for each other in the beginning of the series, but at least one of them moved on. A love story between Oliver and Felicity took shape starting in season 2, culminating in a wedding in season 6.

Why does Rosalind disguise herself?

When Rosalind runs away to the forest, she knows that rape and robbery are very real possibilities on the road, so she decides to disguise herself as a young man named Ganymede. In other words, Rosalind knows that gender is a social role that can imitated and faked.

When Celia disguises herself as a shepherdess what name does she take?

Realizing that such a journey would be incredibly dangerous for two wealthy, attractive young women, they decide to travel in disguise: Celia as a common shepherdess and Rosalind as a young man. Celia renames herself Aliena, while Rosalind dubs her disguised self Ganymede, after the cupbearer to Jove.

What happens to Jacques at the end of the play?

Whether Jaques is truly melancholy or merely playing at being melancholy, by the end of the play, he's decided not to inflict himself any further on his fellow men and women, and he goes to live in a monastery with Duke Frederick.

Who is Duke in As You Like It?

Duke Senior is Rosalind's father and the rightful duke of the land. Before the action of the play, his brother, Duke Frederick, banished him from the land, forcing him to seek exile in the Forest of Arden.