Authors: William Shakespeare
Lines 1–127:
In an exchange that reveals their love for each other, Celia encourages Rosalind to “be merry” despite the banishment of her father. Rosalind argues that she is already trying to “show more mirth” than she is “mistress of,” raising the theme of disguise/concealment. Celia promises that one day she will restore Rosalind to her true status. Rosalind tries to be merry as Celia requests and begins to “devise sports” for their entertainment, asking “what think you of falling in love?” thereby introducing the key theme of the play: love in its various forms. As Celia and Rosalind banter about love, revealing their quick wit, they are interrupted by Touchstone. The jester joins in the ladies’ witty exchange, quipping about wise fools and foolish wise men (reinforcing a wider theme of “exchanged roles” and raising a key motif of fools and foolishness). They are joined by Monsieur Le Beau, who tells them of the “sport” at the wrestling match, a language choice that echoes Rosalind’s earlier use of the term in conjunction with love, creating a parallel between sport and courtship. Le Beau reports that Charles has defeated three men and there is to be another bout. Celia and Rosalind decide to watch.
Lines 128–233:
The ladies comment on Charles’ youthful challenger (the disguised Orlando). Duke Frederick has tried to dissuade him from fighting, and suggests that the ladies may be able to “move him.” Orlando thanks the ladies but insists that he will fight, declaring that his “place” in the world “may be better supplied” by someone else if he dies. Orlando defeats Charles and reveals that he is “the youngest son of Rowland de Bois.” Frederick’s attitude changes: he and Orlando’s father were enemies. When Frederick has left, Rosalind explains that de Bois was a loyal friend of her father. Celia is ashamed of Duke Frederick’s “rough and envious” behavior and praises Orlando. Rosalind gives him a chain from around her neck as a favor, a gesture that reinforces ideas of courtly romance. The ladies take their leave and Orlando tries to stop them. Rosalind, clearly smitten with Orlando, stays briefly to tell him that he has “overthrown / More than [his] enemies.”
Lines 234–266:
Orlando realizes that he, too, is “overthrown,” and says that “passion” rendered him unable to talk to Rosalind. Le Beau urges Orlando to leave. He explains that Duke Frederick is temperamental. Orlando asks about the two ladies. Le Beau describes Celia and reveals that the other lady is “daughter to the banished duke.” He adds that the love between the two of them is “dearer than the natural bond of sisters,” again presenting a female love to contrast with the male enmity seen so far. He explains that Frederick has recently “ta’en displeasure” against Rosalind because the people “praise her for her virtues,” creating a parallel between Rosalind and Orlando, who is disliked by Oliver for similar reasons. Le Beau warns that Frederick’s “malice” against Rosalind “Will suddenly break forth.” He leaves Orlando musing on “heavenly Rosalind.”
Lines 1–88:
Celia questions whether Rosalind can have fallen in love with Orlando “on such a sudden.” They are interrupted by Duke Frederick, who abruptly tells Rosalind that she is banished from the court. Bewildered, Rosalind asks for an explanation and Frederick
replies that she is her “father’s daughter, there’s enough,” a statement that reinforces the theme of inheritance, as does Rosalind’s retort that “Treason is not inherited.” Celia pleads with her father, claiming that she and Rosalind are “coupled and inseparable.” Frederick is unmoved, saying that Celia is a “fool” and reiterating Rosalind’s banishment before he leaves.
Lines 89–140:
Celia announces that her father has banished them both—she and Rosalind are “one” and cannot be “sundered.” She suggests that they go into the forest to find Rosalind’s father. Rosalind points out that two “Maids” such as themselves would be in danger, as “Beauty provoketh thieves sooner than gold.” Celia suggests they disguise themselves “in poor and mean attire” for safety. Rosalind agrees, deciding that she will disguise herself as a man, with a “swashing and a martial outside” to conceal her “hidden woman’s fear,” emphasizing the theme of disguise/concealment and raising the issue of gender identity. She announces that she will be called “Ganymede,” and Celia chooses “Aliena” as her new identity. They decide to take Touchstone with them.
The action moves from the court to the country, one of several binaries in the play, including male/female and hate/love, as well as the oppositions within and between characters: pairs of warring brothers and the division of various characters between their disguised selves and true identities.
Duke Senior compares the “sweet” life in the forest with the “painted pomp” of the “envious court.” The language used to describe the forest by the duke and others reinforces the idyllic, pastoral nature of the setting, but there are also constant reminders of the realities and troubles of human existence, a tension sustained throughout the play. The duke suggests that they go hunting but is troubled that the “native” citizens of the forest, the deer, are to be usurped and killed “in their own confines,” an image that echoes his own deposition by his brother. A lord describes how the “melancholy Jaques” watched a dying deer and wept while moralizing on
the human condition. Duke Senior is entertained by Jaques’ somewhat excessive and affected moralizing and suggests that they go to find him.
Duke Frederick has discovered that Celia has fled with Rosalind. One lord reveals that Touchstone has gone with them; another reports that Celia’s waiting woman overheard them discussing Orlando and suspects that he is “surely in their company.” Frederick sends for Orlando, and, if he cannot be found, for Oliver.
Orlando is met by Adam, who warns him he should leave immediately. He reports that Oliver is so jealous of his brother that he plans to kill him. Orlando replies that he has nowhere to go and no money. Adam offers all the money he has saved for his old age and suggests that he go with him. Much moved by Adam’s goodness, Orlando agrees.
Rosalind (as Ganymede), Celia (as Aliena), and Touchstone arrive in the Forest of Arden. Celia and Touchstone are weary, but Rosalind is “merry” in spirit. She argues that, since she is disguised as a man, she must be brave, “as doublet and hose ought to show itself courageous to petticoat,” raising issues of gender but also the extent to which “disguise” creates or conceals identity. Two shepherds enter and the others stand aside to listen. The theme of love is raised again, as Silvius tells Corin how much he loves Phoebe. When Corin sympathizes, Silvius claims that Corin is too old to know how he feels and can never have loved as he does. Silvius leaves, still lamenting, and Rosalind sympathizes with him, seeing a parallel between his love and hers for Orlando. Touchstone, too, recalls past love, but with cynical, bawdy humor, concluding that “so is all nature in love mortal in folly.” Touchstone’s prosaic attitude is compounded by Celia,
who is thinking only of food. They ask Corin to take them where they can rest and eat. He explains that he cannot help them himself: he is only “shepherd to another man,” introducing an anti-pastoral element of realism and reinforcing the play’s concerns with social position and status. He offers to take them to his master’s cottage, which is for sale. Rosalind offers to buy the “cottage, pasture and the flock.”
Amiens sings a song emphasizing the pleasant idleness of the pastoral setting. Jaques asks Amiens to carry on singing, but he refuses, as it will make Jaques melancholy. Revealing his affected nature, Jaques says he enjoys being melancholy, and Amiens continues. Jaques contributes a final, cynical verse, suggesting that anyone who leaves the “wealth and ease” of the court for the country is an “ass.” Amiens goes to call Duke Senior to a banquet.
Adam is weak from hunger. Orlando carries him, promising to find food and shelter.
Lines 1–88:
Duke Senior searches for Jaques. He appears and describes a meeting he has had with a “motley fool” (Touchstone). He is filled with admiration for Touchstone’s apparently profound reflections on time and humanity and expresses his own desire to be “a fool,” saying he is “ambitious for a motley coat.” Ironically, Jaques is often “foolish,” but he also comes close to fulfilling the traditional dramatic role of the fool—providing observation on the events of the play and the human condition—but his self-importance and affectation hinder his insight. As Duke Senior and Jaques debate with each other, Orlando enters.
Lines 89–169:
Orlando draws his sword and demands food, saying that “bare distress” prevents him from “the show / Of smooth civility,”
suggesting, perhaps, that manners and courtliness are a “disguise” for basic human instincts. When the duke gently invites him to “Sit down and feed,” Orlando apologizes. He adds that he must fetch Adam, declaring that he will not eat until his servant has. While he is gone, the duke comments that they are not the only ones to be unhappy, observing that “This wide and universal theatre / Presents more woeful pageants than the scene / Wherein we play in.” Continuing the meta-theatrical theme, Jaques compares human existence to theatrical performance: “All the world’s a stage / And all the men and women merely players.” As he comments on the last “scene,” old age, Orlando returns, carrying the elderly Adam on his back.
Lines 170–204:
Orlando thanks Duke Senior, and a song is sung as they eat. The duke tells Orlando that, if he is really the son of “good Sir Rowland,” then he is “truly welcome.”
Duke Frederick refuses to believe that Oliver has not seen Orlando. He orders him to find his brother dead or alive within the year or face banishment. The duke seizes control of Oliver’s estate until Orlando is found. Oliver tells the duke that he has never loved Orlando, at which Frederick ironically brands him a “villain,” confiscates his lands, and banishes him.
Lines 1–76:
Lovesick Orlando has written poems to Rosalind and is hanging them on trees in the forest. In highly conventional poetic language he praises “The fair, the chaste and unexpressive” Rosalind and declares his intention to carve her name “on every tree.” As he leaves, Corin and Touchstone enter, discussing the differences between court and country. Touchstone provides a neat summary, providing arguments and counterarguments for both. Corin returns this “philosophy” with his prosaic observations, such as the “great cause of the night is lack of the sun.” He observes, however, that
court and country are two mutually exclusive spheres, emphasizing the notion that the courtly characters’ sojourn in the woods is an unreal, artificial episode. As they wrangle, Rosalind arrives (still in disguise as Ganymede).
Lines 77–233:
Rosalind is reading a poem in praise of herself that she has found on another tree. Touchstone satirizes the verse and Celia enters, reading another long poem that even Rosalind describes as a “tedious homily of love.” Sending Touchstone and Corin away, they discuss the poems, agreeing they are badly written, but Rosalind is anxious to know who wrote them. Celia teases her for a while before revealing that it was Orlando. Rosalind bombards Celia with questions, deeply regretting that she is disguised in “doublet and hose.” They see Orlando and Jaques approaching and stand aside.
Lines 234–391:
Orlando accuses Jaques of being “either a fool or a cipher,” and Jaques criticizes Orlando for being in love. Jaques leaves and Rosalind decides to speak to Orlando, retaining her disguise as Ganymede. She engages him in a witty exchange and he observes that her accent is “finer” than most shepherds’, drawing attention to the limitations of disguise. Rosalind turns the conversation to a man who “haunts the forest” and “abuses” the trees by carving the name “Rosalind” on them, adding that she wishes that she could meet this lovesick “fancy-monger,” so that she could offer him “some good counsel.” Orlando admits that he is the one who is “so love-shaked” and asks what the “remedy” is. Rosalind, as Ganymede, argues that “Love is merely a madness” and suggests that “he” can cure Orlando by pretending to be Rosalind and showing how “inconstant” women are. Orlando arranges to call every day at the cottage.
Touchstone is courting Audrey. They are accompanied by Jaques, who interjects cynical comments on their courtship, adding to the humor already created by the disparity between Touchstone’s wordy philosophies and Audrey’s limited understanding and forthright declarations. Touchstone has arranged for a country clergyman, Sir Oliver Martext, to marry them in the forest, but he refuses unless
there is someone to give the bride away. Jaques offers to do this, but succeeds in convincing Touchstone that he should be married in a church, not “under a bush like a beggar.” Despite Touchstone’s cynical argument that an irregular marriage service will make it easier for him to leave his wife, he agrees, and they abandon the confused Sir Oliver.
Rosalind is distressed that Orlando has not kept his appointment, and Celia cynically suggests that he is not in love after all. Rosalind reveals how she met her father, Duke Senior, in the forest and that he questioned her, believing her to be Ganymede. Corin arrives to invite them to observe a meeting between Silvius and Phoebe: “a pageant truly played” between “true love” and “proud distain.” The meta-theatrical circumstance of the dual “audience” is compounded by Rosalind’s suggestion that she may become “a busy actor in their play.”
Lines 1–81:
Silvius begs Phoebe to love him, but she scornfully rejects him. Rosalind emerges and berates Phoebe for her cruelty. She argues that Phoebe is fortunate to be loved by the shepherd, particularly when she is so unattractive. Deceived by Rosalind’s disguise, however, Phoebe promptly falls in love with “Ganymede.”