As You Like It

As You Like It, a romantic comedy with a title that seems to have no plot-related meaning but simply promises to be an audience-pleaser, has kept that promise since its debut in 1599. Its story merges several comic devices that Shakespeare knew to be popular with his theatre-goers including a female character masquerading as a man, multiple couples wooing and wedding, bitter sibling rivalries resolved, and a court jester to compound the humor at every turn.

Few of Shakespeare’s plays rely as much on direct and indirect biblical references. The allusions to the Garden of Eden in particular are so numerous that they become a major theme of the story.

The plot centers on two pairs of brothers, both consisting of an evil brother casting a good brother out of his rightful place. Both outcasts resort to the Forest of Arden, an unexpectedly Edenic place where their banishments turn out to be blessings. Duke Senior, legitimate ruler of the realm, is overthrown by younger brother Frederick and banished to the forest along with his top advisors. Meanwhile Oliver, a wealthy young gentleman, plots against the life of his youngest brother Orlando, forcing him to escape into the same forest.

None of this sounds romantic, but there’s more. The evil Duke Frederick has a daughter Celia who is inseparable from her beloved cousin Rosalind, daughter of the rightful Duke. Rosalind is soon banished also, but Celia determines to escape with her cousin into exile and persuades Touchstone the jester to go along. Still no romance? Well, Rosalind and Orlando have laid longing eyes upon each other before their escapes to Arden, and that’s enough to set in motion not just one, but four love matches. 

The “disguised female” feature results from Rosalind’s decision to dress as a man for safety in the forest. When she finds out Orlando is also in Arden, she takes (unfair?) advantage by role-playing as an advisor to the lovelorn without Orlando realizing he is dealing with the woman of his dreams. 

Biblical references and themes 

“Adam” is the fourth word of the play, and the recurring theme of Creation and Garden of Eden will follow. This Adam is the faithful, aged servant of the late Sir Rowland de Boys who will shortly abandon Sir Rowland’s evil heir Oliver, give his life’s savings to young Orlando, and attend him into the forest.

When we first see Arden, Duke Senior is addressing his fellow-exiles and we find that the forest is not the wild and threatening place the men had feared. In Act II, Scene 1, lines 1-11 (II.1.1-11 in the Folger Shakespeare Library edition) he rejoices that they are safer there where they “feel not the penalty of Adam” than they were in “the envious court.” Jacques laments the need of killing deer for food (II.1.21-25) as inconsistent with Arden’s unsullied environment.

Orlando assumes the forest to be “uncouth” upon first venturing into it (II.6.6) but is soon happy to find it full of gentleness (II.7.111-114). The cold winds that might arise (II.5.6-8) are declared to be not a curse, but a blessing compared with human sinfulness (II.7.182-184). Even the diabolical creature who invaded Eden to ruin mankind also has a sinister equivalent in Arden (the serpent in IV.3.114). Besides these reflections of the Garden of Eden, Rosalind’s casual remark that the earth is “almost 6000 years old” (IV.1.100) assumes the traditionally estimated date of the Genesis creation, 4000 B.C.

Direct references to Bible accounts in As You Like It include the prodigal son (I.1.37 and 74), God’s feeding of the ravens in Luke 12:24 and the sparrows in Matthew 10:29 (II.3.44-45), the woman as the “weaker vessel” from I Peter 3:7 (II.4.6), a tree yielding “bad fruit” from Matthew 7:18 (III.2.117), and animals coming in pairs to the ark from Gen. 7:8-9 (V.4.36-37).

Less direct allusions include the Judas kiss (III.4.8-9) and Ruth’s gleaning of harvest leftovers (III.5.106-111). Even the wicked usurper Duke Frederick seems to know Jesus’ lost coin parable from Luke 15:8 in his “seek him with candle” command (III.1.6). That parable leads directly into the better-known prodigal son story which Shakespeare had used more obviously in Act I.

In very general terms an orthodox God-centered worldview is further reflected in expressions like “sermons in stone” (II.1.17), “Is he of God’s making?” (III.2.209-214), “thank heaven fasting” (III.5.62-63), and the disclaimer that Rosalind’s “magic” is “not damnable” (V.2.63-65).

Respect for biblical marriage is upheld throughout the play despite the jester’s inclination to lower that standard with a questionable wedding. He is reprimanded by Jacques and persuaded to get properly married (III.3.83-105). Even the lowly shepherd Silvius professes a love for Phoebe that is “So holy and so perfect…” (III.5.106). All four couples, socially diverse though they are, share a respectable quadruple wedding at play’s end after chaste courtships.

Shakespeare oddly brings a representation of a Roman deity onstage to solemnize the ceremony (V.4.190-191), but the biblical tone is restored immediately as the closing scene is interrupted by miraculous news. Duke Frederick, upon entering the Forest of Arden with evil intent, has met an “old religious man,” been “converted from the world,” and surrendered his usurped crown (V.4.159-168). Not coincidentally Oliver, the play’s other villain, had earlier undergone a conversion soon after entering this beneficent forest. Jacques now declares he will go find Frederick and learn from this “convertite” (V.4.190-191).

So the story’s climax features the launching of four marriages, repentance of the villains, their reconciliation with their brothers, and a final picture of religious devotion with Eden restored.  

Similarities to other Shakespeare plays

Kings/Dukes usurped by younger brothers: As You Like It, The Tempest, Hamlet. (The princes in Much Ado About Nothing almost fit the category, as Claudio has apparently put down a rebellion led by Don John just before the action of the play begins.)  

Weddings of multiple couples performed or impending: As You Like It, Midsummer Night’s Dream, Twelfth Night, Much Ado About Nothing, The Taming of the Shrew, The Merchant of Venice. 

Women disguised as men: As You Like It, Twelfth Night, Two Gentlemen of Verona. [Mind-bending bonus: The As You Like It version of the gender disguise adds an extra twist when Rosalind masquerading as the male Ganymede proposes to role-play a woman—herself! Remember, female stage roles in Shakespeare’s time were played by boys dressed as women. So the first audiences of As You Like It were treated to a male playing a female disguised as a male role-playing a female!]

All's Well that Ends Well

All's Well that Ends Well presents us with an unusual arranged marriage which leaves the couple immediately estranged, the unwilling groom determined to discard his identity if not his very life, and the disappointed bride determined to win her groom even if it requires her to deviously meet an impossible challenge. In the process, the "at-odds couple" takes us uncomfortably near the edge of adultery, a precipice that Shakespeare's high-born characters usually do not visit. (See my "Topics" post on Sexual Morality.)

Helena, whose late father had been employed as physician to a noble French family, has been raised in the household even after her father's death, a welcome guest treated almost as a family member. She has fallen in love with the young Bertram who will inherit the family title of Count, but keeps this to herself knowing that a commoner has no business aspiring to such a match.

But then, Helena uses one of her father's secret medical cures to save the life of the king and he rewards her by offering her marriage to any noble bachelor in the realm. She cannot resist choosing Bertram, who is horrified at the idea of marrying not only a commoner, but a girl who has been raised with him like a kid sister (II.3.123-127). Seeing Bertram's deep loathing for the forced arrangement, Helena asks the king to call the deal off, but he thinks his kingly honor is at stake (II.3.161-162) and refuses. This pivotal scene presents a good opportunity for students to discuss the shared fault of the three characters involved. Are they all responsible for the trouble that ensues? To what extent?

Bertram is so despondent that he would rather face death at war (in which the king has forbidden him to participate) than to consummate this sham marriage (II.3.288) and hints he will never to go home alive (II.5.100-102). He is severing ties with the king and his noble family inheritance (indeed he is disinherited in III.2.69-71) and he flees to the war practically devoid of identity, feeling like a dead man. It is important to understand this to see why he is not fully an exception to Shakespeare's unspoken rule that the high-born do not ordinarily sink to sexual immorality.

Helena herself admits that the trick she sets up to snare and save Bertram is dabbling near the borders of sin (III.7.49-54), yet she is determined to fulfill Bertram's impossible bargain, for her sake and for his, at any cost. That bargain is that he will consummate their "marriage" only if she can get the family ring from his finger, and show that she has a child conceived by him (III.2.59-62).

Her plot involves several deceptions centering on exploiting Bertram's intention to have a wartime affair with young Diana who has caught his eye, substituting herself for Diana in the darkness (III.7.17-40). The other major piece of the plot is to put out the news that she herself has died, which she "confirms" with a letter ostensibly from a holy rector (IV.3.57). The deception continues into V.3.159-166 with Diana's letter to the king. All of this naturally lends itself to class discussion of whether such deceptions are justified under the circumstances in order to bring about a positive outcome.

Bertram's faults, of course, stand out more obviously. His rejection of his unchosen bride is partly understandable, but his immediate lying to Helena (II.5.67-76) and his pursuit of Diana's virginity (IV.2.7-45) are not so excusable. Add to that his dishonest insults against Diana later (V.3.202-249) and we are seeing serious character flaws.

All of this adds up to an issue that keeps this play from being a simple romantic comedy. Shakespeare may have titled All's Well… ironically. Is all well at the end? Will this marriage proceed successfully with such a powerful foundation of mistrust, which seems too easily resolved at the end? Even the king, in the play's closing speech, implies the doubts we might all have deep down. "All yet seems well, and if it end so meet, the bitter past, more welcome is the sweet." Don't overlook the "seems" and "if" in that fine couplet. Students can profit from a good discussion of the trust-building that is essential in preparation for marriage.

Another theme worth noting in the play is the respect for God (and "heaven") expressed by several characters. Some examples appear in I.3.201-204, II.1.166-170, II.3.32, and III.4.27-31. Likewise, chastity is often praised especially by the women of the play, as in I.1.111-171, III.5.10-29 and 94, and IV.2.46-61. By contrast, the empty braggart Parolles offers some of the classic arguments against virginity in I.1.111-171, and Bertram's tempting of Diana later echoes some of the same corrupted reasoning.

Finally, I'll point out several elements of this story line that parallel other Shakespeare plays to some extent:

*The intrigue of the ring (III.7.26-32 and V.3.215-226) may remind us of Merchant of Venice.
* Diana's enigmatic riddling (V.3.305-345) is like Rosalind's in As You Like It.
* The offer of a "second marriage" after the "death" of the first bride (V.3.76-79) echoes Much Ado About Nothing.
* The happy reunion of a wife with a husband who has deeply wronged her (V.3.346-363) is much like the play with the only surprise ending in Shakespeare that is so dramatic, I refuse to be a "spoiler" by identifying it!

Sexual Morality

Shakespeare's plays include elements of appropriate or inappropriate sexuality. Christians might be uneasy with some of these story lines, and feel that the overall body of Shakespeare's work sends mixed messages as to sexual morality.

One generalization I would offer is that Shakespeare sometimes implies a distinction between upper class characters and commoners with higher standards expected of the former, while lower standards for the latter might be assumed.

The exceptions among the upper class are treated as serious matters, often with weighty consequences. Hamlet takes his royal mother bitterly to task for her adulterous (by his society's standards) marriage to her brother-in-law (III.4.19-106). Juliet (III.5.216-255 and IV.1.51-90) is desperate to avoid violating her marriage as she has been advised to do by her nurse.

Even false accusations of fornication among the upper class are extremely serious when believed, whether in Shakespeare's comedies (Much Ado about Nothing IV.1.81-210) or tragedies (Othello IV.2.37-105). Yet in Much Ado, Borachio and Margaret seem to have something going on (II.2.12-49), as do Cassio and Bianca in Othello (IV.1.123-158), but these liaisons between commoners are treated as normal. Measure for Measure (the only Shakespeare play named from a verse of scripture, Matt. 7:2) deals with fornication and hypocrisy via a unique plot line in which the premature sexual union of a "nearlywed" couple is regarded as a mitigated sin in contrast with the immeasurably worse intentions of Angelo, the city's interim ruler.

All's Well that Ends Well offers another unique story in which a young nobleman brushes the boundaries of adultery. See my post on that play describing the two buffers between Shakespeare's general rule about sexual misconduct by the high-born and what actually happens. First, Bertram has already despairingly given up his title and considers himself ruined, virtually a dead man. Second, he never actually commits adultery although he fully intends to and just as fully believes he has! In the same play, notice the frequent words in praise of virginity and chastity. See also the modest propriety of Hermia, another nearlywed, under tempting circumstances in Midsummer Night's Dream (II.2.41-70).