As You Like It

Consider the comments on Fortune in Act I, Scene 2, and Act II, Scene 7. What role does fortune perform in the play at large?

Many characters in the play see things that others do not; this is particularly true of Rosalind and Jaques. What is each character’s wisdom rooted in? How is their wisdom similar and how is it different? And are there any other characters who see through the performances—explicit and implicit—of others?

In Shakespeare’s time, primogeniture, when the eldest son inherits from the father, was an important topic. How does Shakespeare present or manipulate primogeniture in the play? How is it a positive or negative force?

At the end of the play, both Jaques and Duke Frederick leave court to lead solitary, religious lives. How does this fit into the plot and their characters? Does this affect the comedy’s happy ending?

As You Like It is a pastoral comedy and alternates between two primary settings—court and the country. In the play, how does Shakespeare critique and praise court life? In turn, how does Shakespeare critique and praise country life?

At the end of the play, at least two characters refuse to return to court: Duke Ferdinand and Jaques. Do these choices—particularly Jaques’s—undermine the celebratory tone of reconciliation that comes with Duke Senior’s return to the throne?

Consider Rosalind’s disguise as a man and the role gender plays among the other characters in the play. Consider also the fact that all characters were traditionally played by men in Shakespeare’s time. How does Shakespeare present gender as fluid within the play?

To what extent does love perform a positive or negative role in the play?

There are many forms and expressions of love in As You Like It. Discuss what forms of love Shakespeare presents and whether any of them are more powerful than the others.