‘As You Like It’ — DETAILS ABOUT THE PLAY

The Forest of Arden. Though there was an Arden Forest in Warwickshire, England (where Shakespeare's mother's family was from), it is fairly certain that Shakespeare placed "As You Like It", in the French forest of Ardennes, as Shakespeare's main source, Lodge's "Rosalynde," was set there. The Ardennes are a wooded region that borders France, Belgium, and Luxembourg. The Forest of Arden is an "artificial" world where the characters of "As You Like It" can find themselves and settle conflicts that escape solution in the "real" world. Arden is equivalent to the mythical land of Arcadia, the land where amorous shepherds and shepherdesses lead an ideal existence in the Pastoral literary tradition, which "As You Like It" both draws on and lovingly parodies.

Masque. A masque was an entertainment that began at the court of the King or Queen and evolved into a drama-like theatrical event. Originally, the masque was comprised of royal courtiers who put on masks and costumes and entertained the King or Queen in the palace with dancing, singing, and short comic scenes. Eventually, the masques became quite elaborate with expensive costumes and scenery, professional musicians and dancers, and highly literary scripts written by important writers of the day. These events were usually staged around royal events such as birthdays and weddings.

The masque in Act V occurs when Hymen, the God of Love appears and blesses the marriages of Rosalind and Orlando, Oliver and Celia, Touchstone and Audrey, and Phoebe and Silvius. Though the courtiers are not at the royal palace, they are in the presence of the restored ruler, Duke Frederick. Therefore the singing (Hymen's song "Then there is mirth in Heaven") and dancing are observed as a royal masque. Some of the other Shakespeare plays that contain masques include "Love's Labour's Lost", "Romeo and Juliet", "Much Ado About Nothing", "The Winter's Tale", "Henry VIII", "The Tempest", and "A Midsummer Night's Dream."

Fools. There are two distinct funny character types in Shakespeare, the Clown and the Fool. The clown is usually humorously ignorant and unsophisticated, usually male and often associated with rustic ways. He is usually awkward, confused, misuses language but is often quite shrewd. There are numerous clowns in "As You Like It," including all the rustics in the forest, Phoebe, Silvius, Corin, Audrey, and William, are considered clowns. The fool, on the other hand, is intentionally witty, satirical, speaks analytically, and is more involved with the main characters. The fool in "As You Like It" is Touchstone. The melancholy Jaques (pronounced Jay-queez as a dig at the French) is sometimes thought of as a fool because he speaks as a fool speaks, witty and satirically, but because he is a courtier and high-born, he is not technically a fool.

Touchstone's name derives from touchstone, which is a mineral used to test gold and silver. When the precious metals are rubbed with a touchstone, a discoloration appears, whose precise shade indicates the metal's purity. Therefore, Touchstone, the fool, reveals something about each of the characters he is in contact with throughout the play, particularly the romance of Phoebe and Silvius, who uphold the pastoral ideal of love, and the romance of Rosalind and Orlando, who embody courtly love.

Touchstone is a professional jester, a performer who was expected to make fun of the members of an aristocratic court for their entertainment and was living proof that they did not fear criticism. Touchstone was Shakespeare's very first fool. Other Shakespearean fools include The Fool in "King Lear", The Fool in "Timon of Athens", and Feste in "Twelfth Night."

Hymen, God of Love. Hymen, the Roman god of love (faithful marriage) appears in both "As You Like It", and a play cowritten by Shakespeare and John Fletcher, "The Two Noble Kinsman." Hymen is the central figure in the Masque which takes place in Act V. Hymen, after making a formal statement of divine pleasure when earthly confusions are resolved, announces the return of Rosalind (in women's clothes). He blesses the four couples, and then leads a 'wedlock hymn' which everyone sings. This formal celebration of marriage represents the happy conclusion of the play's various courtships.