‘As You Like It’ — THE SOURCE

Shakespeare's only important source for "As You Like It" was Thomas Lodge's (c.1557-1625) prose romance novel, "Rosalynde"(1590), which in turn was based on the medieval narrative poem, "The Tale of Gamelyn." "The Tale of Gamelyn" tells of the unjust treatment of Gamelyn by his older brother, the bloody fights between them, and Gamelyn's flight to the woods where he becomes the leader of a happy band of outlaws.

Thomas Lodge, regarded as a minor Elizabethan writer, was the son of the Lord Mayor of London and attended Oxford University. He produced most of his literary work during the 1580's, after which he lived and traveled abroad. "Rosalynde" is his most popular work.

In "As You Like It", Shakespeare follows the outline of Lodge's plot closely and develops many of its situations, such as the enmity of two sets of characters, the wrestling match, the flight to the forest, Orlando's desperate demand for food, the momentary hesitation of Orlando to save his brother from the lioness, the wooing of Rosalind disguised as Ganymede, the marriage of Celia and Oliver, the disdain of Phoebe and her use of Silvius as messenger, and the return to the court. The title, too, may come from Lodge, who in a note to his readers, writes, "If you like, so."

Shakespeare's most significant changes include a reduction of the violence contained in Lodge's piece and the addition of Jaques, Touchstone the clown, Martext, LeBeau, and the rustics Audrey and William.

"As You Like It" is both an example and a parody of "Pastoral" literary conventions. In general, pastoral literature encompasses all works that depict an idealized vision of rural life, usually within the context of a love story. The pastoral tradition began with the Greek writer Theocritus (c.308-c.240 B.C.), whose stories appeared in an anonymous English translation in 1588. It was continued in ancient Roman poetry that contrasted the urban and the rural in order to satirize the sophisticated life of urban courtiers. Although Shakespeare did not draw directly on these pastoral works in composing "As You Like It", they nevertheless underlie its general nature. Shakespeare's other pastoral play is the more serious comedy, "The Winter's Tale."