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Studieguide til As You Like It

by William Shakespeare · 1623 · 23 scenes · hele bogen: 1 t 38 min. at læse

As You Like It follows Rosalind and Orlando as banishment and threats drive them into the forest, where her disguise turns their love into a practice courtship before she reveals herself and four couples unite. Its main themes are chosen loyalty, abuses of power, love and appearance, and hardship and kindness.

Historien kort fortalt

Oliver denies Orlando support and encourages Charles to injure him, but Orlando wins their wrestling match and receives Rosalind's favor. Frederick then banishes Rosalind, and Celia chooses to leave with her in disguise. Adam helps Orlando escape Oliver's murderous plan, offering his savings for their journey. In the forest, Corin offers the weary travelers a chance to settle. Duke Senior welcomes Orlando, who brings the starving Adam to safety.

Disguised Rosalind offers to cure Orlando's love through a practice courtship, while Phoebe falls for her after receiving criticism about her treatment of Silvius. Oliver later explains that a rescue and injury keep Orlando away. Rosalind finally reveals herself, and four couples unite. News restores Duke Senior's power, but Jaques chooses religious instruction rather than remaining at the celebration. Læs resuméet på 15 minutter.

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What is As You Like It about?

As You Like It follows Rosalind and Orlando as banishment and threats drive them into the Forest of Arden. Rosalind uses a disguise to test their love through a practice courtship before revealing herself and marrying Orlando.

Why does Rosalind disguise herself in As You Like It?

After Frederick banishes Rosalind, she and Celia leave together in disguise. Rosalind later uses her disguise to offer Orlando a supposed cure for love, giving herself room to test their relationship through a practice courtship.

Who marries whom in As You Like It?

Rosalind marries Orlando, and Celia marries Oliver after he rejects his former behavior. Four couples unite at the final gathering, while Phoebe accepts Silvius after falling for Rosalind in disguise.

How does As You Like It end?

Rosalind reveals herself, four couples unite, and news arrives that restores Duke Senior's power. Jaques chooses to seek religious instruction rather than stay at the celebration, keeping himself apart from its joy.

Where is As You Like It set?

The action moves from the court and palace toward the Forest of Arden, where Duke Senior lives in exile. The forest gives the travelers a place to settle and becomes the setting for the final gathering.

What are the main themes of As You Like It?

The play explores chosen loyalty, abuses of power, love and appearance, and hardship and kindness. Celia shares Rosalind's exile, Oliver mistreats Orlando, Rosalind tests love through disguise, and Orlando helps the starving Adam.

Who wins the wrestling match in As You Like It?

Orlando defeats Charles in the wrestling match, despite Oliver encouraging Charles to injure him. His victory also brings him Rosalind's favor, linking the contest to the love story that develops in the forest.

Act and scene summaries

  1. 1.1Oliver turns resentment into a plotOrlando demands his rights, while his brother encourages a wrestler to injure him.
  2. 1.2A victory sparks love and hostilityOrlando defeats Charles, receives Rosalind’s favor, and learns that Frederick resents both him and his niece.
  3. 1.3Two cousins plan their escapeFrederick banishes Rosalind, and Celia chooses to leave with her in disguise.
  4. 2.1Forest hardship and the wounded deerAn exiled ruler praises woodland freedom, while a lord reports Jaques’s anger at hunting.
  5. 2.2The duke orders a searchMissing women and a fool prompt suspicion of the young wrestler and demands for his capture.
  6. 2.3Adam helps Orlando escape dangerA loyal servant offers his savings after revealing a brother’s murderous plan.
Alle 23 scenes
  1. 2.4Weary travelers seek a forest homeA shepherd’s love troubles stir Rosalind, while Corin offers the newcomers a chance to settle.
  2. 2.5Jaques seeks sadness in songAmiens praises simple forest living, while his listener supplies a mocking verse and avoids the Duke.
  3. 2.6Orlando supports the starving AdamAn exhausted servant gives up hope, but his master promises food and carries him toward shelter.
  4. 2.7Hunger meets kindness in the forestOrlando interrupts a meal, finds welcome instead of resistance, and brings Adam to safety.
  5. 3.1Frederick orders a brother's captureOliver faces exile and the seizure of his property unless he brings back his missing brother.
  6. 3.2Rosalind offers Orlando a love cureForest poems reveal a devoted admirer, and a disguised woman arranges an unusual courtship.
  7. 3.3A woodland wedding is interruptedJaques challenges Touchstone’s choice of minister and persuades him to leave with Audrey before any ceremony.
  8. 3.4Rosalind frets over Orlando’s absenceCelia mocks a lover’s broken promise, and Corin offers a nearby scene of unreturned love.
  9. 3.5Phoebe falls for her criticRosalind challenges a shepherdess’s cruelty, but the rebuke sparks attraction instead of humility.
  10. 4.1Rosalind tests Orlando through courtshipA pretend wedding and warnings about marriage give way to a private confession of deep love.
  11. 4.2Hunters celebrate with a mocking songJaques proposes a victory ceremony, and a lord sings about antlers and unfaithful marriage.
  12. 4.3A rescue tests Rosalind's disguisePhoebe sends a declaration of love, and Oliver explains Orlando's absence with evidence of his injury.
  13. 5.1Touchstone drives his rival awayWilliam admits his love for Audrey, then faces a barrage of questions, wordplay, and threats.
  14. 5.2Rosalind promises a wedding solutionOliver gains consent to marry Aliena, while several lovers agree to meet the next day.
  15. 5.3A wedding plan and a songTouchstone and Audrey hear two pages celebrate springtime love, but their listener dismisses the performance.
  16. 5.4Rosalind returns and exile endsFour couples unite, a messenger announces restored power, and Jaques chooses religious company over dancing.
  17. 23Rosalind asks for the audience’s approvalThe closing speaker appeals to women and men, offering imagined kisses in exchange for applause.
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Tegn

Rosalind

Her supposed love cure gives her room to test their relationship before she reveals herself and joins him in marriage.

Vigtige scenes: 1.3, 3.2, 4.1, 5.4

Orlando

His care for the starving Adam shows generosity under pressure, and his story ends in recognition and marriage with Rosalind.

Vigtige scenes: 1.1, 2.6, 3.2, 5.4

Celia

Celia chooses loyalty to her cousin Rosalind by accompanying her into exile in disguise. She also mocks Orlando's broken promise when Rosalind worries about him, and eventually joins Oliver in marriage.

Vigtige scenes: 1.3, 3.4, 5.4

Oliver

His account of a rescue and rejection of his former self mark a change that leads toward marriage with Celia.

Vigtige scenes: 1.1, 3.1, 4.3, 5.4

Duke Senior

Duke Senior is an exiled ruler who finds value in woodland hardship and welcomes Orlando with hospitality. His recognition of his daughter Rosalind and the restoration of his power bring exile toward a joyful close.

Vigtige scenes: 2.1, 2.7, 5.4

Jaques

Jaques responds to a wounded deer with grief and accusations about human cruelty, and finds sadness even in song. His decision to seek religious instruction rather than join the final celebration keeps his outlook distinct.

Vigtige scenes: 2.1, 2.5, 5.4

Touchstone

Touchstone uses jokes to challenge honor and supposedly wise behavior, but his own approach to marriage is also questionable.

Vigtige scenes: 1.2, 3.3, 5.1, 5.3

Personer, tidslinje og steder

Temaer

Chosen loyalty

Celia's decision to share exile and Adam's offer of savings show loyalty expressed through practical sacrifice rather than reassuring words alone. Orlando's care for the starving Adam suggests that such devotion can be returned, making support a mutual responsibility.

Hvor det optræder: scenes 1.3, 2.3, 2.6

Abuses of power

Oliver's treatment of Orlando and Frederick's banishment of Rosalind show authority serving hostility rather than protection. Frederick's later threats against Oliver suggest that possession of power offers no lasting safety when that power operates through suspicion and coercion.

Hvor det optræder: scenes 1.1, 1.3, 3.1

Love and appearance

Rosalind's disguised courtship shows how an appearance can create space for testing love while also concealing crucial knowledge. Phoebe's attraction to her critic, followed by her acceptance of Silvius, suggests that desire can depend on mistaken perceptions.

Hvor det optræder: scenes 3.2, 3.5, 5.4

Hardship and kindness

Duke Senior's praise of hardship does not remove the real hunger that brings Adam close to despair. Orlando's care and the welcome he receives show that the value of adversity lies partly in opportunities for kindness, not in suffering alone.

Hvor det optræder: scenes 2.1, 2.6, 2.7

Symboler

Travel disguises

Travel disguises first work as protection for Rosalind and Celia after banishment. Rosalind's later courtship suggests that concealment can also create freedom to explore feelings indirectly.

Scenes 1.3, 3.2

Toad and jewel

Duke Senior's toad and jewel image gives hardship an unpleasant outside and a valuable interior. It suggests that suffering and benefit can exist together.

Scene 2.1

Stag's tears

Its suffering suggests a troubling side to woodland life rather than an escape from all harm.

Scene 2.1

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Celia, Scene 1.3. Celia speaks as she chooses to leave with Rosalind. Her description of departure as freedom shows how chosen loyalty can change the meaning of exile.

Duke Senior, Scene 2.1. Duke Senior speaks while finding benefits in woodland hardship. His comparison suggests that an experience can be painful or unattractive yet still contain something valuable.

Rosalind, Scene 3.2. Rosalind speaks in disguise as she proposes a cure for Orlando's love. The invitation shows how concealment lets her direct a courtship that appears to be only practice.

Oliver, Scene 4.3. Oliver speaks while explaining the rescue and Orlando's injury. His rejection of his former self presents change as a break with the person he has been.

Literary devices

Dramatic irony

Method: Shakespeare lets the audience know Rosalind is disguised as Ganymede while Orlando practices courting her and Phoebe mistakes her for a desirable young man. Effect: The audience enjoys the lovers' mistakes while recognizing that attraction depends partly on appearances and knowledge the characters do not share.

Where: Scene 3.2, Scene 3.5, Scene 4.1

Metatheatre

Method: Shakespeare makes Rosalind direct a pretend courtship and wedding, then lets her address the audience beyond the action in the epilogue. Effect: These moments invite the audience to question where acting ends and genuine feeling begins, especially when social roles shape expressions of love.

Where: Scene 4.1, Scene 23

Foil

Method: Shakespeare contrasts Oliver's hostility toward Orlando with Adam's devoted service, and sets Duke Frederick's threats against Duke Senior's generous welcome. Effect: These contrasting characters help the audience judge authority through conduct rather than rank, making chosen loyalty seem stronger than inherited obligations.

Where: Scene 2.3, Scene 2.7, Scene 3.1

Satire

Method: Shakespeare uses Touchstone's jokes, Jaques's criticism, and Rosalind's challenges to expose foolish courtly manners, fashionable sadness, and exaggerated declarations of love. Effect: The humor encourages the audience to question impressive language and romantic poses without dismissing the possibility of sincere affection or generosity.

Where: Scene 2.7, Scene 3.2, Scene 4.1

Juxtaposition

Method: Shakespeare places praise of forest freedom beside accounts of wounded animals, harsh weather, and hunger that complicate the promise of rural escape. Effect: The audience sees Arden as a place of real hardship as well as renewal, making its kindness more valuable than simple comfort.

Where: Scene 2.1, Scene 2.5

Symbolism

Method: Shakespeare uses the wounded stag and its tears to represent suffering and exclusion, extending the play's human conflicts into the forest's animal life. Effect: The image encourages the audience to connect the exiles' vulnerability with other creatures' pain and question claims that forest life escapes cruelty.

Where: Scene 2.1

Miljø

The action moves from palace banishment toward the Forest of Arden, where Duke Senior contrasts woodland exile with court life. The forest offers the travelers a chance to settle rather than simply pass through. Its final gathering brings marriages and news of restored power.

Forest of ArdencourtA Room in the PalaceForest

Context

The author

William Shakespeare was an English playwright, actor and poet who worked in London’s theatre world. He wrote As You Like It around 1599, during Elizabeth I’s reign. His career joined commercial performance with writing for a wide audience. The play draws on an earlier prose romance, reshaping its material through Rosalind’s disguise, staged courtship and the contrast between court and forest.

The times

In Shakespeare’s English theatre, female roles were played by boys or men, so Rosalind’s disguise gave the performer several layers of identity to manage. Among English landowning families, primogeniture commonly favoured the eldest son in inheritance, although arrangements varied. This background helps explain Orlando’s dependence on Oliver. The forest also draws on pastoral writing, which tested courtly values against an imagined rural life.

How it was received

It later became a familiar stage comedy, with Rosalind a prominent role. Today, readers and performers often explore its treatment of gender, desire and power, while also noticing that forest life includes hunger, work and unequal relationships.

Use theatrical gender conventions to explain why Rosalind’s disguise gives her unusual freedom to direct courtship, test Orlando’s behaviour and shape the ending.

Spørgsmål til diskussion

  1. How far does Celia's choice turn banishment into freedom?
  2. How does Adam's hunger complicate Duke Senior's praise of hardship?
  3. Does Rosalind's disguise make her courtship more honest, less honest, or both?
  4. What would make Oliver's claim to have changed convincing?
  5. How does Jaques's departure affect the meaning of the final celebration?

Opgaveemner

  1. Chosen loyalty. Compare Celia's and Adam's acts of loyalty. How do their choices define commitment through action?
  2. Practicing love. Examine how Rosalind's practice courtship combines performance, emotional testing, and genuine feeling.
  3. Forest hardship. Discuss whether the forest's benefits arise from hardship itself or from the ways people respond to one another.
  4. Uneven endings. Analyze how Jaques's separate choice qualifies an ending built around marriage and restored power.

Hurtig quiz

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What does Orlando demand from Oliver?

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Citer denne side

“Studieguide til As You Like It.” Library of Alexandria, 2026, libraryofalexandria.com/da/pages/as-you-like-it-study-guide.

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