The Library
of Alexandria

A character in As You Like It

Who is Touchstone?

By the Library of Alexandria · 2 minute read · Updated 23 Oct 2026

In short

  • Touchstone is the court fool in William Shakespeare's As You Like It, who follows Rosalind and Celia into Arden.
  • He mocks the shepherds' rustic ways and uses tangled words to make fun of the poses people adopt.
  • His attraction to Audrey, a goatherd, brings him into the forest's different kinds of love.

Who Touchstone is

Touchstone leaves the court with Rosalind and Celia when the cousins flee toward the Forest of Arden. He brings a sharp tongue into a place where courtiers and country people meet.

His jokes turn words into knots, and he mocks the shepherds' rustic ways. While Rosalind tests love through disguise and conversation, Touchstone offers a more mocking view of courtship.

Touchstone and the others in the story

Touchstone takes a rough fancy to Audrey, a goatherd he encounters in the forest. He treats courtship as a joke that he only half believes, yet he becomes a lover himself.

His attraction stands beside Silvius's adoration of Phoebe and Orlando's earnest poems for Rosalind. These different lovers let the play explore desire through worship, teasing and earthy appetite.

Questions

Who is Touchstone in As You Like It?

Touchstone is the court fool who accompanies Rosalind and Celia into exile.

Who does Touchstone fall for?

He takes a fancy to Audrey, a goatherd in Arden.

What does Touchstone mock?

He mocks people's poses, including the rustic ways of the shepherds.

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