Act 3, scene 5 “Ganymede” intervenes to try to help Silvius prevail over Phoebe and win her love. Instead, Phoebe falls in love with “Ganymede.” As You Like It is a pastoral comedy by William Shakespeare believed to have been written in 1599 and first published in the First Folio in 1623. The play's first performance is uncertain, though a performance at Wilton House in 1603 (the house having been a focus for literary activity under Mary Sidney for much of the later C16th) has been suggested as a possibility. Gender poses as one of the play's integral themes. While disguised as Ganymede, Rosalind also presents a calculated perception of affection that is "disruptive of [the] social norms" and "independent of conventional gender signs" that dictate women's behavior as irrational. In her book As She Likes It: Shakespeare's Unruly Women, [24] Penny Gay analyzes Rosalind's character in the framework of these gender conventions that ascribe femininity with qualities such as "graciousness, warmth ... [and] tenderness". However, Rosalind's demanding tone in her expression of emotions towards Orlando contradicts these conventions. Her disobedience to these features of femininity proves a "deconstruction of gender roles", since Rosalind believes that "the wiser [the woman is], the waywarder" she is. [24] [25] By claiming that women who are wild are smarter than those who are not, Rosalind refutes the perception of women as passive in their pursuit of men

Thomas Morley ( c. 1557–1602) composed music for "It was a lover and his lass"; he lived in the same parish as Shakespeare, and at times composed music for Shakespeare's plays. Duke Senior also mentions "ugly and venomous" toads, but he seems to find "good in everything," and his follower Amiens agrees, remarking, "I would not change it."William Shakespeare's play As You Like It clearly falls into the Pastoral Romance genre; but Shakespeare does not merely use the genre, he develops it. Shakespeare also used the Pastoral genre in As You Like It to 'cast a critical eye on social practices that produce injustice and unhappiness, and to make fun of anti-social, foolish and self-destructive behaviour', most obviously through the theme of love, culminating in a rejection of the notion of the traditional Petrarchan lovers. [32]

As You Like It is known as a musical comedy because of the number of songs in the play. There are more songs in it than in any other play of Shakespeare. These songs and music are incorporated in the action that takes place in the forest of Arden, as shown below: As You Like It follows its heroine Rosalind as she flees persecution in her uncle's court, accompanied by her cousin Celia to find safety and, eventually, love, in the Forest of Arden. In the forest, they encounter a variety of memorable characters, notably the melancholy traveller Jaques, who speaks many of Shakespeare's most famous speeches (such as " All the world's a stage", "too much of a good thing" and "A fool! A fool! I met a fool in the forest").a b Bate, Jonathan; Rasmussen, Eric (2010). As You Like It. Basingstoke, England: Macmillan. p.10. ISBN 978-0-230-24380-4. Reversing dramatic convention, it is the courtly characters who speak prose and the shepherds who court in verse. Sir Rowland de Boys (while recently deceased in the world of the play, this character is developed and frequently referred to; A possible 'real world' identity for this character, Sir Rowland Hill, has been conjectured) [1] [2] The fauna is typical for the wider area, however before emparkment would have included traditional game species such as wild deer, boar and White Park cattle. Many species of deer still roam the region, however the cattle have long since been lost to emparkment. Wild boar were extinct in Great Britain in the 17th century, however they were accidentally reintroduced in the 1970s and sightings have been made in the Arden area. [26] Why do you think Jaques delivers this speech? What is he trying to achieve? Is he trying to impress Duke Senior? To entertain the group? To lighten the mood? The ultimate recovery of harmony is marked with four weddings and a dance of harmony [18] [19] for eight presided over by Hymen, [20] before most of the exiled court are able to return to the court and their previous stations are recovered.

During the last ice age, 12,000 years ago, there were no trees at all across England. At the end of the ice age, trees began to move northwards from Southern Europe. 5,000 years ago, England was largely covered by wildwood. Pollen analysis shows that the commonest tree, throughout central and southern England was the lime. Despite clearance, the entire area today still retains a wooded character. Everywhere can be seen oak trees, in small copses, in hedgerows, or marking places where hedgerows have been. Medieval era [ edit ] The Coughton wayside cross where travellers would pray before entering The Forest of Arden. It’s the longest day of the year, a time when our ancestors believed the supernatural came particularly close to the human. So where does Shakespeare set his play where, on Midsummer night, the world as we know it gets turned upside down? In a forest, of course! The shepherdess, Phebe, with whom Silvius is in love, has fallen in love with Ganymede (Rosalind in disguise), though "Ganymede" continually shows that "he" is not interested in Phebe. Touchstone, meanwhile, has fallen in love with the dull-witted shepherdess Audrey, and tries to woo her, but eventually is forced to be married first. William, another shepherd, attempts to marry Audrey as well, but is stopped by Touchstone, who threatens to kill him "a hundred and fifty ways".General Editor's Preface by Una Ellis-Fermor, dated 1951, as printed in Macbeth, Arden Shakespeare, 2nd Series Atmosphere, or mood, is set by a combination of such things as diction, setting, the tone of the character (not author's tone) toward his subject, theme, motif, and imagery. In Duke Senior's introduction to Arden, we have an interesting contrast between some of these elements. While the imagery is dark and gloomy, "the icy fang / And churlish chiding of the winter's wind," Duke's tone is bright and happy, "Sermons in stones and good in every thing." While the diction is loaded with punishing adjectives and nouns, peril, envious, penalty, fang, churlish, shrink, ugly, venomous, etc, the theme is optimistic and thankful, custom made this life more sweet / Than that of painted pomp? ... yet a precious jewel ... I would not change it. Enter ROSALIND for Ganymede, CELIA for Aliena, and TOUCHSTONE ROSALIND O Jupiter, how weary are my spirits! Bate, Jonathan (2008). Soul of the Age: the life, mind and world of William Shakespeare. London: Viking. p.37. ISBN 978-0-670-91482-1.