Welcome to As You Like It (Unit A2 1: Shakespearean Genres)
Welcome to your comprehensive revision guide for William Shakespeare's As You Like It. In CCEA A2 1, you will study this play through the lens of the Shakespearean Comedy genre.
Shakespeare's romantic comedies take us on a journey: from social danger and oppression to the magic and freedom of the "green world," ending with joy, reconciliation, and marriage. Don't worry if Shakespearean verse or dramatic terms seem intimidating at first—this guide breaks down every character, theme, dramatic method, and exam skill step-by-step.
Unit Exam Quick Facts:
• Paper: Unit A2 1: Shakespearean Genres (CCEA 5110)
• Format: 1 hour 30 minutes, closed book (a resource booklet with a prescribed extract is provided in the exam)
• Assessment Focus: 1 extract-and-essay question (50 marks total, 20% of A Level)
• Core Mission: Use the printed extract as a launchpad to explore the whole play, evaluating character, dramatic methods, contextual influences, and alternative interpretations.
1. The Core Setup: Court vs. The Forest of Arden
Every great comedy needs a contrast between a rigid, troubled world and a place of liberation. Shakespeare divides As You Like It into two distinct geographical and psychological landscapes:
1. Duke Frederick's Court (The World of Corruption):
• Atmosphere: Tyranny, jealousy, suspicion, and danger.
• Key Conflicts: Duke Frederick has usurped (overthrown) his brother, Duke Senior. Oliver treats his younger brother Orlando like a servant and refuses to educate him.
• Dramatic Function: The court represents rigid patriarchal control and political injustice. It forces the heroes into exile.
2. The Forest of Arden (The "Green World" / Pastoral Sanctuary):
• Atmosphere: Freedom, transformation, moral renewal, and reflection.
• Key Features: Social hierarchies soften. Disguises allow characters to shed courtly expectations, explore their identities, and redefine romantic love.
• Dramatic Function: The forest acts as a testing ground where characters heal, grow, and resolve their conflicts before returning to civilised society.
Everyday Analogy: Think of the Court as a strict, high-pressure workplace with toxic bosses, and Arden as an off-grid summer retreat where you can wear whatever you want, speak your mind, and figure out what truly matters in life.
Key Takeaway: The journey from the corrupt Court to the regenerative Forest of Arden is the fundamental engine of Shakespearean romantic comedy.
2. Key Characters & Dramatic Roles
Understanding each character's dramatic function helps you answer high-scoring questions on theme, tone, and staging.
Rosalind / Ganymede (The Wit & Master of Ceremonies)
• Who she is: Daughter of the banished Duke Senior; niece to Duke Frederick.
• Her Disguise: Disguised as the young male youth Ganymede in Arden.
• Dramatic Significance: Rosalind is the driving force of the play. As Ganymede, she escapes the submissive role expected of Elizabethan women, wittily schooling Orlando in how to love a real, imperfect woman rather than an untouchable goddess.
• Tone & Voice: Sparkling, intelligent, empathetic, and realistic.
Orlando (The Romantic Youth)
• Who he is: The neglected youngest son of Sir Rowland de Boys.
• Dramatic Journey: Starts as an angry, mistreated youth; falls instantly in love with Rosalind at court; flees to Arden and pins sentimental love poems on trees.
• Dramatic Significance: Orlando embodies sincere, chivalric romance. Under Ganymede's playful "curing" lessons, he matures from a clichéd Petrarchan lover into a genuine partner.
Celia / Aliena (Loyalty & Sisterhood)
• Who she is: Duke Frederick's daughter and Rosalind's cousin.
• Her Disguise: Disguises herself as Aliena (meaning "the estranged one").
• Dramatic Significance: Demonstrates deep female solidarity by voluntarily joining Rosalind in exile. Her grounded observations contrast with Rosalind's romantic whirlwind.
Touchstone (The Court Jester / Licensed Fool)
• Who he is: The court fool who accompanies the women to Arden.
• Dramatic Function: Touchstone brings razor-sharp cynicism and earthy pragmatism to the forest. He punctures high-minded romantic ideals and woos the goat-keeper Audrey out of pure physical desire.
• Key Technique: Wordplay, parody, and paradoxical logic.
Jaques (The Melancholy Observer)
• Who he is: A lord living in voluntary exile with Duke Senior.
• Dramatic Function: Provides a counter-voice to the play's joy. He stays detached, observing life with cynical amusement.
• Famous Speech: The "All the world's a stage" monologue (Act 2, Scene 7), which reduces human existence to seven predetermined, somewhat futile ages.
• Ending: Refuses to return to court at the end, choosing solitary contemplation.
Duke Senior (The Philosopher Duke)
• Who he is: The rightful ruler living peacefully in Arden.
• Dramatic Function: Represents moral integrity and resilience. He famously notes that "sweet are the uses of adversity," embracing the cold winter wind because it does not flatter like a courtier.
The Antagonists: Oliver & Duke Frederick
• Dramatic Role: Both represent jealousy and tyrannical power early on.
• Comic Transformation: In typical romantic comedy fashion, both undergo sudden spiritual conversions in Arden—Oliver is saved by Orlando from a lioness and repents, while Duke Frederick meets a religious hermit at the edge of the forest and renounces the throne.
Hymen (The God of Marriage)
• Dramatic Role: The classical god of marriage who appears in Act 5 to bless the four couples, restoring divine and social harmony.
Quick Memory Aid for the 4 Couples (The Marriage Quartet):
• Rosalind & Orlando: Balanced, mature romantic love.
• Celia & Oliver: Sudden, transformative romantic devotion.
• Touchstone & Audrey: Earthy, pragmatic, physical desire.
• Silvius & Phebe: Dramatic parody of unrequited, clichéd courtly love.
Key Takeaway: Character pairings in As You Like It are deliberately balanced. Shakespeare places idealists next to cynics to create philosophical debate.
3. Core Conventions of Shakespearean Comedy in the Play
To achieve high marks in Unit A2 1, you must analyze how Shakespeare uses the conventions of the Comedy Genre:
A. The "Green World" and Pastoralism vs. Anti-Pastoralism
• Pastoral Idealism: Originating from classical poetry and Thomas Lodge's Rosalynde (1590), pastoral literature celebrates the simple shepherd's life as pure, peaceful, and honest compared to corrupt cities or courts.
• Anti-Pastoral Reality: Shakespeare doesn't present an unchallenged fantasy. Corin explains the harsh economics of sheep farming; Touchstone mocks rustic filth; Jaques points out that humans in Arden are usurping the native animals' home.
• CCEA Critical Insight: The play does not say the forest is perfect. Instead, Arden is a mirror—it becomes whatever the character needs it to be.
B. Disguise, Gender, and Metatheatre
• The Ganymede Layering: In Shakespeare's Globe Theatre, female roles were played by young male actors. Consider the multi-layered performativity:
1. A boy actor...
2. ...playing Rosalind (a woman)...
3. ...who disguises herself as Ganymede (a young man)...
4. ...who pretends to be "Rosalind" to roleplay with Orlando!
• Dramatic Irony: The audience always knows Ganymede is Rosalind, while Orlando remains oblivious. This dramatic irony produces both laughter and emotional tension.
• Gender Fluidity: Disguise frees Rosalind from passive Elizabethan female etiquette, enabling her to control the stage and dictate the terms of her future marriage.
C. Debates on the Nature of Love
Shakespeare treats love as a multifaceted diamond, viewing it from multiple conflicting angles:
• Petrarchan / Courtly Love: Seen in Silvius grovelling before the cruel Phebe. Shakespeare portrays this traditional style as slightly ridiculous and out of touch with reality.
• Idealistic Romance: Orlando writing poems and carving Rosalind's name on tree bark.
• Pragmatic / Physical Lust: Touchstone viewing marriage purely as a social necessity to satisfy bodily appetite.
• Realistic Romance: Rosalind's balanced view—she loves deeply, but warns Orlando that "men have died from time to time, and worms have eaten them, but not for love."
D. The Comic Resolution
• Restoration of Order: Unlike tragedy, which ends in death and destruction, comedy ends in celebration, restoration, and renewal.
• Fourfold Marriage: Hymen unites the four couples, resolving misunderstandings and binding the community together.
• Political Justice: Duke Senior regains his rightful crown; the characters prepare to return to the court, carrying the moral wisdom they discovered in Arden.
Key Takeaway: Shakespeare uses comedic devices—disguise, pastoral debate, dramatic irony, and multiple marriages—not just to entertain, but to test and celebrate human nature.
4. Analysing Dramatic Methods (AO2 Focus)
Examiners award top marks to candidates who treat the play as a dynamic theatrical performance rather than a printed novel. Watch out for these specific dramatic techniques:
1. Prose vs. Blank Verse (The Rhythm of Status and Emotion):
• Blank Verse (Unrhymed Iambic Pentameter): Used by nobles in serious moments, court speeches, Duke Senior's philosophical reflections, and Orlando's poetic declarations of love.
• Prose: Used for witty banter, intellectual sparring, Touchstone's rustic comedy, and Rosalind's lively interactions as Ganymede.
• Shift in Form: Notice when characters switch between verse and prose. When Rosalind drops into verse, her genuine, vulnerable aristocratic feelings often bleed through Ganymede's witty prose facade.
2. Stichomythia and Rapid Dialogue:
• Quick, line-by-line dialogue exchanges (stichomythia) show intellectual equality and electric comic timing, especially between Rosalind and Celia, or Rosalind and Orlando.
3. Monologues and Asides:
• Asides: When Rosalind whispers her secret female anxieties to Celia or directly to the audience, heightening dramatic irony and conspiratorial intimacy.
• Monologues: Jaques's "Seven Ages of Man" speech slows the play's pace, inviting the audience to reflect on the theatricality of human life.
4. Staging, Props, and Visual Action:
• Physical comedy: Orlando wrestling Charles in Act 1; Orlando breathlessly running through Arden pinning papers on branches; Touchstone strutting with Audrey.
• Costuming: The visual shift from heavy, opulent court garments to humble pastoral disguises (hunting clothes, shepherd robes).
Key Takeaway: Always explain how a device works on stage—how it sounds to the ear, how it looks to the audience, and what emotional impact it creates.
5. Context in Action (AO3 Focus)
In CCEA A2 1, never "dump" historical facts in standalone paragraphs. Integrate context directly into your thematic arguments:
• Elizabethan Gender Expectations: In the 1590s, women were legally subject to fathers and husbands. Rosalind's adoption of male clothing provides a temporary theatrical carnival where traditional patriarchal rules are suspended.
• The Pastoral Romance Genre: Shakespeare's audience was well-acquainted with pastoral romance (such as Lodge's Rosalynde). Shakespeare flatters and subverts these expectations by injecting realistic economic hardships and satirical wit.
• Metatheatre and the Epilogue: The play ends with Rosalind delivering the Epilogue. In Elizabethan theatre, an Epilogue was rarely delivered by a female character. Furthermore, the actor alludes to their biological gender: "If I were a woman I would kiss as many of you as had beards that pleased me." This meta-theatrical moment reminds the audience that all gender and social roles are forms of theatrical performance.
6. Step-by-Step Guide to the CCEA Exam Question
The A2 1 examination requires you to answer an extract-based essay question in 1 hour and 30 minutes. Here is the step-by-step method to maximize your 50 marks:
Step 1: Deconstruct the Prompt and the Extract (10–12 Mins)
• Read the stimulus statement carefully. Identify the key concept (e.g., "In As You Like It, Shakespeare presents love as an irrational madness.").
• Annotate the printed extract: mark specific dramatic methods (verse/prose, stage directions, dramatic irony, tone).
• Identify 2–3 major scenes elsewhere in the play that support, qualify, or challenge the statement.
Step 2: Build a Balanced, Nuanced Thesis (AO1 / AO5)
• Avoid a simple "Yes" or "No" binary answer.
• Example Nuanced Thesis: "While Shakespeare certainly dramatises the foolish, irrational excesses of romantic infatuation through characters like Silvius and the verse-writing Orlando, he ultimately uses Rosalind's wit to forge a grounded, mature vision of love that reconciles passion with rational self-knowledge."
Step 3: Execute the "Extract-to-Whole-Play Bridge" Strategy
• Section 1 (Deep Dive into Extract): Spend roughly the first third of your essay closely analysing the provided extract. Quote directly and analyze language, form, and stagecraft in detail.
• Section 2 (The Thematic Bridge): Connect the specific conflict/theme in the extract to the wider play. (e.g., "This tension between rustic reality and courtly romance seen here in Act 3 is mirrored across the play in...").
• Section 3 (Wider Play Exploration): Explore 2 to 3 other key episodes across different acts to show your comprehensive grasp of the whole drama.
• Section 4 (Conclusion): Synthesise how the comedic genre achieves resolution and what final judgment the play delivers on the central proposition.
7. Common Pitfalls to Avoid
Examiner reports highlight recurring errors that cost students top grades:
• Pitfall 1: The "Extract Island" Mistake
The Error: Writing 80% of your essay on the extract and only mentioning the rest of the play in the final paragraph.
The Fix: Treat the extract as an entry doorway to the entire drama. Aim for a balanced 40/60 or 50/50 balance between extract analysis and whole-play discussion.
• Pitfall 2: Binary Reversal Arguments
The Error: Blankly contradicting the question prompt (e.g., "The statement is completely wrong").
The Fix: Qualify the statement! Explore how different characters embody different perspectives (e.g., Touchstone vs. Silvius).
• Pitfall 3: Generic Terminology
The Error: Using vague phrases like "the author uses a lexical field of nature" or "positive semantic links."
The Fix: Use precise dramatic terminology: stichomythia, prose vs. verse transitions, dramatic irony, metatheatre, pastoral conventions, soliloquy, foil characters.
• Pitfall 4: Treating the Play like a Novel
The Error: Forgetting that this is a script intended for live stage performance.
The Fix: Mention the audience's reaction, physical blocking, comedic timing, visual contrasts, and performance history.
• Pitfall 5: Historical Context "Dumping"
The Error: Writing long paragraphs about Queen Elizabeth I or rural England without linking them to dramatic meaning.
The Fix: Seamlessly embed context into your textual analysis (e.g., explain how boy actors enhanced the dramatic irony of Rosalind's disguise).
Quick Revision Checklist
Before sitting your exam, ensure you can confidently:
• Contrast the values, language, and atmosphere of The Court versus The Forest of Arden.
• Track Rosalind's development and explain how her disguise as Ganymede empowers her.
• Compare the different attitudes toward love shown by Orlando, Rosalind, Touchstone, and Silvius.
• Explain the contrasting philosophical views of Jaques ("All the world's a stage") and Duke Senior ("Sweet are the uses of adversity").
• Analyze Shakespeare's use of blank verse vs. prose, dramatic irony, and comedic staging.
• Connect any printed extract to the play's overarching structural journey from exile to comic resolution.