As You Like It: Act 1

Act 1, Scene 1

We meet Orlando, one of the main characters, and Adam, whom Orlando is telling about his family. Orlando’s father left Orlando 1000 crowns when he died and told his older brother, Oliver, to take care of him and his other brother, Jacques. Jacques is away at school, where he is doing well, but Orlando is forced to stay at home. Furthermore, Oliver treats him poorly, not allowing him to get a good education and forcing him to live like the servants. Orlando tells Adam that he wants to stand up to him, but doesn’t know how. Oliver arrives and Orlando tells Adam to hide somewhere so he can hear how terrible Oliver is to him. Oliver arrives and tells him to do something, since it looks like Orlando’s just standing around. Orlando takes the moment to stand up to him, telling Oliver that just because he is the oldest and does deserve some more respect because of it, he is still their father’s son, too, and does deserve to be treated like a gentleman. Oliver hits him, and when Orlando tries to retaliate, Oliver is surprised he would lay his hands on him. They argue and Adam steps in, telling them to stop. Orlando tells Oliver that their father told Oliver to have Orlando educated, and he didn’t, and now Orlando either wants to be treated how he deserves to be treated, or give him his inheritance so he can make his own life. Oliver tells Orlando he will get “some part of your will”, though he thinks Orlando will have to beg when his inheritance is spent. Oliver tells Orlando and Adam to leave and it is revealed that Adam has been a servant in the household for a long time and is insulted that he is being spoken to so rudely. Orlando and Adam leave and Oliver tells himself that he won’t give Orlando his 1000 crowns. A man named Dennis arrives and Oliver asks him if the duke’s wrestler, Charles, came to speak to him. Dennis tells him that he is there and Oliver tells him to call him in. Charles enters and Charles tells him that at the old court, Duke Frederick has banished his older brother, Duke Senior, and that some of the lords who were friends with Duke Senior gave up their money and land and went into exile as well to support him. Oliver asks if Duke Senior’s daughter, Rosalind, was banished as well. Charles tells him that she remains at court because she is such good friends with Duke Frederick’s daughter, her cousin Celia, and that Duke Frederick loves Rosalind like a daughter, too. He then tells Oliver that Duke Senior is living in the Forest of Arden, having a great time with all of his friends. Finally, he tells Oliver that Orlando is planning to wrestle him (Charles) the next day in disguise (which he isn’t supposed to know). If he is challenged, he is going to fight back full force and assumes he will win, which he is telling Oliver because he likes him. So, Oliver can either stop Orlando from challenging him, or accept that Orlando is going to lose. Oliver thanks him, telling him that he did know that Orlando’s plan and had been subtly trying to stop him, but Orlando was too stubborn. He tells Charles that Orlando is full of terrible qualities: stubborn, overly ambitious, envious, and “a secret and villainous contriver against me his natural brother.” He says that he’d like Charles to break his neck, but that if Orlando is embarrassed at all, he will hunt Charles down until he’s dead. He then says it is unfortunate that he has to take his side just because he is his brother. Charles tells Oliver that he will beat Orlando if he challenges him the next day. Charles leaves, and Oliver talks to himself about how he is unsure why he hates Orlando so much, when Orlando is such a good person and so well liked. Oliver’s subjects love Orlando and because of this, they hate Oliver. He resolves himself to get Orlando to fight Charles.

Act 1, Scene 2

Celia tells her beloved cousin Rosalind to be happy. Rosalind tells her that she cannot be happy with her father banished to the forest. Celia assumes this means that Rosalind doesn’t love her as much as she loves Rosalind, since if it were Rosalind’s father that had banished Celia’s, Celia would learn to love Rosalind’s father as her own out of her love for Rosalind. Celia tells Rosalind that since she is her father’s only child, Rosalind will inherit her deserved fortune when Duke Frederick dies, since Celia will see to it that she gets what she deserves. Rosalind tells Celia that she will be happy, and then asks her what she thinks about falling in love. Celia tells Rosalind not to love any man too much at the risk of losing her honor. Celia suggests they mock Fortune until she gives fortune equally to everyone. Rosalind says that she wishes fortune would be distributed more evenly, especially to women. Celia says that it’s true, since beautiful women are often trampy, and ugly women are virtuous. Rosalind tells her that she’s mixing up fortune and nature. Touchstone enters and Celia and Rosalind joke that Fortune brings him there to cut off a conversation between two women blessed by Nature with wit. Touchstone tells Celia that her father wants to see her. He then joins into their witty conversation, proving yet another example of a fool that is in reality quite clever, much like the fool in Twelfth Night. Le Beau enters and tells Celia that she is missing a good wrestling match. Rosalind asks about it, and he tells them that it is still going on. He says that an old man and his three sons entered, and that the oldest son wrestled with Charles first and he broke his ribs enough that it doesn’t look like he will live, and then he did the same thing to the other sons. Now the old man and the audience are crying. Touchstone is surprised that this is seen as appropriate entertainment for women nowadays. But it has piqued Rosalind’s interest, and she asks Celia if she wants to go see it. They notice that the wrestlers are approaching, and Celia says she does want to stay and watch. Duke Frederick, Orlando, Charles, and some other people arrive and Duke Frederick asks the girls if they’re there to see the wrestling. Rosalind says they are, if he will let them. He says they probably won’t like it much, since the challenger (Orlando) is so young, he’ll probably be beaten easily. He says he tried to talk him out of it but he wouldn’t listen, and he asks the girls to speak with him. Le Beau brings him over, and Rosalind asks him if he has challenged Charles. He says that Charles is the challenger, and that he is only there to try to beat him “with the strength of my youth.” Celia and Rosalind try to talk him out of it, saying they will get the wrestling match called off so that he doesn’t embarrass himself by backing out. Orlando says it is hard to say no to such beautiful women, but he says that even if he loses or dies, it won’t make much of a difference to the world. Rosalind and Celia say they would give him what little strength they have, if they could. Charles, quite the haughty guy, calls for the young man who challenges him. TO everyone’s surprise, Orlando throws Charles to the ground, beating him, and, when Duke Frederick says the match is over, Orlando says he’s not even out of breath. Charles is taken away and Duke Frederick asks him his name. Orlando tells him his name and that he is the son of Sir Rowland de Boys. Duke Frederick tells Orlando that he wishes he were the son of someone else, since, though Sir Rowland was honorable, he was an enemy of his. Duke Frederick leaves and Orlando tells Celia that he is proud to be his father’s son. Rosalind tells Celia (or says to herself?) that her father loved Sir Rowland, and that if she had known Orlando was Sir Rowland’s son, she would have tried harder to keep him from wrestling. Celia tells Rosalind that she is heartbroken that her father is so rude, and they go congratulate Orlando. Rosalind gives him a chain she was wearing and says she would give more if she could. She and Celia go to walk away, and Orlando is embarrassed that he couldn’t say more to them. Rosalind realizes she is falling in love with him, and he seems to be falling in love with her, too. Le Beau comes up to Orlando and tells him he should leave; even though Duke Frederick was pretty nice to him, he is moody. Orlando thanks him and asks him which of the girls is Duke Frederick’s daughter. Le Beau tells him the short one is his daughter, and the tall one is the daughter of the exiled duke. But the duke is starting to dislike Rosalind since everyone likes her and feels sorry for what happened to her father, and that sometime soon he will lose it towards her. Orlando tells himself he’s used to dealing with tyrants, since Oliver is his brother. 

Best Quotes:

Touchstone: “The more pity that fools may not speak wisely what wise men do foolishly.”

Act 1, Scene 3

Celia wonders why Rosalind is being so quiet and asks if this is all about her father. Rosalind says that it’s not just about her father, but also about her child’s father (!). They have a witty conversation about how Rosalind’s heart is full of burrs, and Celia advises her to “wrestle with thy affections”. But Celia wants to speak sincerely, and asks her if she really has already fallen in love with Orlando. Rosalind says that her father really liked his father, and Celia jokes that that would mean she (Celia) would have to hate him, by that logic, since her own father hated him. Rosalind tells her not to, and to love him because she loves him. Duke Frederick arrives angrily and kicks Rosalind out of his court. Rosalind asks him what she possibly could have done to offend him so much. He says he just doesn’t trust her. She asks him why, and he says it is because she is her father’s daughter. Rosalind tells him that she has always been her father’s daughter, and that neither of them are traitors, and that even though she has no money, she is not threatening to them. Celia tries to intervene, and Duke Frederick tells her that she was only kept there so long because Celia likes her, and that she otherwise would have been banished with her father. Celia says that she never asked him to keep her there, that he was doing it out of the kindness of his own heart, and that she didn’t even fully appreciate Rosalind until they spent all their time together. Duke Frederick tells Celia that Rosalind is evoking sympathy from the people, and that Celia will look better when she is gone. Celia says that if Rosalind goes, she goes, too. Duke Frederick calls her a fool and tells Rosalind she has ten days to get out or she will be killed (what is UP with families in Shakespeare?!). Celia asks Rosalind where she will go and tells her that she will give her her own father (as in Duke Frederick. Why the HECK would Rosalind want that?). She tells Rosalind not to be more sad than she is, and Rosalind tells her she has more reason to be sad (obviously). And Celia says she doesn’t. Really? Celia says that he has banished her too, then because she’s coming with Rosalind. She says they’ll go be with Rosalind’s father in the Forest of Arden. Rosalind worries that two young women traveling alone will attract thieves. Celia says they will disguise themselves as poor people so they won’t be bothered, and Rosalind suggests that she dress as a man, since she is unusually tall for a woman. And even though she’ll be scared on the inside, she will have a confident exterior. Rosalind decides she will be called Ganymede, and Celia decides to be called Aliena. They decide to bring Touchstone along, and Celia goes to convince him to come with them and the girls will gather their jewels and money.

Best Quotes:

Duke Frederick: “Thou art thy father’s daughter. There’s enough."

Rosalind: “So was I when your Highness…What’s that to me?”

Celia: “Now go we in content to liberty, and not to banishment."