http://repository.osakafu-u.ac.jp/dspace/

   

Title As You Like It and Pastoral Romance

Author(s) Sugii, Masashi

Editor(s)

Citation 大阪府立大学紀要（人文・社会科学）. 1984, 32, p.122-107

Issue Date 1984-03-31

URL http://hdl.handle.net/10466/12270

Rights

-43-

As You Like lt and Pastoral Romance

Masashi Sugii

Introduction

What is characteristic of Shakespeare's As }ibz･t Like ft is that the plot becomes quite

loose after the chief characters enter the forest of Arden. The play which developed

rapidly--the quarrel between Orlando and Oliver, Oliver's intrigue against Orlando and

the banishment of,Rosalind and Celia--comes to develop very siowly in Arden. The events

which would be spectacular on-stage such as Orlando's fight with a lioness and the

reconciliation between Orlando and Oliver, and the reunion of Duke Senior and Rosalind

take place off-stage and are only made known to us through the characters' reports. And

there is no spectacular development of events except Orlando's intrusion into the place

6f Duke Senior's meal, and Rosalind's disguise and the complication ensuing from it. But

our attention is chained to the stage while the play goes on in the forest of Arden.

Shakespeare's As Ybu Ldee It is based upon Thomas Lodge's Rosalynde. The latter

belongs to a literary genre called pastoral romance, in which traditional pastoral and

medieval romance are united. It seems that the looseness of the plot is related to the fact

that this play is based upon pastoral romance. In this thesis, I would like to consider the

meaning of this loose plot by examining the relation between the chief characters'

speeches and pastoral romance.i

1

First, I would Iike to consider Duke Senior's words. Though it is in Act II , Scene i that

we first see the forest of Arden, we gain a certain impression of the forest of Arden as

early as in Act I. In Act I, Scene i, Charles, the wrestler, says to Oliver, "there they

live Iike the old Robin Hood of England. They say many young gentlemen flock to him

every day, and fleet the time carelessly as they did in the golden world" (1.1.115-19). At

the end of Act I, Scene iii , Celia, who is going with Rosalind to the forest of Arden, says,

"Now go we in content/To liberty, and not to banishment" (1.3.133-34). These words

imply that the forest of Arden is different from Duke Frederick's court. So we naturally

expect that the forest is a pastoral paradise. Act II,Scene i opens with the speech of

Duke Senior : Now my co-mates and brothers in exile,

Hath not old custom made this life more sweet

Than that of painted pomp? Are not these woods

More free from peril than the envious court ?

Here feel we not the penalty of Adam,

The seasons' difference, as the icy fang

-122-

-44-

And churlish chiding of the winter's wind,

Which when it bites and blows upon my body

Even till I shrink with cold, I smile, and say

`This is no flattery. These are counsellors

That feelingly persuade me what I am.'

Sweet are the uses of adversity,

Which like the toad, ugly and venomous,

Wears yet a precious jewel in his head:

And this our life, exempt from public haunt,

Finds tongues in trees, books in the running brooks,

Sermons in stones, and good in everything. (2.1.1-17)

First of all, Duke Senior, by calling his retainers "co-mates" and "brothers", suggests a

human relationship different from that which audience have seen in Act I. And then he

praises the life in the forest in comparison with that of the court, which is pompous on

the surface but is corrupted inside. The forest of Arden, however, differs from Arcadia

of Philip Sidney's pastoral romance2 or the forest of Arden of Thomas Lodge's

Rosczlynde.3 What characterizes Shakespeare's Arden is its severe nature. The wind of

winter bites and blows upon man's body until he shrinks with cold. We are not a little

surprised at Duke Senior's words about the natural conditions of Arden because we are

led to expect a traditional Arcadia by Charles' and Celia's words in Act I. Duke Senior,

however, praises the use of such adversity. His idea of adversity seems to come from the

medieval idea of Fortune, not ･from pastoral tradition.`

In Act II , Scene vii , Orlando intrudes into the place of Duke Senior's meal in order to

get food. And he is surprised to meet with a friendly reception contrary to expectation.

And so he apologizes to them for his rudeness:

Orl. . . .

I thought that all things had been savage here,

And therefore put I on the countenance

Of stern commandment. But whate'er You are

That in this desert inaccessible

Under the shade of melancholy boughs,

Lose and neglect the creeping hours of time;

If ever you have look'd on better days;

If ever been where bells have knoll'd tQ church ;

If ever sat at any good man's feast;

If ever from your eyelids wip'd a tear,

And know what 'tis to pity and be pitied,

Let gentleness my strong enforcement be ;

In the which hope, I blush, and hide my sword.

Dztke Sen. True is it that we have seen better days,

And have with holy bell been knoll'd to church,

And sat at good men's feasts, and wip'd our eyes

Of drops that sacred pity hath engender'd; (2.7.107-23)

This exchange is very interesting to us. For it represents an idea which is completely

different from the conventional pastoral. Pastoral praises the innocence of nature in

-121-

-45-

comparison with the corruption of civilization. Orlando and Duke Senior, however,

recognize the savageness of nature and the gentleness or charity of civilization.

" [C] hurch",`tear" and "bell" symbolize thegentleness. Though Duke Senior reproached

"painted pomp" or "the envious court" in his first speech at the beginning of the second

act, he notices also the virtue of civilization.

II

Jaques is Duke Senior's vassal and said to be modelled after Elizabethan malcontent

travellers. He is the last character to be in harmony with the world of pastoral romance.

In Act II,Scene v, we hear Jaques and other lords, especial}y, Amiens, converse:

[Amiens sings.]

ltzques. More, more,

Ami. It will make you melancholy,.IZiques. I thank it. More, I prithee more. I can suck melancholy out of a song, as a weasel

sucks eggs. More, I prithee more.

Ami. My voice is ragged,IknowIcannot please you.joques. Ido not desire you to please me,I do desire you to sing. Come, more, another

stanzo. Call you'em stanzos ?

Ami. What you will Monsieur Jaques.717ques. Nay, I care not for their names, they owe me nothing. Will you sing ?

Ami. More at your request than to please myself.joques. Well then, if ever I thank any man, I'11 thank you ; but that they call compliment

is like th'encounter of two dog-apes. And when a man thanks me heartily, methinks I

have given him a penny and he renders me the beggarly thanks. Come sing ; and you

that will not, hold your tongues. (2.5.1-27)Amiens sings a song which praises the life of the forest. Jaques is a cynic and seems not

to be pleased with such a song. Jaques' request, therefore, is surprising. Amiens' "It will

make you melancholy" is ironical, for Jaques is melancholy from the first. By addressing

these words to such Jaques on purpose, Amiens is bantering Jaques about his melancholy.

Besides, what will make Jaques melancholy is not a gloomy song but a merry song. Also

by this implication, Amiens is jeering at Jaques' perversity. Jaques' "I thank it" shows his

curious logic--If I hear your merry song, I shall become displeased and melancholy, for

I naturally like gloominess. But that is what I want to be. Therefore I thank it --. Jaques

intends to surprise Amiens and show his wit by means of his request. Their conversation

is a wit-combat and Jaques' melancholy is only its subject.

Uitder the greenwood tree

Uiho loves to lie with me,

And'turn his memp note'

Uhto the sweet bint's th7oa4

Come hithez come hithez come hither.

Ilei'e･ shall he see

Alb enemp,

But winter and rozagh weathez

I Prithee more.

Monsieur Jaques.

-120-

-46-

In line 15, Jaques answers that he does not desire Amiens to please him. Though he

seems to mean that he does not listen to the song to enjoy himself but to make himself

melancholy, it also implies that Amiens' song must be poor. And then he uses an Italian

word, "stanzo." Amiens' "What you will Monsieur Jaques" means that it does not matter

for him what word Jaques uses. And these words show that he is bantering Jaques about

his affectation. Knowing that the use of the Italian word gave him an object of attack,

Jaques makes an excuse : "I care not for their names." And he makes a pun : "they owe

me nothing." A borrower of money must give a lender a signed deed. But here it does not

matter what the name is because Jaques does not lend money to "stanzos". Jaques thinks

that he shows excellent wit through this pun. Amiens' words in line 21, "More at your

request than to please myself", i'mply that he is not inclined to sing and that he is only

forced to sing by Jaques' request. It is dishonour to a nialcontent traveller to be thus

attacked by Amiens--for Jaques learned refinement in Italy and so must be more witty

than Amiens. Jaques dwells at length on what "they call compliment" in order to gain

face as a malcontent traveller. According to his explanation, if ever he thanks any man,

he will thank Amiens. But he considers what they call compliment to be obsequious.

Therefore the assumption is an impossibility. Jaques implies in a roundabout way that he

has no mind to thank Amiens. Amiens again sings a song which praises the life of

Arden :

wao dbth ambition shun,

And loves to live i'th 'sun,

Sbeking the food he eats,

And Pleas 'd with what he gets,

Cbm'e hitheL 6ome hitheL come hitheL

Ifei'e shall he see

AJb enemp,

Btzt winter and rozrgh weathez (2.5.35-42)

After this song, Jaques shows another song of his own making :

ij it db come to Pass

That any man imrn ass,

Leaving his wealth and ease,

A stubbom will to Please,

Dttcdume, cincdome, ducciame,

He7e shall he see

Gross fools as he,

And ij he will come to me. (2.5.47-54)

He parodies Amiens' song admirably and Iaughs at Duke Senior's way of living in the

forest of Arden. Jaques' parody shows his cynical view of the life in the forest. He means

that it is foolish to live in the forest because the life there brings no profit. It seems,

however, that the two characters are only enjoying the conversation : they are jeering at

each other's weak points and not quarrelling in earnest.

In Act III , Scene ii , Jaques converses with Orlando :

-119-

-47-

1deqz･tes. I thank you for your company, but good faith, I had as lief have been myself

alone. 0rl. And so had I: but yet for fashion sake I thank you too, for your society.

Itzques. God buy you : let's meet as litt]e as we can.

Orl. I do desire we may be better strangers.

7tzqttes. I pray you mar no more trees with writing love-songs in their barks.

0rl. I pray you mar no more of my verses with reading them ill-favouredly.

7tzques. Rosalind is your love's name ?

OrL Yes, just.

Itiques. I do not Iike her name.

Orl. There was no thought of pleasing you when she was christened.

.laques. What stature is she of ?

0rl. Just as high as my heart.

foqzaes. You are ･full of pretty answers. Have you not been acquainted with goldsmiths'

wives, and conned them out of rings?

Ori. Not so ; but I answer you right painted cloth, from whence you have studied your

questlons. foqzaes. You have a nimble wit ; I think `twas made of Atalanta's heels. Will you sit

down with me and we two will rail against our mistress the'world and all our

misery ? Ori. I will chide no breather in the world but･myself, against whom I know most faults.

7Zzques. The worst fault 'you have is to be in love.

Orl. 'Tis a fault I will not change for your best virtue. I am weary of you.

Itiques. By my troth, I was seeking for a fool when I found you.

Orl. He is drowned in the brook. Look but in qnd you shall see him.

joques. There I shall see mine own figure.

Orl. Which I take to be either a fool, or a cipher.

joques. I'11 tarry no longer with you. Farewell good Signior Love.

Ori. I am glad of your departure. Adieu good Monsieur Melancholy. (3.2.249-89)

This conversation is also a wit-combat. Jaques makes an attack on Orlando by talking

in a roundabout way : "I had as lief have been myself alone." Then Orlando replies to

Jaques in the same manner:"for fashion sake I thank you too." They are not giving

expression to their feelings;they are enjoying such a way of talking. In an usual

greething, Jaques would say "as much as we can" instead of his "as little as we can," and

Orlando would say "we may be better friends" instead of his "we may be better

strangers." They parody the usual greeting. Though the conversation between arnalcontent traveller and a hero of romance would be interesting in a sense, they do not

quarrel in earnest but enjoy a wit-combat in this scene. Then Rosalind, a lady of

Orlando's heart, comes up in conversation. Jaques banters Orlando about her : "I pray

you mar no more trees with writing love-songs in their barks." Jaques' banter, however,

all meets with Orlando's witty retort. When Jaques says, "Have you not been acquainted

with goldsmiths' wives, and conned them out of rings ?" from line 266 to line 268, he is

convinced that he is showing excellent wit and that Orlando will not be able to make a

retort. His words imply that Orlando's answer is as stale as the inscription engraved on

the rings of the Elizabethan age. They, nevertheless, are easily retorted : "Not so ; but I

answer you right painted clbth, from whence you have studied your questions." This

-118-

-48-

implies that Jaques' qUestions are as stale as the moralistic inscriptions of cheaphangings of the Elizabethan age, which do not differ from the inscriptions of' rings.

Orlando finally wins their wit-combat. Jaques says, "There I shall see mine own figure"

in answer to Orlando's words, "Look but in and you shall see him [Touchstone, the

fool]." And then Orlando explains why Jaques can see the "fool" in the brook. What is

seen on the surface of water is Jaques' own figure [form] . The word, "figure", has another

meaning, "numeral". Orlando interprets "figure" both as the form of the fool and the

number zero. Orlando's words become witty, for "cipher" has a meaning other than zero--

that is, a thing of no value--and so this meaning can be associated with a fool. Having

been nonplussed and called a fool, Jaques gets angry and goes away.

It seems that Jaques' attitude in the last scene is worth considering. The marriages of

four couples are celebrated, and then, hearing from Jaques de Boys that Duke Frederick

decided to live in seclusion in this forest Duke Senior and his retainers decide to return 'to the court, and the company are about to dance. At that moment, Jaques says that he

will remain in this forest in order to attend Duke Frederick and goes away from the

place. As Peter V. Marinelli points out, "The return, then, is the important thing:

pastoral retirement is not an end in itself."5 Though courtiers yearn after pastoral

retirement for a while, they have no mind to continue it all their lives. Therefore the

return is the important thing in pastoral. It is natural for cynical Jaques to object to such

easy return of Duke Senior. His words sound reasonable enough. His attitude is,

nevertheless, ludicrous--for he himself derided Duke Senior's way of living in Arden in

Act II Scene v: '

if it do come to Pass

That aiay man turn ass,

Leaving his wenlth and ease,

A stztbbom will to Please,

Ducdume, ducdame, ducdome, Hlare shall he see

Gross fools as he,

And ijC he will come to me. (2.5.47-54)

Though Duke Senior's flight to Arden was inevitable because he

stay in this scene is meaningless. He only pleases his stubborn will.

only adds laughter to the end of this play.

was in exile, Jaques'

Jaques' disobedience

lll

Touchstone is Celia's

meets Corin, a shepherd

fool and he attends his mistress to the

of the forest, and they compare country

forest. The fool there

life with court life :

Corin.............Those that are good manners at the court are as ridiculous in

the country as the behaviour of the country is most mockable at the court. You told

-117-

-49-

me you salute not at the court, but you kiss your hands: that courtesy would be

uncleanly if courtiers were shepherds.

7'bztch. Instance, briefly ; come, instance.

Corin. Why we are still handling our ewes, and their fells you know are greasy.

7'bitch. Why, do not your courtier's hands sweat ? And is not the grease of a mutton as

wholesome as the sweat of a man ? Shallow, shallow. A better instance I say. Come.

Corin. Besides, our hands are hard.

Tbztch. Your lips will feel them the sooner. Shallow again. A more sounder instance,

come. Corin. And they are often tarred over with the surgery of our sheep i and would you

have us kiss the tar ? The courtier's hands are perfumed with civet.

7bzaclz. Most shallow man ! Thou worms-meat in respect of a good piece of flesh

indeed! Learn of the wise and perpend. Civet is of a baser birth than tar, the very

uncleanly flux of a cat Mend the instance, shepherd.

Corin. You have too courtlyawit for me, I'll rest. (3.2.44-68)

The discussion of country life and court life marks traditional pastoral. (Needless to say,

sylvan life is regarded as country life in this play.) And "Corin" is a traditional name of

a shepherd in pastoral. What Corin says, however, differs not a little from pastoral

tradition. It is because country life is less corrupted that the life is praised in pastoral.

Because Corin's speech begins with "Those that are good manners at the court are as

ridiculous in the country," he seems to reproach the court manners according to pastoral

tradition. As the debate goes on, however, it comes out that he does not despise the court

manners. He rather depreciates the shepherd's life. His words mean that the hands of

uncouth shepherds are not suitable for kissing. When he says, "The courtier's hands are

perfumed with civet", we come to know that he yearns after the courtier's life. Corin's

words such as "their [ewes'] fells you know are greasy,'{ "our hands are hard" and "they

[our hands] are often tarred over with the surgery of our sheep" are very realistic and

present a striking contrast to the artificiality of pastoral. Though the form of the above-

quoted debate is pastoral, its contents belong to realistic or proletarian literature.

Con'n. Sir, Iam a true labourer:Iearn thatIeat, get thatI wear;owe no man hate,

envy no man's happiness ; glad of other men's good, content with my harm ; and the

greatest of my pride is to see my ewes graze and my lambs suck.

7bblch. That is another simple sin in you, to bring the ewes and the rams together, and

to offer to get your living by the copulation of cattle ; to be bawd to a bell-wether,

and to betray a she-lamb of twelvemonth to a crooked-pated old cuckoldly ram, out

of all reasonable match. If thou beest not damned for this, the devil himself will have

no shepherds. I cannot see else how thou shouldst 'scape. (3.2.71-83)

It is not until the last part of their conversation that Corin takes a traditional attitude and

talks of the pleasure of country life, which is simple but satisfactory. Touchstone makes

a surprising remark in response. In his conception, to breed sheep is nothing more than

the work of a bawd. The word, "cuckoldly", is a pun meaning both "horned" and

"deceived by one's wife" and is very comical because it rouses the image of an old ram

that is discouraged by his wife's escape. We are taught by Touchstone that to breed sheep

is a calm life and it is, at the same time, the life dependent upon "the copulation of cattle."

T.S.Eliot defines "wit" as follows : "It involves, probably, a recognition, 'implicit in the

-116-

-50-

expression of every experience, of other kinds of experience which are possible."6 In this

sense, Touchstone can be considered to embody wit. The fool introduces the actual and

material point of view into the world of pastoral romance. And the contrast afforded by

it between romanticism and realism, or between sublimity and obscenity is a source of

comic effect.

What idea does Touchstone have about Iove or marriage ? Touchstone falls in love

with Audrey, a country lass, and in Act III,Scene iii,the lovers appear in order to be

married by a vicar of the next village. Before wedding, he states his opinion about

marriage as follows :

Is the single man therefore blessed ? No. As a walled town is more worthier than a

village, so is the forehead of a married man more honourable than the bare brow of

a bachelor ; and by how much defence is better than no skill, by so much is a horn

more precious than to want. (3.3.51-57)We cannot help laughing at his surprising indifference to the inconstancy of his wife.

When Jaques, who has overheard their talk, comes forward and asks Touchstone if he

will be married, he replies, "As the ox hath his bow sir, the horse his curb, and the falcon

her bells, so man hath his desires, and as pigeons bill, so wedlock would be nibbling" (3.

3.71-73). His motive for marriage is sexual desire and he thinks that the desire is not a

source of pleasure in life but the bondage such as the ox's bow and the horse's curb. The

name, Oliver Martext, reveals that he is an unauthentic vicar because "mar" means

"interpret wrong." When Jaques objects that Touchstone is married by such a dubious

vicar, the fool says in an aside, "I am not in the mind but I were better to be married of

him than another, for he is not like to marry me well, and not being well married, it will

be a good excuse for me hereafter to leave my wife" (3.3.81-85). Thus he has no romantic

idea about marriage or love. Needless to say, his Iove to Audrey or his idea about

marriage is the parody of sentimental idea of love in pastoral romance.

N

It goes without saying that Rosalind was the heroine of Thomas Lodge's novel and that

the love between her and Rosader (Orlando in Rosalynde) was the main theme of the

pastoral romance. It is true that their love is still a main theme in Shakespeare's play, but

Rosalind's love represented by Shakespeare is considerably different from that of

Thomas Lodge's pastoral romance. It is in Act III , Scene ii that Rosalind, who had come

into the forest of Arden, came to know that Orlando had also come there. In that scene,

Touchstone parodied the poem which Orlando had written to praise Rosalind. And so he

is scolded by Rosalind. Here appears Celia, reading another poem which praises

Rosalind. Then Celia informs Rosalind that it is Orlando, the gallant with whom she fell

in love at first sight in the wrestling scene, who hung and engraved poems which praised

her. And then the following conversation passes between them :

Ros. Alas the day, what shall I do with my doublet and hose ? What did he when thou

saw'st him ? What said he ? How looked he ? Wherein went he ? What makes he

here ? Did he ask for me ? Where remains he ? How parted he with thee ? And when

shalt thou see him again ? Answer me in one word.

-115-

-51-

Celia. You must borrow me Gargantua's mouth first. 'Tis a word too great for any

mouth of this age's'size. To say ay and no to these particulars is more than to answer

in a catechism.

Ros. But doth he know thatIam in this forest, and in man's apparel? Looks he as

freshly as he did the day he wrestled ?

Celia. It is as easy to count atomies as to resolve the propositions of a lover. But take

a taste of my finding him and relish it with good observance. I found him under a tree

like a dropped acorn.

Ros. It may well be called Jove's tree, when it drops such fruit.

Celia. Give me audience, good madam.

Ros. Proceed.

Celia. There lay he stretched along like a wounded knight.

Ros. Though it be pity to see such a sight, it well becornes the ground.

Celia. Cry holla to the tongue, I prithee ; it curvets unseasonably. He was furnished Iike

a hunter.

Ros. O ominous!he comes to kill my heart!

Cblia. I would sing my song without a burden. Thou bringest me out of tune.

Ros. Do you not knowIam a woman?WhenIthink,lmust speak. Sweet, say on.' Cella. You bring me out. Soft ! comes he not here? (3.2.215-47)

Rosalind bombards Celia with questions in succession and advances a wholly unac-

ceptable claim : "Answer me in one word." Because Celia is amazed at Rosalind's

impetuosity and the unreasonableness of her claim, she utters shrieks:"You must

borrow me Gargantua's mouth first," "To say ay and no to these particulars is more than

to answer in a catechism" and "It is as easy to count atomies as to resolve thepropositions of a lover." The strange combination of Rosalind's love and giant, catechism

or atomies surprises us and makes her love seem comical. Rosalind's speech, "It may well

be called Jove's tree, when it drops such fruit," from line 232 to Iine 233 is a reference to

the fact that an oak, which bears acorns, is a tree sacred to Jupiter. Therefore, we can

regard it as her praise of Orlando. Though Celia, following Rosalind's request, tries to

explain how Orlando was, she cannot do it because she is always interrupted by

Rosalind's praise of her own lover. Rosalind's "ground" in "it well becomes the ground"

is a pun meaning both "surface of earth" and "background of an embroidery or apicture." And so this speech of hers is also the praise of Orlando because it means that

Orlando is handsome enough to adorn the background of an embroidery or a picture. As

Celia is surprised at Rosalind's violent interference, she compares it to a h6rse's

bouneing : "Cry holla to the tongue, I prithee ; it curvets unseasonably." This metaphor

also produces comic effect. And Rosalind makes a pun on "heart" and "hart". In response

to this, Celia also puns on "burden" of line 243. It means both interference, that is,

Rosalind's meddling, and a musical accompaniment. Thus Celia and Rosalind are joking

about Rosalind's love.

As is previously noticed, pastoral romance is a literary genre in which traditional

pastoral and medieval romance are united. Therefore the love represented in pastoral

romance is the love of medieval romance, that is, "courtly love." The characteristic of

courtly love is a knight's idealization and praise of a lady's virtue and beauty. The

heroines of pastoral romance are, like that of Thomas Lodge's Rosalynda ideal ladies and

it is improbable that they pester their friends with questions or interfere with their

-114-

-52-

friends' speech by the praise of their lovers as Shakespeare's Rosalind does. Even in

Thomas Lodge's pastoral romance, however, sometimes Rosalynde and Alinda (Celia in

Rosalynde) joke about their love. It is no exaggeration to say that the jokes between

Rosalind and Celia all originate in Rosalynde. For example, Alinda makes a little cynical

remark about Rosalynde when the latter is in a hurry to meet her lover:"but now see

I the old proverbe true, he is in hast whom the divel drives, & where love prickes forward,

there is no worse death than delay."' It is true that we feel elegant humour there.

Humorous vein, however, does not last--for what follows it is a serious story of love

garnished with several kinds of rhetoric such as allusions to Greek and Roman myths and

flowery style, that is, euphuism, at full length. Therefore we cannot help feeling that love

is everything to the persons represented in the pastoral romance. Thomas Lodge's lovers

are elegant but boring. Shakespeare develops what was nothing more than light humor

in Thomas Lodge's novel into comical and vivid conversation.

It was already known to us before Rosalind enters the forest of Arden that she differs

not a little from the heroines of traditional romances. In Act I, Scene ii , Rosalind

banters Touchstone and Le Beau with Celia and in Act I , Scene iii , when Celia says,

"But is all this for your father ?" (1.3.10), in order to ask the reason of her melancholy,

Rosalind replies, "No, some of it is for my child's father [Orlando]" (1.3.11). This answer

is so immodest that some editors adopted Rowe's emendation, "my father's child [myself] ."

In Act IV, Scene i, Orlando begins mock-wooing by supposing Ganymede as Rosalind

in order to cure his love-sick. Orlando does not know that Ganymede is Rosalind herselL

Orl. Who could be out, being before his beloved mistress ?

Ros. Marry that should you, ifI were your mistress, or I should think my honesty

ranker than my wit.

Orl. What, of my suit ?

Ros. Not out of your apparel, and yet of your suit. Am not I your Rosalind ?

Orl. Itake some joy to say you are, because I would be talking of her.

Ros. Well, in her person, I say I will not have you.

0rl. Then in mine own person, I die.

Ros. No, faith, die by attorney. The poor world is almost six thousand years old, and

in all this time there was not any man died in his own person, videlicet, in a Iove-

cause. Troilus had his brains dashed out with a Grecian club, yet he did what he

could to die before, and he is one of the patterns of love. Leander, he wouid have

Iived many a fair year though Hero had turned nun, if it had not been for a hot mid

summer night ; for, good youth, he went but forth to wash him in the Hellespont, and

being taken with the cramp, was drowned, and the foolish chroniclers of that age

found it was Hero of Sestos. But these are all Iies : men have died from time to time

and worms have eaten them, but not for love.

0rl. I would not have my right Rosalind of this mind, for I protest her frown might kill

me. Ros. By this hand, it will not kill a fly. ... (4.1.78-106)

Orlando puns on "suit" in his "wuat, of my suit ?" of line 82 and Rosalind puns on "suit" and

"out" in her "Not out of your apparel, and yet out of your suit" of the next line. Their

puns make their conversation wit-combat. The word, "out", of Orlando's speech of line

-113-

-53-

78 means "be at a loss in speech." His "What, of my suit ?" is, however, ``What, am I out

of my suit ?" He is asking her whether his entreaty will be rejected or not, and so he

changes the meaning of ``out". In Rosalind's ``Not out of your apparel'' of line 83, she

interprets Orlando's "out" of the previous line as ``take off" and "suit" as "clothes" and

the line means that she does not intend to take off his clothes. Rosalind's refusal of his

courtship in her "I say I will not have you" and Orlando's words, "I die", seem to imitate

the set pattern of a lady's refusal and her lover's exaggerated grief in courtly love.

" [B] y attorney" of line 89, which is a legal term, is used in response to Orlando's "in mine

own person" of the previous line. He meant only "he himself" by these words, but Rosalind

deliberately interprets them as a legal term meaning "not by proxy but personally" and

then she uses "by attorney.'' They are extremely witty. The combination of a legal term,

"by attorney", and a rhetorical expression of emotion, ``die", surprises us.

After this"No, faith, die by attorney,'' Rosalind says that there has been no man that

died for love and she lists Troilus and Leander as its examples. Troilus was a man who

duelled with Achilles and died because he resented Cressida, his mistress ; she had given

her heart to Diomedes, the enemy's general. He was considered a model of faithfulness

in love in contrast to faithless Cressida. Rosalind, however, denies the relation between

his death and his love : "yet he 'aid what he could to die before." Though Troilus was

killed with a spear in realitsp) Rosalind changes it to a club and makes his death comical.

As for Leander, he was a young man of Abydos and he swam across the Hellespont in

order to meet Hero, a nun and his mistress, every night. Because one night a light with

which he had directed his course blew out owing to a storm, he was drowned and so Hero

took her own life by drowning herself in order to follow him. Rosalind changes also this

tragedy into comedy by attributing his death to the hot weather of the night and to his

cramp. Though both Troilus and Leander were the typical martyrs to love, Rosalind

denies it. When Orlando says, "I protest her frown might kill me," Rosalind,replies, "it

will not kill a fly." She banters Orlando because he does not notice her before his own

eyes:

This mock-wooing shows two things which seem to have been surprising to theaudience who were used to pastoral romance. First, Rosalind makes fun of the heroes of

medieval romances. It is not improbable that a woman talks about men's faithlessness to

her lover. Rosalind's attitude is not such a technique in love. She declares that men

cannot be believed and that romances are false. The contemporary audience must have

been surprised at such words of hers. Probably it was beyond their conception that the

heroine derived from a pastoral romance can say such things before her own Iover.

Secondly, though disguise is a convention of pastoral romance, Rosalind makes use of it

in a completely different way from traditional way. The heroines of traditional pastoral

romances used it, like the heroine of Thomas Lodge's Rosalynde, in order to sound out her

lover or as the means of success in Iove. We cannot help thinking that Shakespeare's

Rosalind uses it in order to make indecent jokes or to banter Orlando about his ignorance

of her presence. This use of disguise also must have surprised the contemporary audience.

This mock-wooing is followed by mock-wedding :

Ros. . . . . Come sister, you shall be the priest and marry us. Give me your hand Orlando.

What do you say sister ?

Orl. Pray thee marry us.

Celin. I cannot say the words.

-112-

-54-

Ros. You must begin, `Will you Orlando--'

Cella. Go to. Will you Orlando have to wife this Rosalind ?

Orl. I will.

Ros. Ay, but when?

Orl. Why now, as fast'as she can marry us.

Ros. Then you must say, `I take thee Rosalind for wife.'

Orl. I take thee Rosalind for wife.

Ros. I might ask you for your commission ; but I do take thee Orlando for my husband.

There's a girl goes before the priest, and certainly a woman's thought runs before her

actlons.

On'l. So do all thoughts, they are winged.

Ros. Now tell me how long you would have her, after you have possessed her ?

Orl. For'ever, and a day.

Ros. Say a day, without the ever. No, no, Orlando, men are April when they woo,

December when they wed. Maids are May when they are maids, but the sky changes

when they are wives. . . . (4.1.117-41)

Here also Rosalind makes several jokes. By her t{I might ask yoq for your commission"

in line 130, she pretends to be vexed at Orlando's "'take" of line 129 as if she interpreted

it as t'arrest". Though Celia, as a priest, is to ask Rosalind whether she will take Orlando

for her husband, Rosalind says before Celia's question, "I do take thee Orlando for my

husband." Therefore she says, {'There's a girl goes before the priest." This speech also

implies that she is bantering Orlando because he does not know the presence of "a girV'

If we compare the mock-wedding of Shakespeare's play with that of Thomas Lodge's

pastoral romance, we can see how playful Shakespeare's Rosalind is :

And thereupon (quoth Aliena) Ile play the priest ; from this day forth Ganimede shall

call thee husband, and thou shalt call Gtznimede wife, and so weele have a marriage.

Content (quoth Rosader) and laught. Content (quoth Ganimede) and changed as redde

as a rose ; and so with a smile and a blush, they made up this jesting match, that

after proovde to a marriage in earnest ; Rosader full little thinking he had wooed and

wonne his Rosalynde.8

Needless to say, Ganimede is the name of Rosalynde in disguise, Aliena is that of Alinda

(Celia in Rosalynde) in disguise, and Rosader is Orlando in Rosalynde. Even if it is a mock-

wedding, Thomas Lodge's heroine changes as red as a rose owing to the happiness of

marrying her lover. Shakespeare's heroine, however, makes jokes, cannot wait for a

priest's words and banters her partner about his ignorance. It need scarcely be said that

such contrast produces comic effect. Till Orlando leaves, Shakespeare's Rosalind

continues her speech that is unsuitable for the heroine of romance.

v

There live a shepherdess named Phebe and a shepherd named Silvius in Arden. This

Silvius is enamored of her. In Rosalynde, the shepherd is named Montanus. We come to

know the nature of their love in Act III, Scene v. In this scene, Phebe refuses Silvius'

courtship. She reproaches Silvius with his {Cthere is murder in [thine] eyes." Silvius is a

-111-

-55-

conventional pining lover and Phebe is a conventional haughty mistress. The power of

the loved one's contemptuous eyes to kill or inflict wounds on the lover is also a romantic

exaggeration of pastoral courtship. But Phebe, taking it for a reality, points out its

improbability and reproaches Silvius. If we compare Shakespeare's Phebe's manner of

refusal with that of Thomas Lodge's Phoebe, we shall notice how cruel Shakespeare's

Phebe is to Silvius:

Yet MontamtsIspeake not this in pride, but in disdaineInot thatIscorne thee, but

that I hate Love:for I count it as great honour to triumph over Fancie, as over

Fortune."

Though Phoebe refuses Montanus' wooing, these words are not the manifestations of her

cruelty. It is owing to her stoicism that she refuses Montanus' courtship. Overhearing

Phebe scolding Silvius, Shakespeare's Rosalind has righteous indignation, comes forward

and abuses Phebe as follows:

But mistress, know yourself. Down on your knees

And thank heaven, fasting, for a good man's love;

For I must tell you friendly in your ear,

Sell when you can, you are not for all markets.

Cry the man mercy, love him, take his offer;

Foul is most foul, being foul to be a scoffer.

So take her to thee shepherd. Fare you welL (3.5.57-63)

This abuse is very pleasant, coming as it does just after Phebe's arrogant attitude to

Silvius. In Thomas Lodge's pastoral romance, Phoebe is represented with as much favor

as Rosalynde or Alinda. Though Thomas Lodge's Rosalynde as Ganimede advisesPhoebe, she never abuses Phoebe:('Because thou art beautifull, be not so coye." and

tt Love while thou are young, least thou be disdained when thou art olde."iO On the

contrary, Shakespeare's Rosalind regards her as nothing more than vegetable or goods

of poor workmanship : t{Sell when you can, you are not for all markets." Rosalind's {'take

her to thee" is not an expression which can be used to a woman of quality. Rosalind's

abuse is in a striking contrast with the conventional exaggerated praise of woman in

courtly love. This treatment of Phebe must have been very pleasant for the audience that

were used to such convention or knew the contents of Thomas Lodge's Rosalynde.

Ironically enough, Phebe falls in love with Rosalind in the disguise of Ganymede : "Sweet

youth, I pray you chide a year together. / I had rather hear you chide than this man woo"

(3. 5. 64-65). Here is a double irony. First, a woman falls in love with a woman. Secondly,

Phebe dose not love Silvius, who loves her, but Ioves Ganymede, who abuses her. Having

completely fallen in love with Ganymede, Phebe says as follows :

Silvius, the time was that I hated thee;

And yet it is not that I bear thee love,

But since that thou canst talk of love so well,

Thy company, which erst was irksome to me, I will endure ; and I'11 employ thee too.

But do not look for further rec6mpense

Than thine own gladness that thou art employ'd. (3.5.92-98)

-110-

-56-

Silvius is foolish enough to be deceived through these words into undertaking the task of

carrying her Iove-letter to Ganymede. Though Thomas Lodge's Phoebe also falls in love

with Rosalynde in the disguise of Ganimede, Thomas Lodge Iays emphasis not on

Phoebe's selfishness but on the greatness of Venus' power :

Rlaoebe fiered with the uncouth flame of love, returned to her fathers house;so

galled with restlesse passions, as now she began to acknowledge that as there was

no flower so fresh but might bee parched with the Sunne, no tree so strong but might

bee shaken with a storme;so there was no thought s6 chaSt, but Time armde with

Love could make amorous:for shee that helde Diana for the Goddesse of her

devotion, was now faine to flie to the Altare of llenus l as suppliant now with

prayers, as she was froward afore with disdaine.ii

And Thomas Lodge's Phoebe becomes ill in bed for the love of Ganimede. Montanus,

having heard of it, hastens like mad to Phoebe. And she entreats him to carry a love-

letter and Iove-sonnet to Ganimede. AIthough Montanus dimly perceives the contents of

the message, he willingly undertakes the task which might be a source of his agony.

Phoebe's love and Montanus' faithfulness strike a note of tragedy though they seem to be

somewhat exaggerated. They make a striking contrast with Phebe's egoism or Silvius'

foolishness in As Ybtt Li)4re ft.

Shakespeare's Silvius as well as Thomas Lodge's Montanus carries Phebe's letter to

Rosalind and is made an object of mockery by Rosalind. First Rosalind makes him

believe that Phebe's letter reproaches Rosalind, and then Rosalind asks if Silvius will

hear Phebe's letter :

Ros･･'' Will you hear the letter?

Sil. So please you, forI never heard it yet;

Yet heard too much of Phebe's cruelty.

Ros. She Phebes me. Mark how the tyrant writes. [Reacis.] Art thott god to shophent turn 'd,

77urt a maiden 's heart hath burn 'd ?

Can a woman rail thus ?

Sil. Call you this railing ?

Ros.[Reacls.] iWry, thy godhead laid tipar4

Xt27rr'st thou with a woman's heart .P

Did you ever hear such railing ?

wriiles the aye of man did woo me,

That could do no vengeance to me,

Meaning me a beast.

U the scorn of yoztr bright evne

Htive Power to raise such love in mine,

Alacfe, in me, Lvhat stiunge q)ffect

VTtbpald thcy work in mild aspect .P

TWziies you chid me, I did love ;

Hbw then might yourPmpers move .P HI7 that bn'ngs this love to thee

Little knows this lbve in me ;

-109-

-57-

And bv hiin seal irP thrv inind,

VT'7ietlie]' tlldt tltx' x'otttli and kind

IiV711 the faitlij"?tl o.Efbr take

Qf me and all that l can inake,

0r else bv hiin mv love denv,

And tlten I'll stitdv hoiti to die.

Sil. Call you this chiding? (4.3.36-64)

When he hears Rosalind say, "' LWi-v, tli.v godhead laid aPart,/ Lli?i-"st tltoir it'ith a it'oman 's

heart ? / Did you ever hear such railing ?･ ", Silvius gets perplexed because he believed that

it was a reproachful letter. Though Phebe betrayed her own ignorance in Act III , Scene

v by literal interpretation of the rhetorical exaggeration--mistress' eyes have power to

inflict wounds on lover--, she here uses rhyme and the rhetoric of comparing Ganymede

to god. Though Phebe implies that Ganymede is a god to her by her "VWiiles the eve of

man did bvoo me, / Thczt cottld do no vengeance to me," Rosalind playfully says to Silvius,

C' Meaning me a beast" as if she interpreted these words of Phebe's as Phebe's reproach :

it is because Ganymede was a beast that his eyes hurt Phebe while man's eyes could not

hurt her. In this letter, Phebe eagerly tries to catch Ganymede's attention : " W]iiles you

chid me, I did love ;/Hbw then might your Pftzyers move .P" These words seem to be all the

more obsequious and selfish to us because we know her arrogant attitude in herconversation with Silvius. ""He tlzat brings this love to thee / Little knoevs this love in me ; /

And hy him seal mp tdy mind." Though this is a selfish and businesslike message, she

writes it in verse, not in prose. This letter is occupied almost with obsequious courtship

and businesslike message. This contrast between realistic contents and traditional

rhetoric is one of the important elements that make Phebe's letter sound comical.

Conclusion

In pastoral romance, country life is praised, love is courtly Iove and the heroine is

perfectly elegant and beautiful. In Shakespeare's As Ybzt Like It, the playwright is

introducing different ideas from the praise of country life or from the idealization of a

lady.

For example, Duke Senior's words introduce different views from the conventional

pastoral. Though he admires the life in Arden, the nature in Arden is severe and is quite

unlike the mild nature in Arcadian paradise. And he acknowledges that court is not only

the root of evil but also has the gentleness which is a source of human charity. It goes

without saying that Jaques' cynicism is foreign to pastoral romance, which regards

country as a paradise and glorifies love. In his conversation with Amiens, we observe the

juxtaposition of cynicism and optimism, and in his conversation with Orlando too, we can

see that of cynicism and romantism. They, however, are not simple juxtapositions of two

ideas. Though Jaques and Amiens, and Jaques and Orlando jeer at each other's ideas,

they are not quarrelling in earnest but are enjoying the conversations as a sort of game.

Touchstone's words also introduce a foreign idea into the framework of pastoral

romance. His words in his conversation with Corin is the criticism on the admiration of

country Iife in pastoral from the material and realistic point of view. His attitude to

Audrey or his idea about marriage is the parody of the idealization of a Iady in courtly

-108-

-58-

love. Fool's reason for being is simply to be an object of laughter and so we need not

consider if he really thinks what he says. Rosalind's behaviour in her conversation with

Celia in Act III , Scene ii is not that of a girl who feels anxiety and asks about her lover.

She is making a joke with Celia about her own love. Also in the mock-wooing and mock-

wedding of ActIV,Scene i, she is making fun of Orlando, who is ignorant of her

presence, in various ways. She denies the stories of Troilus and Leander and says, C{men

are April when they woo,December when they wed"(4.1.139-40). Though these words seem

to be the manifestation of her realistic idea about love, their role is confined to comic

effect. Both in Act III, Scene ii and in Act IV, Scene i , Rosalind deliberately plays the

part of an immodest girl and enjoys herself:her attitude is in contrast to that of the

heroines in romance. While the love between Phoebe and Montanus of Thomas Lodge's

pastoral romance is courtly love, Shakespeare parodies it in his play. He changes Lodge's

Phoebe's stoic refusal into an act of her malice, Montanus' faithfulness into his

foolishness and the greatness of Love's power, which makes Phoebe love Ganimede, into

her egoism.

Pastoral is not the real description of a shepherd's life. It reveals the yearnings of

courtiers:the shepherds are only the disguises of courtiers. Pastoral is a mode of

literature which is highly complicated. William Empson defines pastoral as the "process

of the putting the complex into the simple."i2 As stated above, in Shakespeare's As Ybza

Lthe ft, pastoral romance undergoes complication and is parodied or deformed.

Therefore, As you Lthe lt can also be called pastoral. It can be said that As Ybu Li)lee lt

is a play which "'pastoralizes" the pastoral romance. As we have seen till now, what

makes each character's speeches comical is the alteration which is added to the

conventions of pastoral romance. Shakespeare seems to have attached the first

importance to this alteration. Therefore the plot became secondary in importance. The

fact that Thomas Lodge's novel was very popular also contributes to the looseness of the

plot. For these reasons, this play does not receive so much consideration about plot as his

other plays.

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

11

12

Notes

Quotations are from Agnes Latham, ed., As Ybu Lthe It (The Arden Shakespeare ;

London : Methuen, 1975).

Sir Philip Sidney, T;Vze Countess of Plamb7okes Arcadia, 7'7ze Prose U'brks of Sir R2iliP

Siduev, ed. Albert Feuillerat, Vol. I (Cambridge : Cambridge University Press, 1912),

p. 13.

Geoffrey Bullough, ed., IVizrrative and Dmmatic Sources of Shaleespeare, Vol. II

(London : Routledge and Kegan Paul, 1958), pp. 182-83.

Tamotsu Kurose, Uitmei no Megami (Tokyo : Nanundo, 1970), p. 157.

Peter V. Marinelli, thstoml (t'The Critical Idiom" ; London : Methuen, 1971), p. 64.

T. S. Eliot, ttAndrew Marvell", St?lected Essttys (3rd ed. ; London : Faber, 1951), p. 303.

Bullough, p. 205.

Bullough, p. 214.

Bullough, p. 231.

Bullough, p. 232.

Bullough, p. 238.

William Empson, Some libisions of thstoval (London : Chatto & Windus, 1935), p. 22.

-107-