As You Like It - Fingerprint [Paperback] WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE

With AS YOU LIKE IT, I am a little over halfway through in my ongoing traversal of Shakespeare's plays (following approximate chronological order of their creation). Of the plays I have read so far, I enjoyed AS YOU LIKE IT the most. I have not yet reached "Hamlet", "King Lear", and "Macbeth", and I am prepared to find them deeper and more substantial than AS YOU LIKE IT, but I don't expect to "enjoy" them as much. AS YOU LIKE IT is such a thoroughly happy and humane play. There are two villains, but by the end of the play they have undergone a "conversion". Those they mistreated suffer no lasting harm; indeed, by play's end each has achieved his or her heart's desire. There is comedy and scintillating repartee, but there also is wisdom. Four marriages occur at the finale, yet because it is such a mature and worldly-wise play it avoids the unreality of a happily-ever-after fairy tale. Plus, it features Rosalind. Rosalind is the most well-adjusted, clear-headed, and captivating woman I have encountered in drama. One might discount that statement given the only moderate scope of my literary experience, but then there is this from Harold Bloom: "she [is] the most remarkable and persuasive representation of a woman in all of Western literature." Two other characters also stand out. One is Touchstone, the motley fool, with his mordant, self-deprecating wit. The other is the melancholic Jaques, who is rather enigmatic but is given some of the best lines. For example, "And so from hour to hour we ripe and ripe, / And then from hour to hour we rot and rot; / And thereby hangs a tale." Or, "All the world's a stage, / And all the men and women merely players", which begins a speech that surveys the seven ages of man, from infancy, "mewling and puking in the nurse's arms", to the decrepitudes of old age, "Sans teeth, sans eyes, sans taste, sans everything." I drafted a couple paragraphs summarizing what happens in AS YOU LIKE IT, but I am omitting them because I don't think they would entice anyone to read the play. In truth, the plot is rather thin and inconsequential. Why one would want to read the play -- and why I want to re-read it, making AS YOU LIKE IT only the second of the plays so far that I have marked down for re-reading -- is for the language, the good-natured humanity, and Rosalind.

Out of all the great Shakespeare's plays, "As You Like It" is undoubtedly... the fluffiest. This is cotton candy. Fortunately, cotton candy isn't too bad as long as you don't eat too much of it. And while the ending is excessively tidy, "As You Like It" is a charming little play with the full array of Shakespearean tropes -- transvestitism, love triangles, and mass confusion. Backstory: The cruel Duke has deposed his far nicer brother, and the ex-Duke has run off into the Forest of Arden. At the same time, a young man named Orlando has been cast out by his cruel brother Oliver. Then the Duke decides to exile his niece Rosalind, despite the pleas of his daughter Celia. So Rosalind (disguised as a boy), Celia and the jester Touchstone run away into the Forest of Arden the following night, and soon encounter the exiled Duke and his followers. So does Orlando and his faithful servant Adam. Because of a previous meeting, Rosalind and Orlando are already in love. But not only does he not recognize her, but because she's disguised as a boy she's attracted the amorous intentions of a local shepherdess. And to make matters even more complex, Touchstone is in a love triangle of his own, and Oliver has stumbled into Arden as well. Is everything going to end well? The biggest problem with "As You Like It" is the fact that the ending is just a little too tidy -- while it's plausible that the romantic tangles would be smoothed out, there's an conveniently-timed twist that stretches believability to the point of snapping. Fortunately, the rest of it is a pleasantly fluffy little story filled with Shakespeare's sparkliest, sunniest storytelling. Shakespeare's plot floats along in a heady cloud of sunlit forests, poems pinned to trees and languid outlaws who hang around singing all day. His lines are filled with clever, sometimes bawdy jokes ("praised be the gods for thy foulness! sluttishness may come hereafter") and some nicely evocative imagery ("Between the pale complexion of true love/And the red glow of scorn and proud disdain"). The funniest parts involve the love quadrangle between Rosalind, Phebe, Orlando and Silvius, as well as Orlando's wretched poetry and Touchstone's mockery of them ("Winter garments must be lined,/So must slender Rosalind"). And it has a likable cast of characters, most of whom are amiable and likable (although I'm still not sure why Orlando and the ex-Duke don't recognize Rosalind!). Celia and Rosalind are fun and sprightly heroines, Orlando is an endearing underdog (if a rotten poet), and there's also the sharp-tongued Touchstone, dour Jacques, and the rather beyotchy Phebe. "As You Like It" is a puffy little wisp of a play, compared to Shakespeare's other works -- but it's still a nice little romantic diversion. Think of it as an Elizabethan romantic comedy.

Received quickly and as expected. Thanks.

My favourite Shakespeare Comedy. Rosalind is terrific!

Honestly when it came i had no idea that a used copy would be given. I don’t mind it, but others might not want it. Also, there are a few highlights and writing inside the book. Again I don’t mind, but should’ve been declared when buying it.

As You Like It, is my first Shakespeare novel or I should say romantic comedy and it made me fall in love with it. All the world's a stage, And all the men and women merely players; They have their exits and their entrances; And one man in his time plays many parts, His acts being seven ages. I have always came across this phrase but never realized that it was Shakespeare's until I finished reading this book. This is just a small version of it but I think still holds the entire play around it. "As You Like It" is a charming little play with the full array of Shakespearean tropes -- transvestitism, love triangles, and mass confusion. Backstory: The cruel Duke has deposed his far nicer brother, and the ex-Duke has run off into the Forest of Arden. At the same time, a young man named Orlando has been cast out by his cruel brother Oliver. Then the Duke decides to exile his niece Rosalind, despite the pleas of his daughter Celia. So Rosalind (disguised as a boy), Celia and the jester Touchstone run away into the Forest of Arden the following night, and soon encounter the exiled Duke and his followers. So does Orlando and his faithful servant Adam. Because of a previous meeting, Rosalind and Orlando are already in love. But not only does he not recognize her, but because she's disguised as a boy she's attracted the amorous intentions of a local shepherdess. And to make matters even more complex, Touchstone is in a love triangle of his own, and Oliver has stumbled into Arden as well. Is everything going to end well? The funniest parts involve the love quadrangle between Rosalind, Phebe, Orlando and Silvius, as well as Orlando's wretched poetry and Touchstone's mockery of them. And it has a likable cast of characters, most of whom are amiable and likable (although I'm still not sure why Orlando and the ex-Duke don't recognize Rosalind!). Celia and Rosalind are fun and sprightly heroines, Orlando is an endearing underdog (if a rotten poet), and there's also the sharp-tongued Touchstone, dour Jacques, and the rather beyotchy Phebe. I have never read a play or this sort of novel but it's been a great experience starting it and finishing this. I would say that I will definitely be looking forward to read more like them.

Very good value for this Shakespearian book. It was needed for a Practical Philosophy Group to study in a philosophical way. I was pleased with the condition and it arrived very quickly.