As You Like It (Penguin Shakespeare) [Mass Market Paperback]

William Shakespeare (Author), H. J. Oliver (Editor)

Book Description

Publication Date: December 17, 1981

This wisely funny comedy, which contains some of Shakespeare's loveliest poetry, contrasts a country's world of envy and rivalry with a forest's world of compassion and harmony. In the Forest of Arden, the banished young heroine, Rosalind, disguised as a gentleman farmer, encounters an extraordinary assemblage of characters, including a fool, a malcontent traveler, her own banished father, and the banished young man she loves. Romantic happiness triumphs, even as we laugh at the excesses of love, at the ways of court and countryside, indeed, at everything, in this masterpiece of comic writing,

Editorial Reviews

Review

Five-act comedy by William Shakespeare, written and performed about 1599 and first published in the Folio of 1623. Shakespeare based the play on Rosalynde (1590), a prose romance by Thomas Lodge. The play has two principal settings: the court that Frederick has usurped from his brother, the rightful Duke, and the Forest of Arden, where the Duke and his followers (including the disgruntled Lord Jaques and the jester Touchstone) are living. Rosalind, the Duke's daughter, who is still at court, falls in love with Orlando. The latter's hateful brother, Oliver, causes him to flee to Arden also. Frederick, upon learning that Orlando's father was the Duke's friend, banishes Rosalind. She assumes the guise of a young man (Ganymede) and pursues Orlando, promising him a cure for lovesickness by means of a feigned courtship. Oliver appears at the forest court intending to kill Orlando, but the latter saves his brother from a lioness and elicits his remorse. Oliver then falls in love with Celia, Rosalind's disguised cousin who has accompanied her. Revelation of the girls' true identities precipitates a mass wedding ceremony. Word arrives that Frederick has repented, and the Duke's exile ends. The play is considered to be one of Shakespeare's "great" or "middle" comedies. Like Two Gentlemen of Verona, Love's Labours Lost, and A Midsummer Night's Dream, it contains a journey to a natural environment, where the constraints of everyday life are released and the characters are free to remake themselves, untrammeled by society's forms. -- The Merriam-Webster Encyclopedia of Literature

Book Description

John Dover Wilson's New Shakespeare, published between 1921 and 1966, became the classic Cambridge edition of Shakespeare's plays and poems until the 1980s. The series, long since out-of-print, is now reissued. Each work contains a lengthy and lively introduction, main text, and substantial notes and glossary. --This text refers to the Paperback edition.

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Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 208 pages
• Publisher: Penguin Classics (December 17, 1981)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 014070714X
• ISBN-13: 978-0140707144
• Product Dimensions: 7 x 4.3 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4.8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (28 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,387,931 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Magical!, October 20, 2001

By 

"the_kenosha_kid" (Kenosha, Wisconsin) - See all my reviews

This review is from: As You Like It (Mass Market Paperback)

"As You Like It" is bar none, one of Shakespeare's VERY best works. It is probably the most poetic of the comedies and contains perhaps as many famous quotations as any other of his plays. Rosalind is perhaps his greatest female character and this work, along with the equally (or even more) brilliant "Midsummer Night's Dream," is the best example of Shakespeare's theme of the "dream world" vs. the "real" world. This play, especially the scenes in the forest, is a celebration of language and the power of the freedom of the imagination. It consequently can be read as a criticism of the "real world," here represented by Duke Ferdinand's court. Like many of the other comedies, Shakespeare is mocking the "ideal" which many in his society would have praised. Though this play deals with some pretty dark themes (which of his plays doesn't?) it is a light-hearted and fully enjoyable read!

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Many Appealing Facets of Shakespeare's Talent!, October 14, 2001

By 

Donald Mitchell "Jesus Loves You!" (Thanks for Providing My Reviews over 109,000 Helpful Votes Globally) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: As You Like It (Audio Cassette)

As You Like It has many qualities to attract readers and audiences. Rosalind is one of the great heroines of all romantic literature. The play has more outstanding speeches than almost any other that has ever been written. Astonishing plot complications are quickly resolved in the simplest possible way, reflecting a playwright's tour de force. The Forest of Arden appears as a character in creating a magical atmosphere whereby all perceptions change, and all are healed. Right wins out, especially in drawing on good character . . . even from formerly badly behaving people. And for those who love marriages, this book has one of the most impressive ceremonies of all time in literature. Humans have never looked nobler in the end than in this play. Yet the play also abounds with some of the greatest lines of Shakespeare's fools that cause all of us to see that humility is more called for than pride or ambition. Certainly, As You Like It will make you feel the presence of an unmatched genius, that should inspire even the most arrogant to feel humbled in the Bard's presence.

My recommendation is that you first see a performance (whether in person, or on a recording). If that's not possible, try for an audio. Many outstanding actors have been taped. After you have the sights and sounds of the play firmly in mind, then read the play. You'll find that your earlier experiences will unlock more of the play's depths, imagery and pleasures for you.

Where in life is being true to your word very important? How can you improve your life by being more reliable in this way?

6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars the summary of textual and contextual issues for the play, March 24, 1998

By 

Charles C. Nickerson (Los Angeles, USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: As You Like It (New Variorum Edition of Shakespeare) (Hardcover)

Suggested by my Shakespeare coach for its comprehensiveness, this book does not disappoint. Covering the issues of text and context, its all here. If anyone reading this knows where to find used copies of the other plays, or even what there exact titles are, please e-mail me the info.