As You Like It By Shakesspeare Reflect on the multiple marriages which end the play. Obviously, the marriages of Rosalind with Orlando and Celia with Oliver are meant to be primary, but what are we t

Zahiya Kassab

The Characters of the Play: As You Like It

Jaques

In the play, As You Like It, different characters have displayed their role as would be expected for an actor on a stage. Starting with Jaques, one of the main characters in the play has been given the name as the 'Melancholy Jaques' and is one of the Duke’s noblemen living in Arden's forest. Rosalind says, "They say you are a melancholy fellow"(4.1.3). He is popularly known for his pure sarcasm, which shows the troubling and arrogance of people even in the real world, when in different situations. Even though, Jacques has many thoughts but he is unable to do anything at all. It is like his job is to please his mind and does not think about doing anything about himself. He says, "I think of as many matters as he, but I give heavens thanks and make no boast of them" (2.5.33-35). He is satisfied that he can think about many other things. His role in the play is more of observing than acting. Jaques is being discussed intensively by the other actors earlier as the play begins, and they reveal that most of his past is not well known. In his discussion with Rosalind, it comes out that he lost hopefulness when he was touring the world. This issue is seen when he thanks Rosalinda for her company but suggests he is right on his own.

Jaques repeatedly places himself outside the bunch of joyful characters who try to fill the Arden forest, and his source of bitterness is unknown. Jaques takes pleasure in being sad, and his refusal to change justifies the play's title: everyone gets just what they want. His role provides a sharp intelligence, but at some stage creates a shade in the sunny forest. He is an endless reminder that time can never be delayed and that sadness, sorrow, and death provide a crossroad for human beings' joys. He is like a moral philosopher to Duke Senior, especially when in his melancholy mood. Jaques seems to be continually criticizing the Duke, he claims he would speak his mind if he were the Duke. He also, will "Give me leave, to speak my mind," and that the disapproval will "Cleanse the foul body of the infected world"(2.7.60-62). Jaques presents a situation that a human's life is influenced by the kind of experiences one goes through, and our actions are presentations meant for particular situations. Jaques is a hint of a parody of an Elizabethan stereotype, and he is the traveler who returns from a foreign country only to become dissatisfied with real life. Shakespeare does not show sympathy for Jaques throughout the play. Even the initial portrayal of Jaques as an environmentalist is rejected when he hails a deer hunter "Duke like a Roman conqueror"(4.2.4).

Rosalind

Rosalind is a dominant character in the play, As You Like It. She has fully realized how she uses her emotions, how subtle her thoughts are, and show what kind of rich character she is, that no other characters can match her. Even though Orlando is good-looking, healthy, and a loving poet, but I still think that Rosalind had settled for a less superb gentlemen when she decided to marry him. Rosalind has achieved great success through her knowledge and charming critics of herself and others. The way she communicates with Orlando reveals how she manages to achieve her role as a partner. Unlike Jaques, who does not want to engage in life completely, but has much to say regarding the foolishness of those with him, Rosalind subjects her life entirely to the circumstances around her. She decides to question Silvius on his irrational devotion to Phebe. She tells Phebe that Silvius has fallen in love with her foolishness, and Phebe is too proud. She also contests Orlando's inconsiderate equivalence of Rosalind with a Spiritual ideal, but still, she comes uncompleted by the little lateness of her lover and blackouts when she sees his blood. This event shows how much human beings get attached and can easily be slaves of how they feel.

Rosalind has displayed that she can engage two sides of any arena, which brands her recognizable to almost everyone and alluring. She has unarguably presented the role of women in society in the play. She is mainly the most preferred among the feminist criticizers who are pleased by her capacity to overturn the boundaries placed on her by society as a lady. She stands out bold, and with a unique thought, she masks herself as a male for a great deal of the drama so that she could woo Orlando and teach him how to be a more established and audient lover. This kind of mentorship would not be accepted by a female. There is a limitless funny plea in Rosalind's defaming of both the masculine and feminine behavior conventions, making Elizabethan spectators feel a definite amount of nervousness over her conduct. This issue is because, ultimately, the design of a male-dominated society is dependent upon both males and females sticking to their assigned roles. Therefore, in the end, when Rosalind revealed her character, it was like a mockery. Her appearance as a performer in the epilogue is a surety to the audiences that they are about to leave a somewhat magical empire and go back to the familiar world they had left earlier. This event was also given the responsibility to the audience, this happened because they leave after learning a lesson from Rosalind that they have an equal likelihood to transform the world to a less exhausting place for the females.

Orlando

Another essential character in this play is Orlando. According to Oliver, his brother, Orlando, is honorable, and even though he is unschooled, he is somewhat educated. He is full of moral purposes and loved by everybody as if he enchants people. This explanation comes from a character who dislikes Orlando and always wants him to experience terrible times, it gives him an appropriate and substantial representation of this play's hero, As You Like It. Orlando is courageous and has a generous spirit, while he does not have Rosalind's witty mind and complete understanding. From the fondness training he gets from Rosalind; it is revealed that he relies on common place platitudes when it comes to matters of love. He has declared that by not having the only Rosalind, he would die. However, he does not seem to have a good sense, as he reveals in their argument with Jaques by proposing that Jaques ought to look out for an idiot who strolls about the jungle. He says, "He is drowned in the brook. Look but in, and you shall see him" (3.2.291-292). This suggests that Jaques will see a fool in his image. However, when close to Rosalind, Orlando's attitude seems to be less optimistic. This, however, was not Orlando's fault considering the character that Rosalind was portraying. Here, Shakespeare clearly intended for his audiences to be happy in the match.

From one period to another, Orlando acts, showing his decency and proves why everyone loves him: he travels with Adam and acts foolishly to get the old man something to eat. He also endangers his life to rescue his brother, who dislikes him so much and has plotted against him. He also goes far as lamenting love testaments to Rosalind against the rules of the forest. When the piece begins, he says that his brother has deprived him from the proper education warranted by a nobleman, and in the end, he has demonstrated to be a nobleman without that schooling. He has also shown the audience that he can conform to feminism despite his inability to direct conversations as expected of the men to reflect his masculine assertiveness.