Book
As You Like It
First published 1623
Rosalind is driven from court after her uncle Duke Frederick consolidates power, and she escapes with her cousin Celia into the Forest of Arden. Disguised as the young man Ganymede, Rosalind encounters Orlando, who has also fled family hostility and political danger, and tests his love without revealing her identity.
The forest becomes a temporary refuge from inheritance disputes and court ambition, bringing together exiles, shepherds, lovers and fools. Shakespeare uses disguise and mistaken identity to examine gender, performance, loyalty and the contrast between courtly power and pastoral freedom before the separated families and couples are brought toward reconciliation.
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