AS YOU LIKE IT - General Essay Questions
1. Although the comedy is good-humoured, there is much mockery throughout the play. Illustrate some of the ways that characters make fun of one Another in As You Like It, and discuss the importance of this element of mockery in the play as a whole.
2. “Rosalind’s role as Ganymede does not disguise her true character, but reveals it.” What do we learn of Rosalind’s character in the play, and to what extent is this revealed by her disguise as Ganymede?
3. “The play blends harsh realism with wish-fulfilling fantasy, melancholy sadness with fun and jollity.” Give examples of these various elements in the play, and say how their blending contributes to the success of the play.
4. “All literature is contrast. “How is this an apt phrase in relation to As You Like It?
5. “As You Like It offers many insights into the nature of love, and into the characters of those in love. Its message might be that love matters for many reasons.” Write an essay on the importance of love in As You Like It in the light of the quoted opinion.
6. “As you Like It is built upon a series of chance encounters and improbable happenings, but this should not detract from our enjoyment. Rather they should lead us to an increased appreciation of Shakespeare’s exuberant fantasy and inventiveness.” Comment on Shakespeare’s “fantasy and inventiveness” as it is exhibited in this play.
7. “To liberty and not to banishment.” Discuss the “liberty” that various characters find in Arden, and the opportunities the Forest offers.
8. “The wise man’s folly is anatomiz’d/E’en by the squandering glances of the fool” (II, vii, 56). How do the fools of this play “anatomize” folly?
9. How, and with what effects, is the forest of Arden presented in As You Like It?
10. ‘A precarious balance between delightful make-believe and uncomfortable reality.’ How far does this statement represent your own experience of As You Like It?
11. Compare Jacques and Touchstone, and consider the importance of their respective roles in the play.
12. Turn to Act 2 Scene 3 (Enter Orlando and Adam, meeting). What is the importance of the relationship between Adam and Orlando when seen in the context of the play as a whole, and what does this scene reveal about the characters of both?