As You Like It

As You Like It – William Shakespeare

Evan’s ESS = 9.9 out of 10

Erin’s ESS = out of 10

Content = PG (Banishment, Mild Adult Content, Feats of Strength) 

“All the world’s a stage.”

“The fool doth think he is wise, but the wise man knows himself to be a fool.”

Why:  Oh, we like it!  In fact, we like it a lot!!!

Upon suffering an unjust banishment, Rosalind and her best friend decided to flee to the Forest of Arden.  They solicit the help of the friendly court jester and mask their true identities before setting out on the road.  In the forest the two women encounter various sheep herders and other banished individuals, including Rosalind’s primary love interest.  Her path is hardly conventional but in the end love triumphs... or does it.    

We’re back above the surface with Shakespeare!  In fact, our first reaction is to brand As You Like it as our favorite Shakespeare to date.  Not exactly sure why this one in particular had such an impact, but we found ourselves really getting into the plot.  Talk about a super-duper happy ending!  The characters of Rosalind and Orlando were our favorites and the element of disguise in their forest encounter was a nice touch and maybe a wee bit weird.  Plus, not many people could pull off Orlando’s excuse for standing up Rosalind: Lion attack.  That would never work for us.  Seriously, honey, this huge flippin lion came along and, um, I had to wrestle it and ya, that’s why I’m late.  Um, why are you looking at me like that...  seriously, here’s a bloody handkerchief to prove it.

Also, we’re not sure if a court jester would be our first selection for protection on the road, but Touchstone was quite impressive.  At one point he proclaimed in the name of love that: I will kill thee a hundred and fifty ways.  We didn’t even know there were that many different ways to exterminate an individual. 

Tragedy or Comedy? That IS the question (sorry for that).  Still, As You Like it might just have tipped the scales...  The 2006 film directed by Kenneth Branagh is being added to our Netflix queue immediately and local theatre companies within a 50-75 mile radius are being searched!

Oh, and don’t forget to head on over to A Literary Odyssey for all your January Shakespeare needs!