She is the daughter of the exiled Duke Senior and niece to his usurping brother Duke Frederick. After

angering her uncle, she leaves his court for exile in the Forest of Arden. There, she lives disguised as a

shepherd with her devoted cousin, Celia and her uncle's fool Touchstone. Eventually, Rosalind is reunited

with her father and is married to her faithful lover, Orlando.

Rosalind is definitely one of Shakespeare's most recognized heroines. Admired for her intelligence, quick

wit, and beauty, Rosalind is a vital character in "As You Like It." Most commonly seen next to her beloved

cousin Celia, Rosalind is also a faithful friend, leader, and schemer. She stayed true to her family and

friends throughout the entire story, no matter how dangerous the consequences truly were. Rosalind

dominates the stage.

Rosalind has been played by various notable actresses including Elizabeth Bergner in a 1936 film

opposite Laurence Olivier as Orlando,[1] Helena Bonham Carter in the 2000 BBC Radio 4 version, Helen

Mirren in the 1978 BBC version of the play directed by Basil Coleman,[2] and Bryce Dallas Howard in

the2006 production directed by Kenneth Branagh.

Acclaimed Tony Award-winning American actress Patti LuPone played the role at the Guthrie Theatre in

Minneapolis, after her award-winning portrayal of Eva Peron in the original Broadway run of Evita. This

caused much speculation because LuPone was leaving the Broadway stage and moving to "regional"

work.

Adrian Lester won a Time Out Award for his performance as Rosalind in Cheek by Jowl's 1991 production

of As You Like It. A male actor in the role (as would have been the norm in Shakespeare's time)

underlines the confusion of gender roles within the play: at one point, a male actor is playing a woman

who is pretending to be a man acting the part of a woman.

Orlando

Character Analysis

Orlando is the youngest son of the late Sir Rowland de Boys. He's also the younger brother of the nasty tyrant Oliver and lover of Rosalind.

If we think about Orlando's trajectory in the play, he sounds a lot like a troubled teenager. He stands up to his bully of a big brother, picks a fight with a bigger guy, runs away to the Forest of Arden, and then tags up all the trees with poems about his girlfriend. Still, as is always the case, things are a bit more complicated than this.

Being a Little Brother

The first time we meet Orlando, he's fired up and says he's ready to "mutiny" (1.1.1) against his big bro. What's Orlando so angry about, you ask? Well, his father has died and he's been left penniless because of the system of primogeniture, which says that oldest sons get to inherit all of their fathers' wealth while younger sons, like Orlando, get zilch. Wait – it gets worse. Not only did Orlando get shafted in his dad's will, he is also treated like dirt by his older brother, Oliver, who is supposed to be taking care of him: 

My father charged you in his will to give me goodeducation: you have trained me like a peasant,obscuring and hiding from me all gentleman-likequalities. The spirit of my father grows strong inme, and I will no longer endure it: (1.1.10)

Orlando knows he's angry, but here, he doesn't know quite know what to do about it so he vents his frustration by running out and challenging Charles, the court wrestler, to a match. Orlando is the underdog every audience roots for, and miraculously he wins the match, even though Charles has a reputation as a bone crusher.

Orlando's Sappy Poetry

Still, Orlando isn't exactly a testosterone-driven meathead. Once he meets the luscious Rosalind, he falls head-over-heels in love. Like Romeo, Orlando responds to this new flood of passion by being a romantic drama queen. You did notice how he littered the Forest of Arden with sappy love poetry about Rosalind, didn't you? If Orlando were a modern day teenager, he'd probably be running around writing his cheesy verses on the bathroom walls at school. Since he's a fictional character who lives in the Forest of Arden, he tags up all the trees instead. Here's an example, in case you missed one of the gazillion poems hung from the trees in Arden:

From the east to western Ind,No jewel is like Rosalind.Her worth, being mounted on the wind,Through all the world bears Rosalind.All the pictures fairest linedAre but black to Rosalind.Let no fair be kept in mindBut the fair of Rosalind. (3.2.1)

OK. Orlando's not going to win a Pulitzer Prize for his poetry any time soon. As Rosalind and Touchstone point out, Orlando seems sincere, but this mushy, sing-songy stuff is also really bad poetry. Jaques even begs him to "mar no more trees with writing love-songs in their barks" (3.2.3).

Not only that, but Orlando's idea of love is highly artificial. In fact, his poetry and behavior make him look and sound a lot like what we call a "Petrarchan lover." (In other words, he's someone who acts like a guy in one of Francis Petrarch's 14th-century Italian love poems. This involves a lot of dramatic

sighing, sadness, and frustration over an unattainable girl who could kill a man with a dirty look. Sound familiar? It should because this is exactly how Romeo behaves at the very beginning of Romeo and Juliet.)

So, it's a good thing that Rosalind is willing to remind Orlando that real love is nothing like the stuff we find in cheesy poetry, fortune cookies, or even some popular poetry. Whenever Orlando gets overly dramatic and silly, she gently reminds him that love is not a Hallmark e-card.

How does she do this? Let's look at an example. When Orlando suggests that his love for Rosalind might be the end of him because her "frown might kill" him (4.1.13), Rosalind says this is not likely to happen. As Ros points out, "Men have died from time to time, and worms have eaten them, but not for love" (4.1.18). When Orlando figures out that love is not a Hallmark e-card, he learns how to be the perfect boyfriend/future husband.

Before we dismiss Orlando as some wimpy romantic who lets his girlfriend push him around, though, we want to remember that Shakespeare endows him with plenty of spirit. Not only does he beat up Charles in the wrestling match, he also fights a ferocious lion and saves his brother's life. All around, he's a likable and easy-going guy who might actually be able to handle his brassy, cross-dressing girlfriend.

Rosalind (Ganymede)

Character Analysis

Literary critic Anne Barton says that "Rosalind is extraordinarily important in As You Like It, as central and dominating a figure in her fashion as Hamlet in his own, very different play." That's quite a compliment.

So who is this "Rosalind" girl and what makes her so great?

Well, she's the daughter of the banished Duke Senior and cousin/BFF to Celia. She's also the saucy, cross-dressing girlfriend of Orlando. In the play, Rosalind gets 86'ed from her uncle's court but, instead of boo-hooing about her lousy circumstances, Rosalind puts on a brave face and runs away to the Forest of Arden in search of freedom. Our girl is not only adventurous but she's also gutsy.

Rosalind and Love

Yale professor and literary critic Harold Bloom credits Rosalind with being the first real lover in all of modern literature. She's the first to make fun of love, and also the first to let herself be fully embraced by all its frivolity and pure joy. Bloom says "Rosalind is unique […] in Western drama, because it is so difficult to achieve a perspective upon her that she herself does not anticipate and share." Basically, this girl is incredibly self-aware, especially when it comes to matters of the heart.

When it comes to love, Rosalind is just as romantic as the next girl. After all, she's willing to disguise herself as a boy (who pretends to be a girl), so that Orlando can practice his moves on "Ganymede."

At the same time, Rosalind's also got a pretty good head on her shoulders. When lovesick Orlando goes around claiming that he'll die if Rosalind won't have him, she points out that "men have died from time to time, and/ worms have eaten them, but not for love" (4.1.18).

At other times, Rosalind sounds downright cynical about love. When Orlando declares that he will love "Rosalind" forever, our girl says "No, no, Orlando;/ men are April when they woo, December when they wed:/ maids are May when they are maids, but the sky/ changes when they are wives" (4.1.29). In other words, Rosalind worries that Orlando will lose interest in her after he's married her and spent the night in her bed.

The great thing about Rosalind is that she doesn't let any of this get her down. She knows that love isn't all chocolates and roses, but she's still willing to take a chance on loving Orlando.

Being Ganymede

When Rosalind runs away to the forest, she knows that rape and robbery are a very real possibility on the road so, she decides to disguise herself as a young man named Ganymede. When our bossy, opinionated, and gutsy girl dons her disguise and ventures into Arden, she challenges all kinds of traditional 16th-century assumptions about women being passive, silent, and helpless. 

A gallant curtle-axe upon my thigh,A boar-spear in my hand; and--in my heartLie there what hidden woman's fear there will--We'll have a swashing and a martial outside,As many other mannish cowards haveThat do outface it with their semblances. (1.3.18)

Even though Rosalind identifies her hidden "fear" with being a "woman," she also seems to recognize that masculinity can be imitated or faked. If a cowardly man can pretend he's a tough guy by "swashing" around with an axe on his thigh and a boar-spear in his hand, then so can Rosalind. In other words, Rosalind knows that gender is a social role that can imitated and faked. (After all, Shakespearean actors faked it all the time on a stage that prohibited women from acting in public theaters. In Shakespeare's time, all female roles were performed by men.)

Why Does Rosalind Stay in Drag?

After she reaches the safety of the forest, where her disguise is not longer necessary, Rosalind remains in drag and even befriends Orlando, who thinks "Ganymede" is actually a teenage boy.

OK. We have a question: Why the heck does she stay in her disguise?

For many literary critics, Rosalind stays in her man pants because it offers a special kind of freedom. InShakespeare's Comedy of Love, Alexander Leggatt notes that Rosalind's disguise as Ganymede is "truly liberating." Leggatt goes on to argue that "the role is a device allowing Rosalind a freedom of

comment impossible in a conventional love affair." We can take that a step further by arguing that Rosalind's disguise gives her a chance to tutor Orlando about love, turning him into an ideal romantic partner. (For more about the importance of Ganymede check out "Symbolism.")

Shakespeare heroine sounds pretty awesome, don't you think? The best way to get at Rosalind is to realize she's one of Shakespeare's only characters that you'd actually like to be with while trapped in an elevator. Hamlet might depress you to death, and Macbeth might cut out your liver and send it to your mother, but Rosalind would probably play a game of travel Scrabble with you and then ask for your number with a wink.

Celia (Aliena)

Character Analysis

Celia is the daughter of Duke Frederick, cousin to Rosalind, and a general balance to Rosalind's foolish love.

Celia and Rosalind, Together Forever

Celia values her relationship with Rosalind so much that very little else matters to her, which is why she runs away with Rosalind to the Forest of Arden (disguised as Aliena). This makes sense, as the girls initially seem like twin sisters:

[..] if she be a traitor,Why so am I; we still have slept together,Rose at an instant, learn'd, play'd, eat together,And wheresoever we went, like Juno's swans,Still we went coupled and inseparable. (1.3.12)

Initially, Celia and Rosalind are partners in crime, jesting together, running off together, changing their identities together (Celia becomes Aliena), and generally having fun…together. Celia even declares their trip into the forest isn't banishment, but a chance at liberty, as they get to be the women they want to be (together).

Celia and Love

Celia and Rosalind's relationship changes once Orlando enters the scene. Celia is relegated to dealing with Rosalind's constant lovesickness and hijinks as Rosalind/Ganymede. As the play develops, Celia is confined more and more to simply reacting to Rosalind's antics.

Through Celia, we get to investigate Rosalind's changing attitude toward love, which is contrasted by Celia's unchanging skepticism. Rosalind and Celia both see love as foolish fun at the beginning of the play, but things change when the girls get to the forest and learn that Orlando is there. It turns out that, even though Rosalind thinks love is foolish, she's not above being foolish herself.

Celia, who is not in love, has to watch her friend embrace all the silly stuff they've spent their time mocking. In that case, it is no surprise that, throughout the play, Celia becomes more and more surly, perhaps disenchanted with her friend's enchantment. When Celia begins to tell Rosalind that Orlando doesn't really love her, the clear divide between the cousins becomes apparent. Celia perhaps resents Rosalind's attention to Orlando, but it seems she particularly resents that her friend takes the foolishness of love seriously.

Celia's disdain of love comes into perspective when Celia herself falls for a guy. Celia's relationship with Oliver isn't a particularly deep one, but it's significant in the play because it sets off how unusual Rosalind's approach to love actually is. For all Celia's pooh-poohing about love, once she finds a man we literally never hear from her again. She drops out of the play, totally enamored of her new boy. Celia then becomes a hypocrite of sorts; she loses herself in another person, and thus is lost to the world.

Rosalind may be giddy about being in love, but she's actually done a remarkable job of keeping her own identity in the process. Because she knows love is foolish, Rosalind can be in love without being a fool for love. Celia's disappearance highlights exactly what Rosalind didn't do, making Rosalind even more of an extraordinary woman. Unfortunately, Duke Frederick ends up being right – Rosalind one-ups Celia, and we all think she's a better catch than his daughter.

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