Orlando (As You Like It) forest of Arden. At the start of the play Orlando complains about the harsh treatment given to him by his brother, Oliver, and says that Oliver will not even give him the paltry sum of 1000 crowns left to him in their father's will. He is portrayed as exceptionally strong in both body and in his devotion to love. It is these qualities that make Rosalind fall for him as well. After angering Oliver's crony Duke Frederick, Orlando flees his familiar surroundings to live in exile in the Forest of Arden. There, he is accepted into the circle of the
As You Like It Sir Oliver Martext's possible reference to the Marprelate Controversy which transpired between 1588 and 1589. On the basis of these references, it seems that "As You Like It" may have been composed in 1599–1600, but it remains impossible to say with any certainty. Though the play is consistently one of Shakespeare's most frequently performed comedies, scholars have long disputed over its merits. George Bernard Shaw complained that "As You Like It" is lacking in the high artistry of which Shakespeare was capable. Shaw liked to think that Shakespeare wrote the play as a mere crowdpleaser, and signalled his own middling