As You Like It As You Like It As You Like It is a pastoral comedy by William Shakespeare believed to have been written in 1599 and first published in the First Folio in 1623. The play's first performance is uncertain, though a performance at Wilton House in 1603 has been suggested as a possibility. "As You Like It" follows its heroine Rosalind as she flees persecution in her uncle's court, accompanied by her cousin Celia to find safety and, eventually, love, in the Forest of Arden. In the forest, they encounter a variety of memorable characters, notably the melancholy traveller Jaques who speaks
Characters in As You Like It of his feelings. He appears to be a coward. When he is threatened that he would be beaten and killed if he does not give up Audrey, he does not challenge Touchstone, his rival in love. Audrey's silence and her request that William should go away shows that the love between William and Audrey is superficial. Sir Oliver Martext is a vicar who is called to perform the marriage of Touchstone and Audrey. Lords and ladies in Duke Frederick's court Lords in Duke Senior's forest court Pages and musicians Hymen, the God of Marriage Characters in As You Like It