Episode 42 - As You Like It

Sometimes, you really can judge a book by its cover, or even, just by its title. That's the case for this Shakespearean comedy, which tips it's hat in all sorts of directions without ever proceeding down any of them. It's a befuddling, funny, serious, ridiculous, gender-bending and gender-conforming play with a whole lot to say about nothing at all. As You Like It, is open to interpretation and not much else, but it can be a thoroughly enjoyable romp in the right hands.

We focused our discussion on the themes and motifs of the play - gender, love, court vs. country - and wound up circling round and round the same few points, including just how awesome Rosalind is as a character, how odd the structure of the plot is, and the confusing nature of Jaques. All in all, it was a very strange play.

Ancient Bickerings

For a strange play, we picked kind of a strange (and personal) question: if you had to live in one - court, or country - which would it be?

Additional Notes

The Folger Essay, "As You Like It: A Modern Perspective" gives a good overview of some of the difficulty of speaking about the play.