Character study of Rosalind from As You Like It.

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Michael Gallagher

AP English Literature

Ms. Garforth

August 31, 2004

        Rosalind, throughout William Shakespeare’s As You Like It, uses her ability to control language to attain her goals.  Using creative speech, Rosalind enables herself to control and manipulate every situation that she is involved with, especially those concerning Orlando and Phoebe.  Rosalind dominates many scenes in As You Like It and, ultimately, everything that Rosalind wants to occur does.  She even changes her identity to do so.  By using ingenious language, Rosalind facilitates the accomplishment of all of her objectives throughout the play.

        The first situation in which Rosalind displays her dominance in language is in the Forest of Ardenne, disguised as Ganymede, a male.  She, knowing that Orlando is yearning for her love, comments on his obvious unrequited love, saying, “Then there is no true lover in the forest; else sighing every minute and groaning every hour would detect the lazy for of time as well as a clock.” (111)  By implying that Orlando’s love is not true love, she immediately inspires Orlando to prove her wrong.  Orlando, becoming a little suspicious, inquires why her accent is not rough as a result of her living in the secluded forest her entire life.  She retorts almost immediately with an elaborate story in which she states, “But indeed and old religious uncle of mine taught me to speak, who was in his youth an inland man, one that knew courtship too well, for there he fell in love.  I have heard him read many lectures against it.”  Although a lie, Rosalind uses this sly and deceptive speech to give herself the excuse to sound educated and the ability to discuss love.  Rosalind sets up this situation from the beginning, enabling herself to discreetly mention true love in order to get Orlando’s full attention.  

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        Rosalind goes on to obtain Orlando’s undivided attention by saying, “There is a man that haunts the forest that abuses our young plants with carving ‘Rosalind’ on their barks, hands odes upon hjawthrons and elegies on brambles, all, forsooth, the name of Rosalind.  If I could meet that fancy-monger, I would give him some good counsel, for he seems to have the quotidian of love upon him.”  (113).  Rosalind proclaims herself as an expert of love in order to give herself an excuse to meet with Orlando and help him cope with his situation  She knows Orlando will surely agree ...

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