- endureverbChapter 1 →
To put up with or tolerate a bad situation over a long period of time. Here it means Orlando refuses to keep suffering his brother's mistreatment any longer.
“The spirit of my father grows strong in me, and I will no longer endure it.”
- hereafteradverbChapter 1 →
At some future time; from this point onward. Orlando uses it to mean 'in better times to come,' not immediately.
“Hereafter, in a better world than this, I shall desire more love and knowledge of you.”
- adversitynounChapter 2 →
Serious hardship, difficulty, or misfortune. Duke Senior argues that suffering in the forest actually teaches valuable lessons.
“Sweet are the uses of adversity, / Which, like the toad, ugly and venomous, / Wears yet a precious jewel in his head.”
- venomousadjectiveChapter 2 →
Capable of producing and injecting poison; dangerous by nature. Used here to describe the toad as something outwardly repulsive and harmful.
“Sweet are the uses of adversity, / Which, like the toad, ugly and venomous, / Wears yet a precious jewel in his head.”
- playersnounChapter 2 →
Actors performing roles on a stage. Shakespeare uses the word to compare all human beings to performers who simply act out the parts life assigns them.
“All the world's a stage, / And all the men and women merely players.”
- entrancesnounChapter 2 →
The moments when an actor comes onto the stage to begin a scene. In the 'All the world's a stage' speech, it stands for a person being born or arriving at a new stage of life.
“They have their exits and their entrances, / And one man in his time plays many parts.”
- exitsnounChapter 2 →
The moments when an actor leaves the stage. In the 'All the world's a stage' speech, it represents death or the end of a phase of life.
“They have their exits and their entrances, / And one man in his time plays many parts.”
- hard adventurephraseChapter 2 →
Painful or difficult chance experience; a stroke of hard luck that leads to an unexpected discovery. The phrase suggests the speaker stumbled upon something by suffering rather than by seeking.
“I have by hard adventure found mine own.”
- searching ofphraseChapter 2 →
Probing or examining closely, as one would inspect a wound. Here it means the act of looking into someone else's pain reveals a similar wound in oneself.
“searching of thy wound, / I have by hard adventure found mine own.”
- saucyadjectiveChapter 3 →
Boldly disrespectful and cheeky toward someone of higher status. Rosalind plans to speak to Orlando with rude, impudent confidence as part of her disguise.
“I will speak to him like a saucy lackey, and under that habit play the knave with him.”
- lackeynounChapter 3 →
A low-ranking male servant, often seen as someone who follows orders without dignity. Rosalind will imitate the bold, disrespectful manner of such a servant.
“I will speak to him like a saucy lackey, and under that habit play the knave with him.”
- habitnounChapter 3 →
A style of dress or outward manner; a costume or disguise. Here it refers to the role or character Rosalind is playing, not a personal routine.
“under that habit play the knave with him.”
- counterfeitedverbChapter 4 →
Faked or imitated something convincingly; pretended. Rosalind uses it to mean she performed a false faint so realistically it seemed genuine.
“I pray you, tell your brother how well I counterfeited.”
- renderverbChapter 4 →
To describe or declare someone to be a certain way. Here it means to report or portray someone's character in words.
“he did render him the most unnatural / That lived amongst men.”
- unnaturaladjectiveChapter 4 →
Acting against the bonds of family and basic human feeling; cruel in a way that violates what is expected of a relative. Oliver's treatment of Orlando is called unnatural because brothers should protect each other.
“he did render him the most unnatural / That lived amongst men.”
- furnishedadjectiveChapter 5 →
Dressed or equipped in a particular way; outfitted. Rosalind means she is not dressed in rags like a beggar, so begging would not suit her appearance.
“I am not furnished like a beggar, therefore to beg will not become me.”
- epiloguenounChapter 5 →
A short speech delivered directly to the audience at the very end of a play, after the main action is finished. Rosalind uses it to refer to the closing address she is about to give.
“If it be true that good wine needs no bush, 'tis true that a good play needs no epilogue.”
- bushnounChapter 5 →
A branch of ivy hung outside a tavern as a sign that wine was sold inside. In the proverb quoted, it stands for any advertisement or label needed to sell something good.
“If it be true that good wine needs no bush, 'tis true that a good play needs no epilogue.”
- banishesverbChapter 1 →
Officially orders someone to leave a place or country and not return, usually as a punishment. Duke Frederick uses this power to force Rosalind out of the court.
- exiledverbChapter 1 →
Forced to live away from one's home or country, often by an authority's decree. Duke Senior has been driven from his rightful position and must live in the forest.
- melancholicadjectiveChapter 2 →
Having a deep, lingering sadness or gloominess of mood. Jaques is known for brooding thoughtfully on the sorrows of life rather than joining in the forest's cheerfulness.
- wooverbChapter 3 →
To try to win someone's romantic love through attention, words, and affection. Rosalind asks Orlando to court 'Ganymede' as though Ganymede were the real Rosalind.
- pastoraladjectiveChapter 2 →
Relating to an idealized life in the countryside among shepherds and nature, often contrasted with the corruption of city or court life.
As You Like ItPlay by William Shakespeare