S
E NGLISH 243
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READING #8 5.1-5.4
5.1
1.
Touchstone interviews William, a rival for Audrey’s affection, and speaks in the highfalutin philosopher-speak to intimidate him—and then finally threatens, “[A]bandon the society of this female, or, clown, thou perishes; or, to thy better understanding, diest” (5.1.50-52).
How does this short scene comment on other parts of the play?
5.2
2.
“It shall be to your good” (5.2.9-10). What is the “good” to Orlando that Oliver’s news suggests?
3.
How does Oliver greet Rosalind/Ganymede as he exits just after R/G enters? (Is this Shakespeare’s slip—or must the audience make something of this?)
4.
Despair and solution. a.
“I can live no longer by thinking” (53). What is the reason for Orlando’s apparent despair? b.
Explain the magic that Ganymede/Rosalind proposes to Orlando.
5.
“Good shepherd, tell this youth (Orlando) what ‘tis to love” (87). Look over the three places where Silvius answers this question: How do these statements comment on major themes in the play?
6.
What is a possible effect of the change from prose to verse at the moment that Silvius and Phoebe enter?
7.
Enjoy the musical resolution of the scene—and what marks the beginning of the end of the play—as Silvius, Phoebe,
Orlando, and Rosalind confess their loves and Rosalind/Ganymede tells all, “Tomorrow meet me all together” (117-18).
5.3
8.
Touchstone and Audrey will also be married tomorrow. Identify the four pairs to be married and note briefly what distinguishes one pair from another.
9.
The song sung by the first and second pages is an “interlude between the instructions to prepare for marriage and the ceremony in the final scene” (
(5.3.34) significant to the play overall?
[144]). How is the emphasis on “the present time”
5.4
10.
Explain (or at least describe) Rosalind’s plan “to make these doubts all even” (5.4.26).
[Touchstone, in trying to prove that he “hath been a courtier” (43), as Jaques says, discusses a quarrel he had in the court, which made it to “the seventh cause” (53), which is the last stage of a quarrel and leads to a duel. According to the Folger edition, “[t]his is Touchstone’s strongest evidence that he is, in fact, a courtier, since no one below the level of gentleman was entitled to a quarrel…, the intricate system by which gentlemen and noblemen defended their honor” (192). Follow along, if you can, and see this, perhaps, as a parody of the specialized rules of the court that can be set off by the less complicated life of the country.]
11.
Enter Hymen—the mythological god of marriage (yet there’s no myth, he’s magically here!)—along with Rosalind and
Celia, dressed as themselves. a.
How does Hymen address each of the couples specifically in his effort to “bar confusion” (130)? b.
How does his presence make logical sense to the story?

12.
Another Jaques—Jaques de Boys. Briefly summarize his report (his “tidings to this fair assembly” (158)) of Duke
Frederick.
13.
“To him will I” (190). What is the new plan of Jaques (the Melancholy, that is)? And consider how it differs from
Touchstone’s decision to marry, considering that both of these new directions involve remaining away from the court?
Epilogue
14.
“My way is to conjure you” (11), says Rosalind, addressing the audience directly. How does this fit the final message of the play?
15.
What is the significance of Rosalind’s phrase “If I were a woman” (17) and how does this further complicate the gender arrangements of the play?
Passage of Interest
Look back at the questions and choose ONE question that you think represents the most interesting or significant moment of the reading. Explain your reasoning.
OR choose ONE phrase or sentence from the reading that interests you for ANY reason and that you want to discuss with a classmate, the teacher, or the entire class. Maybe it’s a line that you don’t understand. Write it down, along with the page number and the explanation for your choosing it. FILL THE GIVEN LINES BELOW.