As You Like It: Act I Scene III

Solved Contextual Question 

Rosalind: The duke my father loved his father dearly.
Celia: Doth it therefore ensue that you should love his son dearly?
By this kind of chase, I should hate him, for my father hated
his father dearly; yet I hate not Orlando.
Rosalind: N, faith, hate him not, for my sake.
Celia: Why should I not? Doth he not deserve well? 

i) What inconvenience has Orlando suffered on account of being the son
of Sir
Rowland? 

        Orlando has to suffer the malice of his elder brother Oliver since
his father’s death and secondly, this fact has made Duke Frederick
feel antagonistic to the young man as he is the son of his enemy. 

ii) What argument does Celia give to the reasoning given by Rosalind
for having fallen in love with Orlando? 

        Celia asserts that if Rosalind’s reasoning that she loves Orlando
because her father the Duke senior loved his father were true, she
(Celia) should likewise hate Orlando since her father hated Sir
Rowland de Boys. (the deceased father of Orlando) 

iii) How can you conclude from the extract that Rosalind is in deep
love with Orlando? 

        Rosalind’s reasoning that she had to fall in love with Orlando anyway
because her father loved his (Orlando’s) father clearly shows her deep
love for Orlando. 

iv) What were Celia and Rosalind discussing about love just before the
extract? 

        On Celia’s asking Rosalind if Cupid (the god of love) had mercy upon
her and as to why she was keeping silent, Rosalind answered that she
had not a single word to hurl even at a dog. Protesting, Celia says
that her cousin’s words were too valuable to be wasted like that.
Having engaged in such word-play for a while, Celia urged Rosalind to
fight against the feeling of love which had taken possession of her.
When Rosalind expressed her inability to do so, Celia wanted to know
if it was really possible for her to develop such a strong liking for
Orlando so abruptly. 

v) Who interrupts the conversation of Rosalind and Celia? In what mood
is that person? Why has that person come there? 

        The Duke Frederick does so.
        He is in an angry mood since his discovery of Rosalind’s preferences
for Orlando, the son of his enemy Sir Rowland de Boys.
        He has come with the intention of announcing Rosalind’s banishment
from his court. 

Extract II
Duke Frederick:     Thus do all traitors:
If their purgation did consist in words,
They are as innocent as grace itself:
Let it suffice thee that I trust thee not.
Rosalind: Yet your mistrust can not make me a traitor:
Tell me whereon the likelihood depends.
Duke Frederick: Thou art thy father’s daughter; there’s enough.
i) What did Duke Frederick accuse Rosalind of? What arguments did she
give to defend herself?
        Duke Frederick accused Rosalind of a feigned (artificial) innocence
like that of the traitors who try to prove their blamelessness with
mere words instead of concrete proof. Simply put, he bluntly accused
Rosalind of being a traitor.
        Rosalind asserted that her uncle’s not trusting her could not make
her a betrayer. She then wanted to know on what ground he could level
such a grave allegation at her. When Frederick said he did not trust
her because she was the daughter of her father, Rosalind quipped back
saying that it was strange that he could rely on her when he took the
dukedom and banished her father. She further said confidently that
sedition (treachery) is not inherited or, if treason automatically
passes from a father to his daughter, it did not affect her because
her father was not a traitor. Then she firmly defied being called a
traitor because she was wretched and poor.
ii) How did the Duke react to her defence? State why the Duke does not
trust Rosalind?
        The Duke only said that her being her father’s daughter was enough
reason to banish her from his court.
        Frederick has the same reason for mistrusting and hating Rosalind as
Oliver has for hating his brother. The Duke tells Celia—
        Thou art a fool; she robs thee of thy name,
        And thou wilt show more bright and seem more virtuous
        When she is gone.
iii) Give the meaning of:
        If their purgation did consist in words,
        They are as innocent as grace itself.
        If traitors could vindicate (prove right) themselves by talk alone,
they would be able to prove themselves to be as innocent as innocence
(grace) itself.
iv) After this extract how does Rosalind try to convince the Duke that
“Treason is not inherited.”
        Rosalind calmly asserts that treason is not something that by design
passes from a father to his son or daughter or, if at all it does so,
how that affects her since her father was not a traitor. She appeals
to the unfeeling Duke not to misjudge her just because she was
wretched and poor.
v) Where does the scene take place? Who are present at the scene?
        The scene is enacted in a room of Duke Frederick’s palace.
        Rosalind, Celia, Duke Frederick and some Lords are present at
the scene.




Extract 3
Duke Frederick: Ay, Celia; we stay’d her for your sake:
Else had she with her father rang’d along.
Celia: I did not then entreat to have her stay;
It was your pleasure and your own remorse.
I was too young at that time to value her;
But now I know her; if she be a traitor,
Why so am I; we still have slept together,
Rose at an instant, learn’d, play’d, ate together;
And wheresoe’er we went, like Juno’s swans,
Still we went coupled and inseparable.
i) Why did Duke Frederick detain Rosalind from accompanying her
banished father?
              He did so to let her be a companion to his daughter Celia who
he knew loved
and cherished Rosalind like anything. Besides he perhaps realized that
he would double
his sin if he banished the poor girl too in addition to his noble
elder brother whom he
forced to leave the dukedom so unceremoniously.
ii) What does ‘pleasure’ and ‘remorse’ mean? What was the ‘pleasure’
and ‘remorse’
of the Duke for keeping Rosalind back at the court?
        The contextual meaning of ‘pleasure’ is self-interest here. The
meaning of
‘remorse’ is the feeling of guilt which the usurper felt after
banishing his elder brother.
        Duke Frederick was pleased to keep back Rosalind because it will make
Celia
happy and as a father it was but natural for him to take such an
action. His ‘remorse’
was born the moment he expelled his elder brother because no man can
expel his
conscience from his heart.
iii) Give the significance of the expression Juno’s swans. How have
the cousins lived
like Juno’s swans?
        The expression signifies the inseparability of the two cousins just
like Juno’s
swans which draw the chariot of Venus, the goddess of love and
beauty.
        The cousins, like the Juno’s swans which always live together, have
always
kept together, have risen from bed at the same moment, have studied
together, played
together, eaten together, and gone everywhere together.
iv) According to the Duke, what would happen if Rosalind were to
continue to live
in the Duke’s court?
        As such the people admires and pities Rosalind for her charms and
forbearance
And so if she were to continue to live in the dukedom, her presence
would only serve
to eclipse Celia’s good name and prestige.
V) How does Celia react to the sudden banishment of Rosalind?
        Celia begs her father to allow Rosalind to stay at the court and even
goes to the
extent of threatening him that she would accompany Rosalind if she is
exiled. She also
boldly points out how he detained Rosalind when banishing his elder
brother partly to
atone for his unethical action.
vi) How can you conclude from this scene that Celia has great love and
loyalty for
Rosalind?
        Celia’s great attachment to Rosalind is clearly evident in the scene.
She boldly
defends Rosalind when Duke Frederick accuses her of being a traitor.
When Duke
Frederick went away, Celia tells Rosalind that it is not Rosalind
alone who has been
Banished but that she herself too is also ready to put up with what
Rosalind has to
suffer.






Solved Short Notes Type Questions of 10 Marks Each
1.  Give the reasons which made Duke Frederick to banish Rosalind.
        The malicious and vindictive Duke feels that Rosalind’s personality would eclipse Celia’s virtues and this is the primary reason of his banishing Rosalind from his court. There is perhaps another fact which further fires his vindictive nature. He suspects Rosalind’s attraction for Orlando, the son of his enemy. The man who had earlier kept Rosalind at the court to give company to his daughter and used to call her ‘daughter and cousin’ now feels otherwise. Duke Frederick is strongly motivated to hate Rosalind for the same reason which made Oliver to hate Orlando. This strong motivation comes to the fore when we hear him speak to Celia in the following manner.
        “Thou art a fool; she robs thee of thy name,
        And thou wilt show more bright and seem more virtuous
        When she if gone.”
2. How does the scene show that Celia and Rosalind are very
responsible young
ladies?
                   The firm yet polite way in which Rosalind tries to protect his father’s honour, clearly demonstrates her sense of propriety and responsibility. She shows her affection for her father when she says that her father is not a traitor and treachery is not something that is inherited by children from their fathers. Her calm assertion that her uncle should not use her poverty and helplessness for branding her as a betrayer wins our admiration. On the other hand Celia’s unflinching (unwavering) loyalty to Rosalind shows that she too is a responsible girl. She appeals to her father for repealing the punishment so unethically thrust upon her and even threatens him that she would accompany Rosalind if she is banished. Again the way the two sisters devise a way to escape from the clutches of the cruel Duke, and the common sense with which they execute their plan, could not have happened without being their being conscientious and responsible.









Q. Duke Frederick banishes Rosalind from his dukedom. How do the
following respond to the punishment? 
a) Rosalind 
        Rosalind responds to her punishment firmly and yet with a calmness of
mind that further endears this charming lady to us. She is no longer
the submissive Rosalind as we knew her but turns to be quite assertive
when it comes to the question of her father’s honour. She goes to
great length to prove that she is not a traitor, talking reasonably
and precisely all the time and in the process, exposes the malicious
biasness of her wicked uncle toward her. Her polite assertion that
Duke Frederick should not treat her poverty and wretchedness as signs
of her treason shows how balanced and self-possessed as a person she
is. 
b) Celia 
        The young lady, who is fiercely loyal to her cousin Rosalind, at
first, pleads her father to repeal the banishment on her (Rosalind)
but when this goes unheeded by the wicked Frederick, she boldly
admonishes her father for his spiteful deeds toward the Duke Senior
and his incomparable daughter. Celia’s totally identifying with
Rosalind’s woes and giving her whole-hearted support to her cousin at
the risk of attracting her father’s displeasure, wins our admiration.
Celia suggests that Rosalind and she should go to meet the banished
Duke in the forest of Arden, and this shows how resourceful she is. 
Q. Briefly show the intimate bond that exists between Celia and
Rosalind. 
        That an intimate bond exists between the two cousins, is proved time
and again by the way the two princesses extend their love and support
to each other. Celia begs her father to allow Rosalind to stay in the
court and even threatens him that she would accompany Rosalind if she
is banished. On the other hand, Rosalind demonstrates her caring and
concern for Celia by always discussing with her candidly and honestly
all that could affect their lives favourably or adversely.