As You Like It: Act II: Scene I

Please read this easily understandable prose rendering of the drama
below. I am sure you will benefit from this. 

Act 2, Scene 1
        Enter DUKE SENIOR, AMIENS, and two or threeLORDS, like foresters        DUKE
SENIOR, AMIENS, and two or threeLORDS enter, dressed like foresters.
        DUKE SENIOR
Now, my co-mates and brothers in exile,
Hath not old custom made this life more sweet
Than that of painted pomp? Are not these woods
More free from peril than the envious court?
Here feel we not the penalty of Adam,
The seasons' difference, as the icy fang
And churlish chiding of the winter’s wind,
Which, when it bites and blows upon my body,
Even till I shrink with cold, I smile and say,
“This is no flattery. These are counselors
That feelingly persuade me what I am.”
Sweet are the uses of adversity,
Which, like the toad, ugly and venomous,
Wears yet a precious jewel in his head.
And this our life, exempt from public haunt,
Finds tongues in trees, books in the running brooks,
Sermons in stones, and good in everything.
DUKE SENIOR
Now, my companions and brothers in exile, hasn’t experience made this
simple life sweeter than a life of glittery pomp and circumstance?
Aren’t these woods less perilous than the court, with all its
jealousies and intrigues? Out here we feel the changing of the
seasons, but we’re not bothered by it. When the icy fangs of the
brutal, scolding wind bite and blow on my body, even though I’m
shivering with cold, I can appreciate the weather’s honesty. I smile
and think, “Thank goodness the wind doesn’t flatter me: it’s like a
councilor who makes me feel what I’m really made of.” Adversity can
have its benefits—like the ugly, poisonous toad that wears a precious
jewel in its forehead. In this life, far away from the civilized
world, we can hear the language of the trees, read the books of the
running streams, hear sermons in the stones, and discover the good in
every single thing.
        AMIENS
I would not change it. Happy is your Grace,
That can translate the stubbornness of fortune
Into so quiet and so sweet a style.
AMIENS
I wouldn’t change my situation for anything. You’re lucky, my lord, to
be able to see the peace and sweetness even in what bad luck has
brought you.
        DUKE SENIOR
Come, shall we go and kill us venison?
And yet it irks me the poor dappled fools,
Being native burghers of this desert city,
Should in their own confines with forkèd heads
Have their round haunches gored.
DUKE SENIOR
Come, shall we hunt some deer for dinner? It bothers me, though, that
these poor spotted innocents, who, after all, are this deserted city’s
native citizens, should be gouged with arrows.
        FIRST LORD
Indeed, my lord,
The melancholy Jaques grieves at that,
And in that kind swears you do more usurp
Than doth your brother that hath banished you.
Today my Lord of Amiens and myself
Did steal behind him as he lay along
Under an oak, whose antique root peeps out
Upon the brook that brawls along this wood,
To the which place a poor sequestered stag
That from the hunter’s aim had ta'en a hurt
Did come to languish. And indeed, my lord,
The wretched animal heaved forth such groans
That their discharge did stretch his leathern coat
Almost to bursting, and the big round tears
Coursed one another down his innocent nose
In piteous chase. And thus the hairy fool,
Much markèd of the melancholy Jaques,
Stood on th' extremest verge of the swift brook,
Augmenting it with tears.
FIRST LORD
Indeed, my lord, the gloomy Jaques grieves over these deaths. He
swears that when you kill the deer, you’re a worse usurper than your
brother was for banishing you. Today, Lord Amiens and I followed
Jaques. We saw him lie down along a brook under an oak tree whose
ancient roots peeked out from the earth. A poor, lonely stag who had
been hurt by a hunter’s arrow came to rest there, where he heaved such
heavy groans that the effort seemed to stretch his hide to bursting.
Big, round tears ran piteously down the animal’s innocent nose. The
hairy fool, watched closely by sad Jaques, stood on the very edge of
the brook, adding his own tears to the streaming water.
        DUKE SENIOR
But what said Jaques?
Did he not moralize this spectacle?
DUKE SENIOR
And what did Jaques say? Didn’t he take the opportunity to draw a
moral from the scene?
        FIRST LORD
Oh, yes, into a thousand similes.
First, for his weeping into the needless stream:
“Poor deer,” quoth he, “thou mak’st a testament
As worldlings do, giving thy sum of more
To that which had too much.” Then, being there alone,
Left and abandoned of his velvet friend,
“'Tis right,” quoth he. “Thus misery doth part
The flux of company.” Anon a careless herd,
Full of the pasture, jumps along by him
And never stays to greet him. “Ay,” quoth Jaques,
“Sweep on, you fat and greasy citizens.
'Tis just the fashion. Wherefore do you look
Upon that poor and broken bankrupt there?”
Thus most invectively he pierceth through
The body of the country, city, court,
Yea, and of this our life, swearing that we
Are mere usurpers, tyrants, and what’s worse,
To fright the animals and to kill them up
In their assigned and native dwelling place.
FIRST LORD
Oh, yes, he created a thousand comparisons. First, he spoke of the
deer’s needless addition to the stream’s water supply. “Poor deer,” he
said, “you’re just like a human: you add more to what already has too
much.” Then, about the deer’s being alone, abandoned by his velvety
companions: “It’s appropriate,” he said, “that a miserable creature
should excuse itself from company.” Just then, a carefree herd of
deer, having just eaten their fill of pasture grass, bounded along
without stopping to greet their wounded brother. “Sure,” said Jaques,
“hurry on, you fat and greasy citizens. Why stop and notice this poor,
broken, bankrupt creature here?” In this way, he most insightfully
pierced to the heart of the country, the city, the court, and even our
lives out here in the forest, swearing that we are mere usurpers and
tyrants, frightening and killing animals in their own homes.
        DUKE SENIOR
And did you leave him in this contemplation?
DUKE SENIOR
And did you leave him like this?
DUKE SENIOR
Show me the place.
I love to cope him in these sullen fits,
For then he’s full of matter.
DUKE SENIOR
Take me to him. I love to argue with him when he’s having one of these
fits, because then he always has a lot to say.
FIRST LORD
I’ll bring you to him straight.
FIRST LORD
I’ll bring you to him right away.
Exeunt  They all exit

Extract: Here feel we but the penalty of Adam,
The seasons’ difference, as, the icy fang
And churlish chiding of the winter’s wind;
Which, when it bites and blows upon my body,
Even till I shrink with cold, I smile and say
‘This is no flattery: these are counsellors
That feelingly persuade me what I am.’
Sweet are the uses of adversity,
Which like a toad, ugly and venomous,
Wears yet a precious jewel in his head; 

i) Where does this scene take place? Who are present at the scene?
What has made them to come to the place? 

        The scene takes place in the Forest of Arden.
        The Duke senior, Amiens and other Lords, dressed like Foresters, are
present at the scene.
        The usurping Duke Frederick, who has banished the Duke senior, forces
him to take refuge here. Amiens and the other Lords, who are all loyal
to the Duke senior, have followed him to Arden as they immensely
dislike the vile and wicked Frederick. 

ii) Give the meaning of: 

a) The seasons’ difference: punishment consisted in the change of
seasons on the earth. 

b) That feelingly persuade me: teach me through my senses. 

c) And churlish chiding of the winter’s wind: the icy sting and the
severe buffeting of the winter wind. 

iii) Who was Adam? What is referred to as the penalty of Adam? 

        Adam was the first human male created by God. 

        The penalty of Adam consists of the hardships suffered by him due to
the change of seasons. Having disobeyed God’s command, Adam and Eve
(his female companion) were expelled from the Garden of Eden, his
original home. According to the Bible, only one season, namely the
balmy spring, prevailed on earth before the fall of the first two
human beings whom God had created after His image. 

iv) What inconvenience is caused to the Duke by the harsh weather? Why
does he call such inconveniences as counsellors? 

        The severe buffeting of the winter wind makes the Duke shiver with
cold. It seems to pierce his flesh and bones when his old limbs begin
to shrink with cold. 

        Such inconveniences appear to him as counsellors because the severity
of the elements here does not hide itself under any false show of
warmth following the example of the courtiers who falsely flatter
their sovereign. On the contrary, these cold winds are the wise
advisors who make him realize how frail he is. 

v) By referring to the extract, compare the Duke’s life in the court
with his life in the forest. 

        Whereas the Duke’s life in the court was constrained, calculated and
full of rivalry and hypocrisy, his life in the forest is free from the
political intrigues (manoeuvrings), and perils of the court life. The
Duke feels that even the hardships of nature in the forest are kinder
than flatterers and false counsellors of the court. 

vi) Give two traits of the Duke’s character as highlighted in the
extract. 

        The two traits that the Duke demonstrates in the extract are his
philosophical attitude toward life’s reversals and a sense of
adaptability which makes it possible for him to live contentedly in
the Forest of Arden in spite of all the inconveniences that he has to
suffer there. 

   Extract: 

        First Lord:
        O, yes, into a thousand similes.
        First, for his weeping into the needless stream:
        ‘Poor deer,’ quoth he, ‘thou mak’st a testament
         As worldlings do, giving thy sum of more
         To that which had too much’: then, being there alone,
         Left and abandon’d of his velvet friend:
         ‘Tis right:’ quoth he; ‘thus misery doth part
          The flux of company’: (Lines 47 – 54)
i) On what does Jaques moralise? Who is weeping? What is meant by
needless stream?
        Jaques moralises on various hard aspects of life in this extract.
While watching the injured dying deer, he goes on moralising saying
that just as worldly people leave their wealth to those who already
have too much, so the deer is adding its tears to a stream which needs
no more water. He further says that this is the way in which
misfortune isolates an individual (like it has done to the stag) from
the people among whom he was living.
        The dying stag is weeping.
        This means the stream which is full of water to its brim does not
need the drops of tears that the stag is so copiously shedding.
ii) What moral does Jaques draw from the deer’s weeping into the
needless stream?
        The moral is this that people have a tendency to give more who
already possess much but ignore those who are in need.
iii) Give the meaning of:
        misery doth part/The flux of company
        Sorrows and bad times estrange the sufferer from his so called
friends and peers among whom he was living.
Iv) From what factor does Jaques conclude that
        misery doth part/The flux of company
        As Jaques sees the well-fed companions of the stag running by him in
complete disregard to his suffering, it occurs to him that this is too
the way of the world where a person going through misfortune is
slighted by his companions.
v) What grave injustice is done by human beings in the forest?
        The Duke Senior and the Lords are mere intruders who have unjustly
taken possession of the forest of Arden and slaughtering the animals
in the forest which has been allowed to them by Nature as their
habitat.
vi) At the end of the scene, why does the Duke want to meet Jaques?
        The Duke wishes so to engage in a verbal duel with Jaques when he is
in such a fit of resentment, because at such times he has many weighty
ideas to express.





Q. Mention two actions of human beings which are criticised by Jaques. 
        Among the lords attending upon Duke Senior is Jaques, a meditative
kind of man, who, however, has a cynical outlook upon life. The
importance of this man lies in himself, as a person distinguished from
all others by his melancholy and philosophical remarks. 
        Jaques says that the deer is weeping into the stream in the same ways
as rich people leave their wealth to those who are already rich. And
the herd of deer behaves in the same manner in which over-prosperous
people behave towards those who are in distress. Many human beings,
who are enjoying prosperity and wellness, pay no heed to those who are
in misery. In this way Jaques speaks in severe and harsh terms about
mankind, and criticizes and condemns people whether living in the
country, in the city, or at the court. 
Context: 
First Lord: 
I can not hear of any that did see her.
The ladies, her attendants of her chamber.
Saw her a-bed: and in the morning early.
They found the bed untreasur’d of their mistress. 
Second Lord: 
My lord, the roynish clown, at whom so oft
Your Grace was wont to laugh, is also missing.
Hisperia, the princess’ gentlewoman,
Confess that she secretly o’erheard
Your daughter and her cousin much commend
The parts and graces of the wrestler
That did but lately foil the sinewy Charles: 
i) Where does the scene take place? Who are present at the scene? What
is being talked about? 
        The scene takes place in a room of Frederick’s palace. 
        The Duke Frederick, his lords and attendants are present in the
scene. 
        The sudden disappearance of Rosalind, Celia from the palace and the
court jester Touchstone also being absent in the dukedom are being
talked about here. 
ii) What did the first lord say about the runaways? 
        The first lord reported that he had not heard anybody tell him that
he saw his (Frederick’s) daughter. The women-folk attending upon her
in her apartment saw her going to bed last night, but early in the
morning they found the bed empty and their noble princess gone. 
iii) What is meant by the roynish clown? Name the clown referred to in
the extract. What is suspected about the clown? 
        A roynish clown is a vulgar or contemptible clown. 
Touchstone, who is suspected of assisting the princesses to run away
from the palace, is being referred here. 
iv) What does Hisperia confess that can give some clue about the
vanished cousin? What makes her think that the victorious wrestler
could be in the company of the cousins? 
        Hisperia, the maid of the princesses, confesses that she secretly
overheard the Duke’s (Frederick) daughter and his niece greatly
praising the qualities and the accomplishments of the wrestler
(Orlando) who not so long ago overthrew the muscular Charles. 
        All these praises of the two princesses make Hisperia convinced that
wherever the two ladies have gone, the young man is surely with them. 
v) Give the meaning of: 
a) They found the bed untreasur’d of their mistress: 
-They found the bed empty and their pretty occupants gone. 
b) The parts and graces of the wrestler: 
        - The qualities and the accomplishments of the wrestler.