As You Like It begins with a betrayal. In Act I, Duke Frederic deposes his brother Duke Senior and forces him to run into
the forest of Arden. Duke Senior’s Daughter, Rosalind, stayed with Frederic’s daughter Celia, but when Frederic begins to fear that Rosalind’s popularity as Duke Senior’s daughter is overshadowing his own daughter’s presence, he arranges for Rosalind to be removed from the palace. Orlando, being the youngest son of Sir Rowland, has been deprived of a good education and upbringing by his elder brother Oliver. Duke Frederick and Oliver try to rid themselves of Orlando once & for all by thinking that he would get beaten up in the wresting arena, but, to their surprise, Orlando wins and catches the attention of Rosalind and they fall in love. Orlando leaves after the wrestling bout. Rosalind flees into Arden, Celia loyally joining her. Tipped off that Oliver wants Orlando dead, Orlando too flees to Arden. Duke Frederick threatens Oliver with the loss of all he has should he not find Orlando, Celia and Rosalind.
In Arden, Celia and Rosalind disguise themselves as two men,
Ganymede and Aliena, meeting Touchstone, an irreverent clown. They buy a flock of sheep, a hut and some land from shepherds Corin and Silvius. We hear of Jacques, a man with permanent melancholy from Duke Senior. Orlando, now in the forest and hungry demands food from Duke Senior and his followers, only to be offered it warmly. In love with Rosalind, and knowing she is in Arden somewhere, Orlando engraves her name on trees and hanging love poems from them. Rosalind finds these and still disguised, asks Orlando about the extent of his feelings for her. Ganymede tries to help Orlando recover from his infatuation over Rosalind but it backfires and Orlando and Rosalind fall deeper and deeper in love.
Rosalind
notices a kind of affair between Silvius & Phoebe and how he is trying to attract her attention, but Phoebe is rude and bad mannered towards him, thereby not ‘getting the message’ that he is in love with her . Seeing this injustice, Ganymede tells Phoebe that she really is not that fair, inadvertently making Phoebe fall in love with her! Receiving a love letter from Phoebe, Ganymede (Rosalind in disguise) resolves to help Silvius.
Elsewhere in Arden forest, a lioness nearly kills Oliver but Orlando saves his life thereby the two brothers ending their feud. Oliver has fallen in love with Celia and will marry the next day. Orlando laments that he cannot marry Rosalind but Ganymede promises to make this true through magic. At Oliver and Celia's wedding, Ganymede is revealed to be Rosalind, which makes Orlando extremely happy. Silvius will marry Phoebe since she no longer loves nor wants to marry Ganymede, now a woman! Orlando and Rosalind, Oliver and Celia, Silvius and Phoebe and Touchstone and Audrey are all married. We learn a hermit changes Frederick for the better and now all exiled are welcomed back to their estates. The play ends with the melancholy Jacques wanting no part in these celebrations.