PART TEXT ANALYSIS FOR ROSALIND, 3.2.161-247
By Sophie Pakaluk
In the section of As You Like It below, Rosalind’s “cues” are given first, which are followed by her
own lines and then by a paraphrase of them in italics. Recommended breaths are marked with a B.
Figures to play are listed at the end. For a list of discoveries about Rosalind made by this
analysis, scroll to the bottom. See "Our Approach" to learn more.
CELIA
…Didst thou hear these verses?
ROS
1 O, yes, I heard them all, B and more too; B for
some of
2 them had in them more feet than the verses would bear.
Why, indeed, I got wind of each of them, and beyond that as well: for a few of
them contained a number of meters beyond what the verses would support.
CELIA
… the feet might bear the verses.
ROS
3
Ay, B but the feet were lame and could not bear
4 themselves without the verse B and therefore stood B
True, but the feet were weak and could not support
themselves while lacking the help of the verse and as a result, stayed
weakly in the verse.
CELIA
…should be hanged and carved upon these trees?
ROS
6
I was seven of the nine days out of the wonder
7 before you came; B
for look here what I found on a
8 palm-tree. B I was
never so be-rhymed since B
9 Pythagoras' time, B
that I was an Irish rat, B which I
I was almost at the point of complete amazement
prior to your coming; for observe this that I spotted on a
palm-tree. I was in no way thus rhymed about since
Pythagoras’ day, when I was a rat rhymed to death by an Irish enchanter, a thing that I can
barely recall.
CELIA
…Trow you who hath done this?
ROS
Is it a guy?
CELIA
ROS
I beg you, who?
CELIA
ROS
Not at all, yet who is it?
CELIA
…Is it possible?
ROS
14 Nay, B I
prithee now with most petitionary vehemence, B
Not at all, I beg you at this moment in utmost supplicatory fervor,
let me know who it is.
CELIA
…out of all hooping!
ROS
16 Good my complexion! B
dost thou think, B though I am
17 caparisoned like a man, B
I have a doublet and hose in
18 my disposition? B
One inch of delay more is a B
19 South-sea of discovery; B
I prithee, tell me who is it
20 quickly, and speak apace. B I would thou couldst
21 stammer, B that
thou mightst pour this concealed man
22 out of thy mouth, as wine comes out of a narrow-
23 mouthed bottle, B
either too much at once, or none at
24 all. B I prithee,
take the cork out of thy mouth that I
My woman’s curiosity! Do you assume even if I am
bedecked to resemble a man, that I have a man’s
patience to match? Another moment of dallying is [as tedious as]
the expedition to discover the South-sea; I beg you, let me know who it is
without delay, and talk quickly. I wish that you could
stutter, so that you might discharge this unknown man
from your mouth, just as wine flows from a
vessel with a constricted opening, either a surplus at one moment, or absolutely nothing.
I beg you, remove the stopper from your mouth so
that I can swig the news you bring.
CELIA
…So you may put a man in your belly.
ROS
26
Is he of God's making? B What manner
of man? B Is his
27 head worth a hat, or his chin worth a beard?
Is he an actual man? What sort of man? Is his
head deserving of a hat, or his chin deserving of a beard?
CELIA
…Nay, he hath but a little beard.
ROS
28 Why, B God will send more, B if the man will be
29 thankful: B let
me stay the growth of his beard, B if
30 thou delay me not the knowledge of his chin.
Well, God will further bestow if the man will be
grateful: may I wait for his beard to grow if
you do not dally in letting me know whose chin it is.
CELIA
…and your heart both in an instant.
ROS
31
Nay, B but the devil take mocking:
speak, sad brow and
Not at all, yet shame on such contemptuous sport: tell me, seriously
and truthfully.
CELIA
…I' faith, coz, 'tis he.
ROS
33 Orlando?
Orlando?
CELIA
…Orlando.
ROS
34 Alas the day! B
what shall I do with my doublet and
35 hose? B What did
he when thou sawest him? What said
36 he? How looked he? B
Wherein went he? What makes
37 him here? Did he ask for me? B Where remains he?
38 How parted he with thee? and when shalt thou see
39 him again? Answer me in one word.
Woe on today! What shall I do with my man’s inner garment
and trousers? What was he doing when you noticed him? What did he utter?
How does he appear? Where did he go? What brings
him to this place? Did he inquire after me? Where is he staying?
How did he go away from you? And when will you meet with
him next? Reply in a single utterance.
CELIA
ROS
40
But doth he know that I am in this forest and in B
41 man's apparel? B
Looks he as freshly as he did the
Yet does he have knowledge of my being in this wood and in
clothing that is proper to a man? Does he appear as healthily as he did
the time he fought?
CELIA
…like a dropped acorn.
ROS
43 It may well be called Jove's tree, B when it drops
It might fittingly be named Jove’s tree while it lets
such produce fall.
CELIA
…Give me audience, good madam.
ROS
45 Proceed.
Go on.
CELIA
...like a wounded knight.
ROS
46 Though it be pity to see such a sight, B it well
Even if such a scene is deserving of compassion, it greatly
suits the earth.
CELIA
…He was furnished like a hunter.
ROS
48 O, ominous! B he comes to kill my heart.
O, portentous! he approaches in order to slay my heart.
CELIA
ROS
49 Do you not know I
am a woman? B when I think, I must
Do you not understand that I am a woman? As soon as I conceive an idea, I have to
utter it. Dearest, continue your telling.
CELIA
…Soft! comes he not here?
EXIT
Figures of Speech to Play:
Antithesis:
1. “as wine comes out of a narrow-mouthed bottle, either too much at once, or none at all.”
2. “Though it be pity to see such a sight, it well becomes the ground.”
Correctio:
1. “O, yes, I heard them all, and more too; for some of them…”
2. “Why, God will send more, if the man will be thankful: let me stay…”
Gradatio:
1. “Alas the day! what shall I do with my doublet and hose? What did he when thou sawest
him? What said he? How looked he? Wherein went he? What makes him here? Did
he ask for me? Where remains he? How parted he from thee? and when shalt thou
see him again? Answer me in one word.”
Hyperbole:
1. “I was never so be-rhymed since Pythagoras’ time, that I was …”
2. “One inch of delay more is a South-sea of discovery; I prithee…”
Metaphor:
1. “I wouldst thou could stammer, that thou mightst pour this concealed man out of thy
mouth…I prithee, take the cork out of thy mouth that I may drink thy tidings.” Likening
Celia to wine pouring out of a bottle, Rosalind uses language that typically refers to wine and
applies it to her cousin.
2. “It may well be called Jove’s tree, when it drops forth such fruit.”
3. “O, ominous! he comes to kill my heart.” Rosalind uses language that refers to a hunter
seeking and killing a hart and applying it to how Orlando will wound her heart.
Parallelism:
1. “What manner of man? Is his head worth a hat, or his chin worth a beard?”
2. “if the man will be thankful: let me stay the growth of his beard, if thou delay me not
the knowledge of his chin.” The sentences share a similar structure by having similar
meaning in their verbs and direct objects; Rosalind can wait for the man’s beard to grow if she
is not kept waiting by Celia to know whose chin the beard belongs to.
3. “Dost thou not know that I am a woman? when I think, I must speak. Sweet…”
Parenthesis:
1. “I was never so be-rhymed since Pythagoras’ time, that I was an Irish rat, which…”
2. “Good my complexion! dost thou think, though I am caparisoned like a man, I have…”
Simile:
1. “that thou mightst pour this concealed man out of thy mouth, as wine comes out of a
narrow-mouthed bottle, either too much…” Wanting Celia either to tell her everything or
nothing, Rosalind articulates her desire by wishing Celia to be like wine that pours out of a bottle.
Character Discoveries:
1. In studying my lines, I discovered an embedded stage direction for Rosalind to show Celia the
letter she finds on a palm-tree and decided that Rosalind should have the letter in her hands at the
beginning of the scene, reading it as Celia enters. I considered what Rosalind makes of the letter;
she must have been utterly confused, for here she is, just arrived in the Arden Forest, dressed in
man’s clothing, and someone is writing her love letters! Who could possibly be their author? No
one in the forest knows that she is a woman, she hopes, let alone Rosalind. Therefore, Rosalind is
puzzled, amazed, looking down at her manly attire a couple times, trying hard to figure out how
these love letters that are addressed to her female person came to be in the Forest where she is
known as Ganymede. Rosalind further illustrates this bewilderment in her speech beginning with
“I was seven of the nine days out of the wonder.” Later, too, Rosalind’s starting thoughts can be
guessed at as she asks Celia, “But does he [Orlando] know that I am in this forest and in man’s
apparel?” Not only does a man seem to have impossible knowledge of her whereabouts,
but it is the very man she is absolutely infatuated with.
2. In studying my part, I found several indications that Rosalind has no idea that Orlando
authored the love poems, despite Celia’s certainty that she does.
a. Rosalind insists that Celia tell her who wrote the poems “with most petitionary vehemence.”
The sequence of hard consonants in Rosalind’s phrase indicates her true impatience arising from
the fact that Celia doubts her sincere ignorance.
b. Rosalind’s speech beginning with “Good my complexion,” shortly following Celia’s numerous,
gleeful “wonderfuls,” further indicates her ignorance and impatience. In addition to her forceful
language, Rosalind’s comparison of Celia to wine carries on for several lines; it is an enjambment
and indicates Rosalind’s agitation in being ignorant and ridiculed. Likewise, the antithesis “either
too much at once, or none at all” further indicates how Rosalind is frustrated with Celia for giving
her tastes of tantalizing information but refusing to disclose it fully.
c. Nor does Rosalind believe Celia when she first says that Orlando is the author. Rosalind is
utterly incredulous and rebukes Celia for teasing her without feeling.
3. The correctio in Rosalind’s first lines indicated to me a slight change in her bearing.
Immediately, Rosalind rushes to confirm that she has read the poems and will possibly admit her
curiosity to her cousin. Yet, Rosalind stops herself and notes that the poems are poorly written, a
strain she continues in her subsequent line. I found this telling of the two sides of Rosalind’s
character, her girlishness and sophistication. Later, Rosalind asks Celia whether the unknown
man even exists, but shortly thereafter asks what he looks like (26-7). Again, Rosalind is an
intriguing combination of level-headedness and a desire to know the “juicy” details. Playing the
gradatio where Rosalind asks her string of questions emphasizes the definitive shift in her
bearing; finally knowing that the man is Orlando, Rosalind discards all stops to her
curiosity and gives free reign to her infatuation.
4. Experimenting with using end stops, I found they proved helpful for several lines. Pausing
before saying that the feet stood “lamely in the verse,” I found that it conveyed the humor of the
line more easily. Again, pausing at the end of the line “But does he know that I am in this forest…”
and before “man’s apparel” caused a line to be humorous in a way I had never considered it.
A couple times, an end stop increased Rosalind’s exaggeration and spontaneity, such as her pause
before saying “Pythagoras’ time” which allows her to think for a moment, search for the right
word, and so convey her complete bewilderment. Again, pausing slightly before saying “a South-
sea of discovery” allows Rosalind’s agitated manner to be demonstrated more clearly; she is
outraged and frustrated with Celia, and her struggle to find words that fully express her
impatience add to her frustration.
Noticing Rosalind’s repeated preoccupation with physical appearance, both her own in
being dressed like a man and that of the man who is writing her love poems, as well as her
underlying girlishness, I decided to experiment with Rosalind’s string of questions to Celia by
emphasizing her questions about Orlando’s looks and if he asked about her. Such emphasis proved
to fit well with Rosalind’s other lines, for pausing to day-dream for those two brief moments in
that rushed speech made Rosalind’s subsequent infatuation and oblivion in picturing Orlando and
interrupting Celia’s tale more credible.