At the very tail end of the 1500s, poet and playwright William Shakespeare wrote As You Like It. The play, like many of Shakespeare’s works, is a comedy. While the play has received a few film adaptations over the years, there aren’t quite as many as his more popular works such as Romeo & Juliet. There are four theatrical films that share the name of the film directly based on or inspired by the play. The first of these was released in 1912, followed by another film in 1936. The next two were released in 1991 and 2006 respectively. While each adaptation has its own merits, all references to a film based on the play will be in reference to the 1936 adaptation. Bringing the story to film leaves a few questions to be answered. Is the film faithful to the original play, what does it do to distinguish itself, and how are the characters and their writing affected by this? Those questions will be the main focus of this paper.

There is a distinction to be made in what the plot of this film is versus what it is about. On the surface, this film is comprised of one of the least involved plots that Shakespeare has written, and that’s because he isn’t focused on developing a complex story to tell. This film is all about the character relationships and dynamics. To provide context for these relationships, I will provide plot summaries for vital scenes alongside them. 

The play takes place between two main locations, that being the French Court and The Forest of Arden. The first relationship that we are introduced to at the beginning of the play is between that of the brothers Oliver and Orlando in the French Court. In the beginning of the play, these two have a very unfriendly relationship, as Orlando is very displeased with Oliver, who has been put in charge of raising his younger brothers. He feels overworked and deeply unsatisfied by his lack of an education. He confides this in his servant Adam. 

Between the play and the film, most of the opening lines are kept the same, although there is one altered line in this scene that recontextualizes Orlando’s character in a major way. In the play, the last line he speaks to Adam before Oliver arrives is “I will no longer endure it, though yet I know no wise remedy how to avoid it.” (Shakespeare, 20)  In the film however, the line ends right after “I will no longer endure it”. This removes the acknowledgment he makes on how he feels as if he is stuck in the place he is, and instead provides the idea that he will be an assertive character. This is furthered with another line removal during his argument with Oliver. As he declares that their father left Oliver in charge to provide an education for Orlando, in the play he states “The spirit of my father grows strong in me, and I will no longer endure it; therefore allow me such exercises as may become a gentleman, or give me the poor allottery my father left me by testament; with that I will go buy my fortunes.” However, in the film he excludes the statement of “allow me such exercises as may become a gentleman”, and instead only asks for “poor allottery” etc. No longer does he ask his brother to attempt to give him an education, he just wants out. This argument is followed by what is essentially Oliver’s plot to get his brother killed, so it is very clear that these two hold a hatred for one another.  I feel as if Oliver himself is portrayed as less threatening in the film than he is in the play. Although this may just be my observation, I find his choice of clothing to be quite ridiculous, though this may apply more to the film’s characters in general. It gives him more of an oddball edge rather than seeming as a person who will do great harm. 

The film and play both introduce us to a few vital characters within the next scene, but the most important to put emphasis on is Rosalind, as her relationship and actions towards Orlando are the most focused on out of all of the dynamics in the play. After meeting, they fall in love almost instantly, although this is kept a secret from the majority of the characters during the play. The characters are definitely portrayed in the film in as positive a way as possible, in an almost fairytale state. This may sound typical of Shakespeare’s comedies in some regards, but the film puts emphasis on this aspect through the choice of clothing given to both leads. It’s important to point out that during my research I learned that Rosalind was portrayed by the film’s director’s wife. The concept that the portrayal of Rosalind in this film is entirely due to the actor being the director’s wife is not too far-fetched, which unfortunately makes it harder to identify any changes to the character as purely artistic. 

All the events in the opening of this play and film serve to explain all of the character’s eventually ending up in the other major setting, that of the Forest of Arden. Rosalind’s father, Duke Senior, was kicked out by his brother Duke Frederick, leading him to retreat to the Forest of Arden. The only reason Rosalind has not been banished as well is due to her close relationship with Duke Frederick’s daughter named Celia. After Oliver’s plot involving Orlando failing a wrestling match goes sour due to Orlando being competent, Adam informs Orlando of Oliver’s plans on his life. This leads to Orlando taking leave to the Forest of Arden as well. Rosalind’s interactions with Orlando also get her banished, with Celia following her out of loyalty. These two proceed to disguise themselves, with Rosalind taking on the role of a young man named Ganymede. Another character I have yet to mention who joins them is Touchstone, a court jester who serves as the comedic relief of the play. For the sake of this paper’s focus, I will only be going into analysis here-on out on Orlando, Oliver, and Rosalind. 

During his time in the forest, Orlando begins to write and leave many poorly written poems dedicated towards Rosalind on the trees. The film emphasizes this somewhat by making many long shots of the trees with these poems repeatedly before continuing onto the next scene. Rosalind eventually finds these, and not too long after finds Orlando himself. The film’s portrayal of this interaction is one that I believe is enhanced by the acting, as Rosalind is meeting a lovesick Orlando while disguised as Ganymede. Her performance in this disguise ironically is very play-like, being a heavily dramatic performance. It’s here when a complicated situation in good fashion becomes even more confusing as Rosalind, dressed as Ganymede, pretends to be Rosalind to help Orlando get over his scathing emotions. 

Oliver’s shift in character during his reintroduction in Act 4 provides an interesting dynamic between him and Orlando considering how he was presented during the beginning of the play. There’s much build up to trying to show Oliver as a villainous character, although it is revealed that Orlando came across Oliver by chance in the forest and saved him from a lion’s attack. For this, Oliver is grateful and the brother’s relationship is repaired. In the play, this is told in retrospect, however in the film we do actually see Orlando find Oliver.  It is here as well that Oliver and Celia eventually fall in love, adding to the many marriages that will occur at the end. 

Although he is always chronically late to every meeting they make, Rosalind is still madly in love with Orlando just as he is with her. He marries her, and along with this the other characters all marry as well. The film ends with a very happy celebration of these marriages with everyone dancing, followed by Rosalind’s final monologue about the play. Overall, the film doesn’t change the characters in too many major ways that impact the original story, other than the very positive light being shone on Rosalind and Orlando.

On the subject of this film as an adaptation, I feel it does too little with the materials given. I feel that the film’s review on the British film website Screenonline.org put it best. “The first Shakespeare sound feature made in Britain, this is a charming if unadventurous adaptation that is of historical interest for containing the earliest Laurence Olivier Shakespeare performance to be captured on film.” Much of the film feels drawn out, in ways that the play could not have achieved. Much of this can be blamed on the usage of long camera shots and moments of silence in between scenes. While it lacks in creativity however, it is extremely accurate to the play and serves as a competent film adaptation purely in those regards. 

Works Cited

“BFI Screenonline: As You like It (1937).” Screenonline.org.uk, 2025, www.screenonline.org.uk/film/id/440169/index.html. Accessed 8 Nov. 2025.

Tim Nance (NanceNotes and Narwhals). “Shakespeare’s as You like It–Discussion and Summary.” YouTube, 9 Aug. 2020, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HMLh65mAiA8. Accessed 8 Nov. 2025.

‌“LitCharts.” LitCharts, www.litcharts.com/lit/as-you-like-it. Accessed 8 Nov. 2025.

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As You Like It (complete text) :|: Open Source Shakespeare               https://www.opensourceshakespeare.org/views/plays/play_view.php?WorkID=asyoulikeit&Scope=entire&pleasewait=1&msg=pl#a3,s5 Accessed 8 Nov. 2025.

As you like it (1936) Laurence Olivier, Elisabeth Bergner | Shakespeare’s Forest of Love & Lies 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z_GgEBG7UJ4 Accessed 8 Nov. 2025.
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