A pastoral comedy, William Shakespeare’s “As You Like It,” is the story of a Duke, who is unjustly deposed by his younger brother Frederick, and flees to the Forest of Arden. The Duke’s daughter, Rosalind, remains behind at the court. When it is discovered that Orlando, the youngest son of the deceased Sir Rowland de Boys, has fallen in love with her, Orlando is forced to flee. Rosalind follows after him, with her cousin Celia, to the Forest of Arden where he has gone to join the deposed Duke....
Without a doubt the most important of Shakespeare's nondramatic works, the sonnets have engendered reams of scholarly disputation as to the identity of «the dark lady» and the «lovely boy» to whom the vast majority are addressed. Controversy has also long simmered over the full name of the «W.H.» of the dedication. What is not in dispute is the superior quality of these lyrics, which rank among the finest sonnets ever written — in any language.Overt 150 poems deal with love,...