Rhyme in As You Like It

Rhyme Examples in As You Like It:

Act I - Act I, Scene 3

"After my flight. Now go we in content To liberty, and not to banishment...." See in text (Act I - Act I, Scene 3)

It is very common for Shakespeare to end a scene on an unexpectedly rhymed couplet. The rhyme serves as cap on the scene, a sort of punctuation mark. It is equally common for the rhyme to detail a plan or prediction for the events of the following act. Indeed, Rosalind describes their flight “to liberty, and not to banishment.”

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Act II - Act II, Scene 1

"Finds tongues in trees, books in the running brooks, Sermons in stones, and good in everything. I would not change it...." See in text (Act II - Act II, Scene 1)

Shakespeare carefully uses rhyme and alliteration to convey Duke Senior’s point about country living. The Duke identifies the natural world as a tremendous source of wisdom, drawing up fanciful images of “tongues,” “books,” and “sermons” for illustration.

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Act II - Act II, Scene 7

"Give me your hand, And let me all your fortunes understand. ..." See in text (Act II - Act II, Scene 7)

Shakespeare ends Act II in his typical fashion: with a conclusive, rhyming couplet that prepares the audience for the next act. The final lines here encapsulate the major event of the scene: the uniting of the forces of Duke Senior and Orlando. In the case of this couplet, the rhyme—with its pairing quality—imitates the event it describes: the pairing of the Duke and Orlando.

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Act III - Act III, Scene 2

"'From the east to western Ind, No jewel is like Rosalind...." See in text (Act III - Act III, Scene 2)

The verse Orlando has written for Rosalind takes the form of an eight-line poem with a single end rhyme. The repetition of the “-ind” rhyme is monotonous and boring, as Touchstone points out.

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