Original: Think not I love him, though I ask for him.
Modern: Don’t think I’m in love with him just because I’m asking about him.

Original: ‘Tis but a peevish boy; yet he talks well;
Modern: He’s just an annoying boy, but I have to admit he speaks well.

Original: But what care I for words? yet words do well,
Modern: But why should I care about fancy words? Though words can be effective

Original: When he that speaks them pleases those that hear.
Modern: when the person saying them is attractive to those listening.

Original: It is a pretty youth: not very pretty:
Modern: He’s a good-looking young man—well, not extremely handsome,

Original: But, sure, he’s proud; and yet his pride becomes him:
Modern: but he’s definitely arrogant, though somehow that arrogance suits him.

Original: He’ll make a proper man: the best thing in him
Modern: He’ll grow into a fine man—his best feature

Original: Is his complexion; and faster than his tongue
Modern: is his skin tone, and quicker than his words

Original: Did make offence his eye did heal it up.
Modern: could offend someone, his eyes would charm them and fix the damage.

Original: He is not very tall; yet for his years he’s tall:
Modern: He’s not very tall, but he’s tall for someone his age.

Original: His leg is but so so; and yet ‘tis well:
Modern: His legs are just okay, but they’re actually quite nice.

Original: There was a pretty redness in his lip,
Modern: His lips had this attractive reddish color,

Original: A little riper and more lusty red
Modern: a bit deeper and more vibrant red

Original: Than that mix’d in his cheek; ‘twas just the difference
Modern: than the color mixed in his cheeks—it was exactly the difference

Original: Betwixt the constant red and mingled damask.
Modern: between pure red and the mixed pink of damask roses.

Original: There be some women, Silvius, had they mark’d him
Modern: There are some women, Silvius, who if they had studied him

Original: In parcels as I did, would have gone near
Modern: piece by piece like I did, would have come close

Original: To fall in love with him; but, for my part,
Modern: to falling in love with him. But as for me,

Original: I love him not nor hate him not; and yet
Modern: I neither love him nor hate him, and yet

Original: Have more cause to hate him than to love him:
Modern: I have more reason to hate him than to love him.

Original: For what had he to do to chide at me?
Modern: What right did he have to scold me?

Original: He said mine eyes were black and my hair black;
Modern: He said my eyes were black and my hair was black,

Original: And, now I am remember’d, scorn’d at me.
Modern: and now that I remember, he mocked me too.

Original: I marvel why I answer’d not again:
Modern: I wonder why I didn’t answer him back.

Original: But that’s all one; omittance is no quittance.
Modern: But that doesn’t matter—just because I didn’t respond doesn’t mean I’m letting it go.

Original: I’ll write to him a very taunting letter,
Modern: I’ll write him a very mocking letter,

Original: And thou shalt bear it: wilt thou, Silvius?
Modern: and you’ll deliver it for me. Will you do that, Silvius?

In Act III, Scene 5 of “As You Like It,” Silvius approaches the shepherdess Phebe to plead his case as her devoted lover, but she coldly rejects his advances and speaks harshly to him about his persistent courtship. Rosalind (still disguised as the young man Ganymede) and Celia (disguised as Aliena) observe this exchange and become increasingly frustrated with Phebe’s cruelty toward the gentle Silvius. Unable to remain silent, Rosalind steps forward and sharply rebukes Phebe for her pride and unkindness, pointing out that she is not beautiful enough to justify such disdainful behavior and that she should be grateful for Silvius’s sincere affection.

The scene takes an ironic turn when Phebe, rather than being chastened by this lecture, immediately falls in love with the disguised Rosalind, whom she believes to be a young man. After Rosalind and Celia depart, Phebe asks Silvius to help her pursue “Ganymede” by carrying letters and messages, which the lovesick Silvius agrees to do despite his own heartbreak. This scene establishes another layer of the play’s complex web of unrequited love and mistaken identity, with Phebe now added to the chain of lovers pursuing someone who cannot or will not return their affection.

As You Like It follows the story of Rosalind, daughter of the banished Duke Senior, who lives at court with her cousin Celia under the rule of the usurping Duke Frederick. When the young nobleman Orlando defeats the court wrestler Charles, Rosalind and Orlando fall instantly in love. However, Duke Frederick suddenly banishes Rosalind, fearing her popularity threatens his power. Celia chooses to flee with her beloved cousin, and together they escape to the Forest of Arden where Rosalind’s father lives in exile with his loyal followers.

To ensure their safety during their journey and life in the forest, Rosalind disguises herself as a young man named Ganymede, while Celia takes the identity of a shepherdess called Aliena. Meanwhile, Orlando, having been warned by the faithful servant Adam that his jealous older brother Oliver plans to kill him, also flees to the forest. In Arden, Orlando encounters “Ganymede” and, not recognizing his beloved Rosalind, agrees to cure his lovesickness by wooing the disguised young man as if he were Rosalind herself.

The forest becomes a place of romantic confusion and resolution, populated by various couples including the melancholy Jaques, the fool Touchstone (who pursues the country wench Audrey), and the shepherdess Phebe (who falls for “Ganymede” while spurning her devoted Silvius). The play’s complications multiply when Oliver arrives in the forest, transformed by Orlando’s heroic rescue of him from a lioness, and immediately falls in love with Celia. In the final act, Rosalind orchestrates the resolution of all romantic entanglements by revealing her true identity, leading to multiple marriages. Duke Frederick experiences a religious conversion and restores his brother to power, allowing the court characters to choose between returning to civilization or remaining in the pastoral world of Arden.