Original: Charles, I thank thee for thy love to me, which thou shalt find I will most kindly requite.
Modern: Charles, thank you for your loyalty to me, which I promise to repay generously.

Original: I had myself notice of my brother’s purpose herein, and have by underhand means laboured to dissuade him from it, but he is resolute.
Modern: I found out about my brother’s plan to fight you, and I’ve tried secretly to talk him out of it, but he’s determined.

Original: I’ll tell thee, Charles, it is the stubbornest young fellow of France; full of ambition, an envious emulator of every man’s good parts, a secret and villanous contriver against me his natural brother: therefore use thy discretion.
Modern: Let me tell you, Charles, he’s the most stubborn young man in France; he’s wildly ambitious, jealous of anyone with talent, and secretly plots evil against me, his own brother—so use your best judgment.

Original: I had as lief thou didst break his neck as his finger.
Modern: I’d be just as happy if you broke his neck as if you only broke his finger.

Original: And thou wert best look to’t; for if thou dost him any slight disgrace, or if he do not mightily grace himself on thee, he will practise against thee by poison, entrap thee by some treacherous device, and never leave thee till he hath ta’en thy life by some indirect means or other; for, I assure thee,’and almost with tears I speak it,’there is not one so young and so villanous this day living’
Modern: And you better watch out; because if you embarrass him even a little, or if he doesn’t win impressively against you, he’ll try to poison you, trap you with some sneaky trick, and never stop until he’s killed you by some underhanded method—because I promise you, and I almost cry saying this, there’s no one alive today so young and so evil.

Original: I speak but brotherly of him; but should I anatomize him to thee as he is, I must blush and weep, and thou must look pale and wonder.
Modern: I’m being kind about him because he’s my brother; but if I told you what he’s really like, I’d have to blush and cry, and you’d turn pale with shock.

Original: Farewell, good Charles.
Modern: Goodbye, good Charles.

Original: Now will I stir this gamester.
Modern: Now I’ll go provoke this young fighter.

Original: I hope I shall see an end of him; for my soul, yet I know not why, hates nothing more than he.
Modern: I hope I’ll see him destroyed; for my soul, though I don’t know why, hates nothing more than him.

Original: Yet he’s gentle, never schooled and yet learned, full of noble device, of all sorts enchantingly beloved, and, indeed so much in the heart of the world, and especially of my own people, who best know him, that I am altogether misprised.
Modern: And yet he’s kind, never formally educated but still knowledgeable, full of noble ideas, loved by everyone in a charming way, and so popular with the world, especially with my own household staff who know him best, that I am completely undervalued by comparison.

Original: But it shall not be so long; this wrestler shall clear all: nothing remains but that I kindle the boy thither, which now I’ll go about.
Modern: But this won’t last much longer; this wrestler will solve everything—all that’s left is for me to fire up the boy to go there, which I’ll do right now.

In Act I, Scene i of “As You Like It,” Orlando de Boys complains to the old servant Adam about his ill treatment at the hands of his eldest brother, Oliver. Orlando explains that their father, Sir Rowland de Boys, left instructions in his will for Oliver to ensure Orlando received a gentleman’s education, but Oliver has instead kept him at home like a peasant, denying him proper upbringing while their middle brother Jaques receives university schooling. Orlando declares he will no longer tolerate this mistreatment and confronts Oliver when he arrives, physically seizing him and demanding either his inheritance or the education befitting his gentle birth.

The confrontation escalates as Oliver dismisses Orlando’s complaints and attempts to assert his authority as eldest brother. After Orlando releases him and departs, Oliver reveals his deep-seated hatred for his youngest brother, despite—or perhaps because of—Orlando’s noble spirit and the general love people bear him. When the wrestler Charles arrives with news from the Duke’s court, Oliver learns that Duke Senior has been banished by his younger brother Duke Frederick, and that Duke Senior now lives in the Forest of Arden with loyal followers. Charles also reports that Rosalind, Duke Senior’s daughter, remains at court with her cousin Celia, Duke Frederick’s daughter. Charles warns Oliver that Orlando plans to challenge him in an upcoming wrestling match, and Oliver treacherously encourages Charles to seriously injure or kill Orlando, falsely describing his brother as a dishonorable villain.

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.