As You Like It · Chapter
Scene V explained
In the Forest of Arden, Amiens sings a song inviting a life of simplicity under the greenwood tree, free from enemies except winter and rough weather.
What happens
In the Forest of Arden, Amiens sings a song inviting a life of simplicity under the greenwood tree, free from enemies except winter and rough weather. Jaques, the melancholy lord, requests more songs, claiming he can 'suck melancholy' from music. He recites a verse he composed, mocking those who abandon wealth and ease for stubborn will, and then departs to sleep or rail against the world. Amiens goes to prepare the duke's banquet.
Free preview opens on this chapter — companions, themes, and character notes appear beside the text.
Narrative arc
Story tension across the book — this chapter sits in Exposition.
- Setup
- Escalation
- Breaking point
- Aftermath
- Closing
This is the dramatic climax because Rosalind, who has been orchestrating the pastoral love games from a positi…
Full beat labels and climax notes unlock in the reader.
Follow the arc while readingThemes in this chapter
- Melancholy and Philosophy
Jaques embodies the contemplative, melancholic figure who finds philosophical depth in music and satirizes those who abandon comfort for willfulness.
- Court vs. Country
The song celebrates the simple life of the forest, free from ambition and enemies, contrasting with the complexities of court life.
Characters to notice
Key passages
“I can suck melancholy out of a song, as a weasel sucks eggs.”
I can extract sadness from a song just as a weasel sucks the contents from eggs.
Jaques expresses his unique ability to find melancholy in music, highlighting his character's disposition.
“If it do come to pass / That any man turn ass, / Leaving his wealth and ease, / A stubborn will to please, / Ducdame, ducdame, ducdame: / Here shall he see / Gross fools as he, / An if he will come to me.”
If a man becomes a fool by abandoning his comfort just to satisfy a stubborn whim, he will find others as foolish as himself if he joins me.
Jaques' satirical verse mocks those who give up prosperity for willfulness, calling them fools.
