Different Types of Love in Act Three of As You Like It Essay

In act three, different types of love are shown. This helps the reader see and create comparison between the different characters in their different versions of love. Love plays an important theme in the play. In act three, it builds upon this theme, and illustrates how it is important in different ways for different characters.

Touchstone is a character who has an individual opinion on the idea of love. His idea is unromantic, but practical. This can be seen in the following quote, by how much defence is better than no skill, by so much is a horn more precious than to want. In this quote, touchstone implies that it is better to be cheated on rather than to have no woman at all and go on unsatisfied. This shows his practicality and also shows how he is quite selfish when it comes to love. he is not like to marry me well and, not being well married it will be a good excuse for me hereafter to leave my wife , this quote illustrates his unromantic portrayal of love, as he is willing to go through great measures to avoid being tied down to one woman. In this quote, touchstone implies that it will be easier to get rid of his wife because they are not getting married, traditionally, in a church. This introduces the fact that he is unromantic, selfish and his practicality. It shows his carelessness towards love, and he would rather have a sexual companion than to have a loving, meaningful relationship. He tells the reader that he is a realist, to support this he quotes, unless thou wert hard favoured: for honesty coupled to beauty is to have honey a sauce to sugar. Touchstone says that it is too good ti be true, if a good looking woman is also honest. He compares it to how too much of a good thing (sugar) can be bad or misleading. This tells the reader that touchstone isnt lost in the delusions of epic fairytale love.

Unlike Orlando, who implies desperation for love, and very protective of his love towards Rosalind. Orlando is unrealistic with his grandeurs of love. In his poems that was quoted by touchstone, he that sweetest rose will find, must find loves prickand Rosalind. This contrasts with the ideas of touchstone, as it portrays Orlando as very romantic and his style of love is comparable to the stereotypical epic storybook love which is the basis of the play. Also, it demonstrates how soft, young and inexperienced Orlando is towards love. This can be further shown by the following quote, that was said by Jaques concerning Orlandos poor poetry, i pray you mar no more trees with writing love-songs in their barks, this is a response to Orlandos feeble inexperienced attempts at expressing his unrequited love. In this respect, he is almost foolish like a love-struck schoolboy. The following quote further illustrates this, this is the very false gallop of verses. Why do you infect yourself with them?, touchstone is further insulting Orlando and his poetry as well as his over-exaggeration of his love towards Rosalind. This type of love is the more typical love throughout the play and is emphasised by touchstones ideas.

In this act, love is illustrated as a disease that brings pain and suffering to the one who are infected. So enclosing, the many different types of love showcased throughout act three are effectively used to emphasise each other and allow the reader to form opinions and ideas about the characters and how they act throughout the play.