All the world's stages are made of wood.

"All the world's a stage, and all the men and women merely players:  they have their exits and their entrances; and one man in his time plays many parts, his acts being seven ages" II.vii.32.

Hey, Mr. Costello, I found an extended metaphor!  Oh, and not only that, but it is also ironic.  It's ironic, because the character telling us that the whole world is a stage, is on a stage, where all the men and women (well, mostly men since there were never actresses in Shakespeare) were legitimately players who exited and entered.

This metaphor is one of the most famous monologues in history from what I have learned, so I have two questions:

1. Why Jaquez?
2. Why in As You Like It?

To this point in the play, Jaquez has mostly been portrayed  as a merciful person who sees the worth in everything.  He cried when a deer died, obviously he believes that everything is equal.  Before this monologue, there was talk about death and elders.  It makes sense in context that Jaquez would be the one that is honored to give this monologue about the evolution of ages.

I think it may have been in this play since it was Shakespeare's last comedy.  Not only does this monologue explore the idea of death, but it also talks about equality and importance in variety.  Shakespeare seems to make it clear that he does not want to write comedies with a bang.

Not suit for comedy central...

This is play is so obviously a romantic comedy that I feel that it definitely needs a blog post to reaffirm this well known fact.

Rosalind: "To you I give myself, for I am yours.  To you I give myself, for I am yours" V.iv.76.

 Did anyone else notice that she repeated herself?

Instead of just simply stating why this is a comedy, I have decided that I will tell you every reason that I can tell as to why this is not a tragedy.

• No one dies.  Had this been a tragedy, Oliver would have killed Orlando, Rosalind would have committed suicide having found out, and Jaquez would have accidentally fallen into a river, hitting his head on a rock and going unconscious, thereby drowning himself.  Oh, I suppose a deer dies, but animals have no souls (but that does not mean that they can't go to heaven!).
• Everyone lived happily ever after.  Had this been a tragedy, Oliver would be no longer talking and obviously sent into exile for plotting to kill his brother.  Everyone is far too happy... for now.
• No one dies.

I suppose I could say that this is a comedy because everyone got married and the fifth act was a giant party, but I will not.  This play was secretly a comedy because it was funny.

Orlando: "He is drowned in the brook: look but in, and you shall see him."

Jaquez:  "There I shall see mine own figure"  III.ii.42.

Oh, burn. Orlando got the jokes!

Everything looks more official on a clipboard... or in lists?

Since Bryan informed me the questions I was actually supposed answer were on page 1119 of the book, I am going to pick number four for the first blog.  "How is dramatic suspense created."

Oliver: "Orlando doth commend him to you both, and to that youth he calls his Rosalind he sends this bloody napkin.  Are you he?" IV.iii.63.

At this point, two things immediately went through my mind:

1. Well great, now we have a dead major character.  What could possibly happen now?
2. If this napkin has strawberries on it, then I might cry.

So now is the ultimate question that I posed to myself after this scene.  Why did Shakespeare decide to wait two pages until he tells Rosalind and the reader that Orlando was cut, but not fatally wounded?

I have two theories:

1. The first and more probable is that Oliver's demeanor on stage would have given off the impression that he was not in distress and therefore the viewer would be able to logically conclude that Orlando would not have died, but just been wounded.
2. The second and slightly less probable, but probably does have some value, is that Shakespeare enjoys having some suspense in his otherwise bland plays.  This suspense was especially nerve wracking because of the fact that the play was a comedy so the main character should not have died.

Suspense is an evil writer's best friend when writing a play or novel or "short" story.  Not only does suspense add some a new roundness to Rosalind's character, but it forces readers to make an inference based on the current situation.

Suspense keeps me on the edge of my seat.  Note:  That red thing in my book.