As You Like It: The Importance of Secondary Characters As You Like It, by William Shakespeare, is a radiant blend of fantasy, romance, of wit and humor. In this delightful adventure, Rosalind stands out as the most robust, multidimensional and lovable character, so much so that she tends to overshadow the other characters in the audience's memory, making them appear, in comparison, as mere "types". basic drama.” Yet As You Like It is not a classic romance that happens to be Shakespeare's greatest female role. The other members of the cast provide a well-rounded supporting role and are not simple stereotypes. The characters that Shakespeare uses to illustrate his main theme of variations of love are all more than single-use cardboards, as they must be fully drawn to relate to life. The characters most easily accused of being one-dimensional are those who are not essential to the theme but are important to the plot and useful as convenient foils, such as Duke Frederick and Oliver from Boys. The statement of the question merits this quotation: “You said; but whether wisely or not, let the forest judge. » There is no doubt, whether critically or playfully, that Rosalind is “the greatest of female roles”. " (Hazlitt). It encompasses a multitude of brushstrokes of characters, from the lovelorn girl to the witty, arch-tongued princess to the steel-backed princess to the fiery Sage (Hazlitt). To add to the requirements of the character, Shakespeare adds an external sex change and further makes Ganymede believe that he is Rosalind in Orlando Although this kind of “boy playing the role of a girl playing the role of a” type transmogrifications. boy playing the part of a girl" was not uncommon on the Elizabethan stage, the kind of wit and acting portrayed... middle of paper ...... bits of the characters which are certainly not not common, as in Charles' initial concern for Orlando and Sir Martext's refusal to allow himself to be ridiculed by Touchstone These are more than stock, but they are still as cardboard as As You Like. It contains as many characters as there are in life, but Rosalind is used as a vehicle for the Ideal. Its main supporting characters are full of life, and although not as much as Rosalind, there's still life to it all. Lesser characters need to be more one-sided to keep the plot uncluttered, but sometimes one-dimensionality clashes, as with Oliver. Rosalind's dynamism would eclipse any other character, because producing an Othello opposite her would create a conflict that this greatest of comedies does not need. Works Cited: Shakespeare, William. As you like it. Bevington