AS YOU LIKE IT.
Plot Summary 

Before Sir Rowland de Boys died, he made Oliver, his eldest son, promise to see to the upbringing and education of Orlando, his youngest son. But after Sir Rowland's death, Oliver virtually imprisons Orlando in their home. The younger brother receives no schooling, no guidance, and almost no money–unlike a third brother, Jaques, who lives away at school, prospering. In the orchard of Oliver's house, Orlando complains to Adam (Anna), an old servant, that Oliver pays more attention to his horses. When Oliver enters the orchard, Orlando tells him:   
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"My father charged you in his will to give me good   
education: you have trained me like a peasant,   
obscuring and hiding from me all gentleman-like   
qualities. The spirit of my father grows strong in   
me, and I will no longer endure it." (Act I, Scene 1, Lines 62-66)   
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Meanwhile, two other men–Duke Frederick and his younger brother Duke Senior–also live at odds. Frederick had unjustly seized the dukedom of Senior and banished him to the Forest of Arden. There, Senior and his loyal followers learn to live like Robin Hood and his merry men, enjoying all the simple pleasures of a rustic existence. As Senior says,   
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"And this our life exempt from public haunt  
Finds tongues in trees, books in the running brooks,  
Sermons in stones and good in every thing.  
I would not change it." (Act II, Scene 1, Lines 15-18)  
  
Senior's daughter, Rosalind, remains behind at the court of Frederick as a companion for his daughter, Celia. Rosalind is the central character in the play, the hub around whom the wheel of fortune revolves. It so happens that Rosalind has a sympathizer in Celia, for the two of them have been best friends since childhood. Whenever Rosalind pines for her missing father, Celia is there to comfort her and cheer her up. Rosalind soon will have good cause to be merry, for she is destined to fall in love with Orlando, the young man maltreated by his brother Oliver. Here is what happens:   
Orlando somehow flourishes on his own, displaying the spirit and courtly bearing of his father, Rowland de Boys. However, restricted as he is by his brother, Orlando lapses into melancholy. When he learns that Duke Frederick's champion wrestler, Charles, will take on challengers, Orlando bids to compete. After all, he has nothing to lose but his miserable life. Oliver, jealous of the fine young man that his brother is becoming, urges Charles to break Orlando's neck during the match. Rosalind and Celia, present to witness the competition, try to dissuade Orlando from competing. Rosalind even attempts to have the match canceled.   
But the match goes on and Orlando, heartened by the kindness shown by Celia and Rosalind, defeats Charles! Duke Frederick admires the young man for his courage and skill. But when Frederick learns Orlando is the son of Sir Rowland, who was a friend of the banished Duke Senior, he leaves the scene in a huff. Rosalind, however, rewards Orlando with a chain from her neck. Later, when Rosalind and Celia are discussing Orlando, Frederick bursts in and banishes Rosalind, for she reminds him too much of her father, Duke Senior, and he feels Rosalind outshines his own daughter.  He tells her:
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            "Thou art a fool. She robs thee of thy name,
And thou wilt show more bright and seem more virtuous
When she is gone."  (Act I, Scene 3, Lines 76-78)   
  
Celia and Rosalind disguise themselves and leave together to find Rosalind’s father in the Forest of Arden. They also convince Duke Frederick's saucy-tongued court jester, Touchstone to come along. In the forest, they first encounter an old man (woman), Corin (Corinna), talking with a young shepherd, Silvius. Silvius is depressed because the woman he loves, a shepherdess named Phebe, does not return his love. Rosalind empathizes with Silvius, for she now knows what it is like to be in love but not be united with the beloved. Rosalind contracts with Corin (Corinna) to buy a cottage for her, and she and Celia move in.  
Orlando, too, must leave. Oliver's elderly servant, Adam (Anna), has warned Orlando that the evil Oliver vows to burn Orlando's chamber that very night as Orlando sleeps. Orlando flees with Adam (Anna) to the safety of the forest. When old Adam (Anna) complains of hunger, Orlando, sword in hand, demands food from Duke Senior's followers; but they generously share their food. When Senior learns Orlando is the son of his old friend, Sir Rowland, he takes Orlando under his protection. Meanwhile, Duke Frederick, believing that Celia and Rosalind have run off with Orlando, orders Oliver to find his brother and bring him back dead or alive. If he fails in this task, he will lose all of his possessions.    
In the forest, Orlando thinks often of Rosalind and carves her name on trees and attaches love poems. At the same time, Touchstone tests the worth of every character he meets in the forest with his quick wit.  After Touchstone teases Rosalind about how her name is appearing on trees everywhere in the forest, Rosalind (still disguised as Ganymede) crosses paths one day with Orlando and playfully chides him about abusing the trees by carving his poems into them. Then she asks whether his rhymes truly reflect the love that he feels. Orlando replies, ''Neither rhyme nor reason can express how much'' (Act III, Scene 2, Line 418).   
Rosalind says Orlando can cure himself of his foolish love if he will come to her cottage each day and woo her as if she were Rosalind. In this way, he will learn of the the ways of whimsical ladies and gradually fall out of love. Intrigued by this proposal, Orlando does as she asks. However, Orlando only falls more deeply in love with the memory of Rosalind as he takes part in the mock courtship. Rosalind's love also deepens.  
One day, when Orlando doesn’t return on time, his brother Oliver shows up to see Rosalind (as Ganymede) and Celia.  He tells them a long tale about why his brother is late, so that Rosalind will not think him unreliable.  He tells them how he, Oliver, fell asleep under a tree, and a green snake entwined his neck, preparing to kill him. Nearby a lioness awaited her turn at Oliver. Orlando happened upon the scene on his way to see Ganymede and scared off the snake. As Oliver awakened, Orlando drew his sword and killed the lion, but he was wounded. Seeing what happened, Oliver repented and became a loving brother. Because Orlando's wound made him too weak to continue to Ganymede's cottage, Oliver went to explain what happened, displaying a bloody handkerchief as proof of Orlando's wound. Rosalind faints. While telling the story Oliver falls in love with Celia, and they vow to marry the next day. Rosalind as Ganymede goes to Orlando and tells him she is versed in magic and will conjure up Rosalind the following day so that he can marry her.    
On the appointed day, Rosalind appears as herself while the wedding guests, including Duke Senior and his followers look on. By this time, Touchstone has found a love of his own–Audrey, a country wench, In addition, Phebe, who has fallen in love with Ganymede, agrees to marry Silvius when she learns Ganymede is really a woman. Thus, on the wedding day, four couples exchange vows: Orlando and Rosalind, Oliver and Celia, Silvius and Phebe, and Touchstone and Audrey. But it so happens that there is also another event to celebrate. Jaques de Boys, the third son of Rowland de Boys and the brother of Orlando and Oliver, arrives to announce that a holy man has shown Duke Frederick the error of his ways. Consequently, Frederick has ceded his crown back to Duke Senior and retired from the corrupt and wordly life.   
Presumably everyone lives happily ever after.