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"All the world's a stage." Shakespeare's beloved pastoral comedy isnow available in a Norton Critical Edition. Since its return to the London stage in 1740, As You LikeIt has delighted theatergoers, readers, and critics. Itsheroine, Rosalind, is one of Shakespeare's greatest characters. Theplay's Forest of Arden setting and its focus on the relationshipbetween natural occurrences and things created by humans(Shakespeare collectively termed these "art") provide us withaccess to debates in Renaissance England that relate to theecological issues of our own time. This Norton Critical Edition isbased on the 1623 First Folio text. It is accompanied by a note onthe text, eight illustrations, six photographs, and explanatoryannotations. "Sources and Contexts" includes, in its entirety, Shakespeare'sprimary source for the play-Thomas Lodge's popular prose romanceRosalynde (1590). Reading Shakespeare's play with (and against)Lodge's romance reveals striking similarities and fascinatingdifferences, both large and small. An array of other readingsfocuses on the central areas of gender and ecology and includesworks by Michel de Montaigne, Sir Thomas More, Thomas Bastard,George Gascoygne, and William Prynne. A rich "Criticism" section includes twenty-one commentaries onAs You Like It spanning four centuries. Contributorsinclude, among others, Mrs. Anna Jameson, Clara Claiborne Park,Jean E. Howard, Marjorie Garber, James Shapiro, Valerie Traub,Jeffrey Masten, and Robert Smallwood. A Selected Bibliography is also included.