(i) What promises did the Duke and Orlando make to Rosalind earlier ? (ii) Who is the shepherd referred to in the extract ?

Question

Read the extract given below and answer the questions that follow :

Rosalind :    I have promis’d to make all this matter even.

Keep you our word, O duke, to give your daughter;

You yours, Orlando, to receive his daughter; 

Keep you your word, Phebe, that you’ll marry me,

Or else, refusing me, to wed this shepherd; 

Keep your word, Silvius, that you’ll marry her,

If she refuse me : and from hence I go,

To make these doubts all even.

                      [Exeunt-Rosalind and Celia]

Duke Senior : I do remember in this shepherd boy

Some lively touches of my daughter’s favour.

(i)  What promises did the Duke and Orlando make to Rosalind earlier ?

(ii)  Who is the shepherd referred to in the extract ? What promise does Rosalind extract from Phebe regarding the shepherd ?

(iii) Give the meaning of :

(i)  To make all this matter even.

(ii)  Touches of my daughter’s favour.

(iv)  Why did Phebe spurn the love of Silvius ? Under what conditions did Rosalind agree to marry Phebe ? What happens at the end ?

(v)  Briefly explain how Rosalind solved all the problems of the play

Answer 1

(i)  Duke Senior had promised to bestow his daughter’s hand on Orlando even if had a huge dowry to give with her and Orlando had promised to accept the dukes daughter, Rosalind is marriage even if he was the king of all kingdoms.

(ii)  The shepherd referred to in the extract is Silvius. Roslaind had made Phebe promise that she would marry Ganymede but if, at the time of the marriage, she refused to do so, she would marry Silvius.

(iii)(a)  Rosalind, as Ganymede, has promised that she will resolve all the problems and all three couples will be married according to their wishes.

(b)  When Ganymede and Cilia leave the Duke comments to Orlando that the face of the shepherd boy, Ganymede, reminds him of his own daughter’s features, that he sees a resemblance to Rosalind in Ganymede.

(iv)  Phebe was very attractive and was proud of her beauty. She thought she was too good for Silvius and so spurned his love. Moreover, Silvius was doglike in his devotion and she wanted a strong and dominating man, which she thought she had found in Ganymede.

Rosalind agrees to marry Phebe on the condition that if Phebe herself refuses to marry Ganymede, she will promise to marry Silvius instead. When Rosalind appears in her own clothes, Phebe realizes that Ganymede is actually a girl. She cannot possible marry a girl and so she marries Silvius.

(v)  Since coming to forest of Arden Rosalind has been transformed from a sad and rather timid girl, always conscious of her father’s banishment and her own position, into a lively, mischievous, witty and intelligent young woman. In this final scene, she takes full charge of the whole situation and gives evidence of her ingenuity. She shows herself to be a woman of action who fulfills what she promises. She produces the Duke’s daughter and Orlando behaved so that Orlando is finally able to marry the woman he loves so deeply. She tricks Phebe into promising to marry Silvius in the event of her refusing to marry Ganymede. Since Ganymede is a woman and Phebe cannot marry her, Silvius gets the wish of his heart and marries his Phebe whom he loves with such devotion. Along with these couples, Touchstone and Audrey also get married.