Question: How does Orlando save Oliver’s life in the Forest of Arden?
Introduction
As You Like It (1623) is a famous pastoral comedy written by William Shakespeare (1564-1616). The source of the play is derived from Thomas Lodge’s (1558-1625) popular prose romance Rosalynde (1590).
Description
In the play As You Like It, Oliver fled to the Forest of Arden to escape the anger of Duke Fredrick. Being tired, he was sleeping under an oak tree. In the meantime, Orlando happened to come across him and saw him sleeping. Orlando noticed that a large snake coiled herself around Oliver’s neck. The snake was about to cut him, meanwhile hearing the noise of footsteps of Orlando, it unraveled itself and veiled into a bush. Under the bush, a hungry lioness was lying. The lioness was so much hungry and desiring to have something to eat. Orlando observed all these and came to rescue his brother. Orlando, if he wanted could have left Oliver in that situation but instead of doing so, he battled a battle with the lioness. He fought a rough and tough fight with the lioness and won. He killed the beast. Hearing the noise of the fight, Oliver woke up. He then realized that his brother had saved his life. He felt shy and took an oath that he would never try to kill Orlando. As he said to Rosalind-
“It was I; but it is not. I do not shame to tell you what I was,…”
More Notes of As You Like it
Conclusion
Being saved by Orlando, Oliver found his fault. He had tried a lot to kill his own elder brother. He tried to burn him, tried to kill by a fight with Charles. He always treated Orlando as a slave, not his brother. But instantly after the incident happened in the Forest of Arden, he purified himself and honored Orlando as his elder brother.
