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As You Like It - Act 2, scene 5
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As You Like It - Act 2, scene 5Act 2, scene 5
Scene 5
Synopsis:
Amiens’ song celebrating life in the woods is mocked by Jaques’ parody of the song.
Enter Amiens, Jaques, and others.Song.
⌜AMIENS sings⌝
0880 Under the greenwood tree
0881 Who loves to lie with me
0882 And turn his merry note
0883 Unto the sweet bird’s throat,
0884 5 Come hither, come hither, come hither.
0885 Here shall he see
0886 No enemy
0887 But winter and rough weather.
JAQUES 0888 More, more, I prithee, more.
p.
69
AMIENS
0889
10It will make you melancholy, Monsieur0890 Jaques.
JAQUES 0891 I thank it. More, I prithee, more. I can suck
0892 melancholy out of a song as a weasel sucks eggs.
0893 More, I prithee, more.
AMIENS 0894 15My voice is ragged. I know I cannot please you.
JAQUES 0895 I do not desire you to please me. I do desire
0896 you to sing. Come, more, another stanzo. Call you
0897 ’em “stanzos”?
AMIENS 0898 What you will, Monsieur Jaques.
JAQUES 0899 20Nay, I care not for their names. They owe me
0900 nothing. Will you sing?
AMIENS 0901 More at your request than to please myself.
JAQUES 0902 Well then, if ever I thank any man, I’ll thank
0903 you. But that they call “compliment” is like th’
0904 25 encounter of two dog-apes. And when a man thanks
0905 me heartily, methinks I have given him a penny and
0906 he renders me the beggarly thanks. Come, sing. And
0907 you that will not, hold your tongues.
AMIENS 0908 Well, I’ll end the song.—Sirs, cover the while;
0909 30 the Duke will drink under this tree.—He hath been
0910 all this day to look you.
JAQUES 0911 And I have been all this day to avoid him. He is
0912 too disputable for my company. I think of as many
0913 matters as he, but I give heaven thanks and make no
0914 35 boast of them. Come, warble, come.
Song.
ALL together here.
0915 Who doth ambition shun
0916 And loves to live i’ th’ sun,
0917 Seeking the food he eats
0918 And pleased with what he gets,
0919 40 Come hither, come hither, come hither.
0920 Here shall he see
0921 No enemy
0922 But winter and rough weather.
p.
71
JAQUES
0923
I’ll give you a verse to this note that I made0924 45 yesterday in despite of my invention.
AMIENS 0925 And I’ll sing it.
⌜JAQUES⌝ 0926 Thus it goes:
0927 If it do come to pass
0928 That any man turn ass,
0929 50 Leaving his wealth and ease
0930 A stubborn will to please,
0931 Ducdame, ducdame, ducdame.
0932 Here shall he see
0933 Gross fools as he,
0934 55 An if he will come to me.
AMIENS 0935 What’s that “ducdame”?
JAQUES 0936 ’Tis a Greek invocation to call fools into a
0937 circle. I’ll go sleep if I can. If I cannot, I’ll rail
0938 against all the first-born of Egypt.
AMIENS 0939 60And I’ll go seek the Duke. His banquet is
0940 prepared.
They exit.