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Act 1, Scene 1
Running away from the royal court ruled by the tyrant Duke Frederick, cousins Rosalind and Celia and their clown Touchstone find solace in the Forest of Arden in As You Like It. But love and folly await them—as Touchstone says, “now am I in Arden, the more fool I.” This Shakescleare modern English translation of the play allows you to understand every line of the play, from Rosalind’s cross-dressing hijinks in search of her beloved Orlando to Touchstone’s puns and witty tangents to one of the most famous speeches in all of Shakespeare’s works: “All the world’s a stage, / And all the men and women merely players: / They have their exits and their entrances; / And one man in his time plays many parts.”