As You Like It, Act 5 scene 3 - It was a lover and his lass

As You Like It

Please see the bottom of the page for extensive explanatory notes and other helpful As You Like It resources.

ACT V SCENE III	The forest.
[Enter TOUCHSTONE and AUDREY]
TOUCHSTONE	To-morrow is the joyful day, Audrey; to-morrow will
	we be married.
AUDREY	I do desire it with all my heart; and I hope it is
	no dishonest desire to desire to be a woman of the
	world. Here comes two of the banished duke's pages.
[Enter two Pages]
First Page	Well met, honest gentleman.
TOUCHSTONE	By my troth, well met. Come, sit, sit, and a song.
Second Page	We are for you: sit i' the middle.
First Page	Shall we clap into't roundly, without hawking or
	spitting or saying we are hoarse, which are the only	10
	prologues to a bad voice?
Second Page	I'faith, i'faith; and both in a tune, like two
	gipsies on a horse.
SONG.
	It was a lover and his lass,
	With a hey, and a ho, and a hey nonino,
	That o'er the green corn-field did pass
	In the spring time, the only pretty ring time,
	When birds do sing, hey ding a ding, ding:
	Sweet lovers love the spring.
	Between the acres of the rye,	20
	With a hey, and a ho, and a hey nonino
	These pretty country folks would lie,
	In spring time, &c.
	This carol they began that hour,
	With a hey, and a ho, and a hey nonino,
	How that a life was but a flower
	In spring time, &c.
	And therefore take the present time,
	With a hey, and a ho, and a hey nonino;
	For love is crowned with the prime	30
	In spring time, &c.
TOUCHSTONE	Truly, young gentlemen, though there was no great
	matter in the ditty, yet the note was very
	untuneable.
First Page	You are deceived, sir: we kept time, we lost not our time.
TOUCHSTONE	By my troth, yes; I count it but time lost to hear
	such a foolish song. God buy you; and God mend
	your voices! Come, Audrey.
[Exeunt]

Next: As You Like It, Act 5, Scene 4
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Explanatory notes for Act 5, Scene 3
From As You Like It. Ed. Samuel Thurber, Jr. and Louise Wetherbee. Boston: Allyn and Bacon, 1922.
(Line numbers have been altered.)
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An interlude which contains one of the most musical and best known of Shakespeare's songs. Of course it is necessary for the requirements of the play.

Line 4. dishonest: immodest. woman of the world: a married woman.

9. As they throw themselves down Audrey, with much giggling, sits with Touchstone in the middle.

10. clap into 't roundly: begin at once. The rest of the speech is a sharp hit at absurd apologies often heard.

12. the only prologues: only the prologues.

13. a tune: one tune, as also in a horse in the following line.

18. ring time: marriage time.

21. acres: fields.

34. matter: thought. Are we reminded of another critic in an earlier scene?

38. God buy you: God be with you, like our Good-bye.

QUESTIONS

1. Describe Audrey's action in this scene.

2. Which is the better critic, Touchstone or Jaques?

3. Purpose of the scene.

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How to cite the explanatory notes:
Shakespeare, William. As You Like It. Eds. Samuel Thurber, Jr. and Louise Wetherbee. Boston: Allyn and Bacon, 1922. Shakespeare Online. 10 Aug. 2010. (date when you accessed the information) < http://www.shakespeare-online.com/plays/asu_5_3.html >.

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