Orlando, the younger son of Sir Rowland De Bois, is complaining about the way his brother Oliver has treated him since his father died. He tells Adam, a loyal family servant, of the way his older brother has taken all of his father’s estate and left him without money and without education. Orlando is forced to work with animals and is denied any profession suitable to a nobleman. As they talk, Oliver appears and tells Orlando to get back to work. In anger, Orlando grabs his brother by the throat and accuses him of acting unjustly towards him. He demands some of his inheritance. Oliver agrees to give him some money and then dismisses both him and old Adam.
Oliver meets with the wrestler, Charles, and hears that the old Duke has been banished by his brother who has made himself Duke in his place. The old Duke is living in the Forest of Arden with his men, but his daughter, Rosalind, has stayed with her close cousin, Celia, at court. Charles also tells him that Orlando has challenged him to a fight before the Duke. Oliver tells him that Orlando has been plotting against his life and turns Charles against him. Charles declares that he is determined to hurt Orlando as much as possible, even to the point of crippling him.
Celia tries to comfort her cousin Rosalind, who is upset about the fate of her banished father, the old Duke. The two women talk about love and fortune before they are interrupted by Touchstone, the Fool, and Le Beau, a comic courtier. They find out that Charles, the wrestler, is about to fight his fourth fight after beating three brothers and crushing the ribs of one of them. The next challenger is Orlando and the two women stay to watch. The Duke and his court assemble to watch the wrestling and when Orlando arrives, Rosalind and Celia try to convince him not to wrestle with the dangerous Charles. Orlando is determined to win and during the fight manages to throw Charles to the ground unconscious. The new Duke congratulates him and asks what his name is. When he hears that his father was Sir Rowland De Bois, he dismisses him without a reward because his father did not support him when he usurped the throne. Celia is ashamed of her father’s behaviour but Rosalind is delighted to find that Orlando is a friend of her banished father. Rosalind gives Orlando a chain from her neck as they leave. Le Beau warns Orlando that he does not have the favour of the new Duke and Orlando takes his advice to leave immediately.
Celia notices that Rosalind is very quiet after they leave Orlando and realises her cousin has fallen in love with him. The new Duke Frederick arrives and orders Rosalind to collect her belongings and leave his court on pain of death. He accuses her of being a traitor and even though Celia takes her side and begs him to reconsider, he is still intent on getting rid of Rosalind. When her father leaves, Celia tells Rosalind that she will go with her and Rosalind devises a plan for them both to leave together. Rosalind decides to dress as a man and they leave quickly and quietly with Touchstone.
The exiled Duke and his men have made a home for themselves in the Forest of Arden. The Duke says how happy he is to live close to nature without the dangerous intrigue of life at court. He invites his men to go hunting and one of his lords tells him that the melancholy Jaques has been weeping over the sight of a dying deer. Jaques thinks that the Duke and his men are tyrants and usurpers because they are killing the animals who have more right to live there than they do.
Duke Frederick learns that Celia and Rosalind have run away and he is furious. He learns that they had both been talking about Orlando and he thinks Orlando has helped them escape. He sends men to Oliver’s house to arrest Orlando with orders that if he is not there they are to arrest Oliver instead.
Orlando returns to Oliver’s house and old Adam warns him that Oliver intends to kill him by burning down his house as he sleeps. Adam tells Orlando that he has saved some money during his years of service to his family and offers them to Orlando to help him escape. He asks Orlando to take him with him and Orlando agrees.
Rosalind and Celia have arrived in the Forest of Arden and are exhausted. Rosalind is dressed as a man called Ganymede and Celia is dressed as a shepherdess called Aliena. Two shepherds appear and one of them, Silvius, talks about his love for Phoebe who does not love him in return. Corin, the other shepherd, tries to give him advice about love, but Silvius tells him he is too old to understand and carries on moping. Touchstone reminisces, mockingly, of the time he was in love and behaved in a very foolish way. When the old shepherd, Corin, is alone, Rosalind asks him for help finding a place to stay and he agrees to lead them to a small cottage that is for sale.
In another part of Arden Forest, some of the Duke’s lords and Jacques are listening to Amiens who is entertaining them with a song. Jacques convinces him to keep on singing and also sings a verse he composed himself. When the lords gather round him to listen, he insults them by telling them that the word ‘Ducdame’ is an ‘invocation to call fools into a circle’.
In yet another part of Arden Forest, Orlando and Adam have arrived. Adam is so weak and tired that Orlando finds a sheltered place and leaves him in order to go and find some food.
The Duke and his lords meet Jaques and hear him criticising a man he found in the forest who was moralising about the passing of time. As they talk a table has been set with food for them. Suddenly Orlando arrives with his sword drawn and rudely tells them to give some of the food to him before they eat. The Duke invites him to sit with them and eat and Orlando is surprised by their gentleness. He tells them that he is almost dying of hunger and his old servant, Adam, is likely to die if he doesn’t get food quickly. The Duke sends Orlando to get Adam and promises him that there will be food left when he gets back. The Duke observes that the world’s ‘wide and universal theatre presents more woeful pageants that the scene wherein we play’ and Jacques elaborates on this idea to show that ‘all the world’s a stage, and all the men and women merely players’. Orlando arrives back with old Adam and the Duke invites them to eat. He tells Orlando that he loved his loyal father, Sir Rowland, and sees in him a likeness to his dead father.
The angry Duke Frederick has not been able to find Orlando and instead arrests Oliver. He tells Oliver that he has a year in which to find his brother and all of his estate is seized by the Duke until he brings Orlando to him. The Duke does not listen to Oliver when he says that he has never loved his brother in his life and does not know where he is.
Orlando has been writing love poems to Rosalind and he hangs them on the trees so that everyone who passes by will read of her beauty and virtue. Corin, the shepherd, arrives with Touchstone and they are deep in conversation about the virtues of life at court and life in the country. Touchstone’s witty arguments are a bit complicated for Corin and he is happy to see ‘Master Ganymede’ appear. Rosalind arrives, in disguise, reading one of Orlando’s poems which she has found hanging on a tree. When Touchstone hears her reading it he mocks it because of its simple rhyming scheme and Rosalind calls him a ‘dull fool’. Celia, in disguise as Aliena, also arrives reading another of Orlando’s poems. The two women tell Corin and Touchstone to go away and they talk about who might have written the poems. Celia is surprised that Rosalind does not know who has written them and tells her that it is Orlando.
As Rosalind is begging Celia to tell her more, Orlando himself appears with Jaques and the women quickly hide to watch them. Jacques also teases Orlando about his love poems and Orlando says he will hang no more verses on the trees. When Jaques leaves, Rosalind, comes out of hiding and asks Orlando what the time is. Orlando does not recognise her and she introduces Celia to him as well. Rosalind, as Ganymede, talks with Orlando about the love poems hanging on the trees and Orlando asks if there is a cure for love. Rosalind tells him that if Ganymede pretends to be the woman he loves and Orlando agrees to treat ‘him’ as the woman he loves, then there will be a cure. Orlando agrees to this cure and promises to come to her cottage every day to woo this ‘Rosalind’.
Touchstone has fallen in love with a simple goatherd called Audrey and wants to marry her. Jaques, watching in the background, makes witty remarks on the progress of his love and when a local vicar arrives Touchstone convinces him to marry them. At this Jaques steps in and tells Touchstone that he should get married properly and not so hastily. Touchstone agrees to postpone the wedding.
At their cottage, Rosalind and Celia are waiting for Orlando to arrive and when he is late Rosalind is convinced that he will not come and is close to tears. Celia tries to cheer her up, but Rosalind is full of conflicting emotions. The old shepherd, Corin, arrives to say he has found Silvius and Phoebe and invites them to come with him to watch a fine performance of ‘true love’ and ‘proud disdain’. The go with him to see what is happening.
Rosalind and Celia watch as Silvius begs Phoebe to show him some mercy and return his love, but Phoebe continues to scorn him and tells him not to come near her again. At this, Rosalind interrupts and tells Phoebe she should be glad that a good man like Silvius loves her. But as Rosalind tells her off, Phoebe falls in love with Ganymede and says she would rather hear harsh words from him than words of love from Silvius. Rosalind in turn rejects Phoebe’s love and insists she should look to Silvius for love. As Rosalind leaves, Phoebe realises that she and Silvius have much in common and their unrequited love draws them together. She stays to talk with him and ends the scene by deciding to write a letter to Ganymede, with Silvius’ help.
As Ganymede and Jaques talk together in the forest, Orlando appears and Rosalind reminds him he is late for his meeting with her. He apologises and Rosalind reminds him of their plan for her (as Ganymede) to be wooed as his mistress. Orlando says he would first want to kiss his mistress rather than talk, and claims he would die of love if she refused him. Rosalind says that no man ever died of love. When Orlando insists that he is in love with Rosalind, she asks Celia to pretend to be a vicar who will marry them. Orlando still goes along with Rosalind’s plan and Orlando and Ganymede are ‘married’ in a mock ceremony. When Orlando leaves them and promises to return that afternoon, Rosalind admits to Celia that she is in love with him but cannot reveal her true identity yet.
The Duke’s men have just killed a deer and Jaques and the forester sing a hunting song.
Orlando is late for another appointment with Ganymede and as Rosalind waits, Silvius arrives with a letter for Ganymede. He tells Rosalind that it is from Phoebe and that she was very angry when she wrote it. Rosalind reads the letter in front of Silvius and finds that it is a love letter. When Rosalind sees how upset Silvius is, she sends him back to Phoebe with a message that Ganymede will never have her unless Silvius himself begs him to marry her. As Silvius leaves, a stranger arrives and tells Celia that Orlando has sent him to apologise for missing his appointment with Ganymede. The stranger shows her and Rosalind a bloody handkerchief. He tells them that while Orlando’s older brother, Oliver, was asleep in the forest a lion lay ready to pounce on him, but Orlando defended him and was attacked instead. When his older brother awoke and realised that Orlando tried to save his life, he was sorry for ever having wanted him dead. The stranger revealed that he was Orlando’s brother and told them how he had asked Orlando to forgive him and they had been fully reconciled. Orlando brought Oliver to the Duke and then gave him the handkerchief before fainting from his wounds. When she heard all this and realised Orlando had nearly died, Rosalind fainted as well. Celia helped her to revive and when Rosalind had recovered she told Oliver to tell Orlando that she had only pretended to faint.
Touchstone and Audrey are still talking about getting married and they try to find a clergyman who can perform the wedding. As they talk William, another of Audrey’s suitors, arrives, but Touchstone frightens him away by telling him that if he comes near Audrey again he will kill him.
Orlando discovers that Oliver and Aliena have fallen in love at first sight. Oliver tells him that he is content to marry her quickly and live as a shepherd and that all of his father’s estate will now belong to Orlando. Ganymede arrives and Orlando tells him he is happy for his brother, but also depressed because he wants to be with Rosalind. Ganymede promises him that he shall marry Rosalind on the same day Oliver marries Aliena and tells Orlando that he is able to make Rosalind appear before him the following day. As they are talking Phoebe arrives followed closely by Silvius. Phoebe is angry that Ganymede showed her love letter to Silvius and Rosalind finally loses patience with her. She tells Phoebe to turn her love to Silvius, but Phoebe instead asks Silvius to explain what true love is like. As Silvius describes his true love for Phoebe, all the characters name their true love. Rosalind says that Ganymede will love no woman – especially not Phoebe – and finally promises to help them all to be united with their true love if they will return the following day.
Secure in Dunsinane Castle, Macbeth reacts to his men’s desertions and the approach of Malcolm’s army with a mixture of bravado and rage. He knows his future is bleak, but intends to fight to the death. He asks the Doctor about his wife; the Doctor replies that he can do nothing to help her. If only the Doctor could cleanse Scotland of disease, Macbeth ponders, he would applaud him. Even so, Macbeth remains confident that he will be safe from harm ‘Till Birnam Forest come to Dunsinane’.
Touchstone and Audrey are looking forward to being married the next day and two of the Duke’s men sing a song for them about lovers in the spring-time.
Everyone in the Forest of Arden gather together. The Duke wonders whether Ganymede can indeed perform all that he has promised and make all pairs of lovers happy with the outcome. Ganymede arrives with Silvius and Phoebe and asks the Duke (her father) if he really will allow Rosalind to marry Orlando. He promises to give his consent and Orlando promises to marry Rosalind and Ganymede promises to marry Phoebe (if she will have ‘him’). Ganymede and Aliena leave them to prepare for the wedding ceremony. Touchstone and Audrey arrive and soon after that Rosalind and Celia appear, without their disguises, accompanied by Hymen the god of marriage. The Duke finally sees his daughter and his niece again and Orlando can finally marry Rosalind. The only unhappy person is Phoebe, who realises she cannot marry Ganymede after all, but she swiftly transfers her affections to Silvius and all eight people are married at once. As they are celebrating the marriages, the third brother of Orlando and Oliver arrives with news that as the new Duke Frederick assembled an army to attack them in the forest, he had an encounter with a religious man in the forest. He was converted to a religious life and gave up the crown and the lands he had taken from his brother and his followers. The old Duke is restored to his kingdom and Rosalind and Orlando are his rightful heirs.
In a departure from custom, the epilogue is spoken by a female character. Rosalind addresses first the female members of the audience and then the male members of the audience to ask for their approval and their applause. Her witty speech furthers the gender confusion that fuelled much of the play’s plot and has a number of double meanings because on Shakespeare’s stage it would have been spoken by a male actor playing a female role.