Symbols in As You Like It

Symbols Examples in As You Like It:

Act IV - Act IV, Scene 3

"I verily did think That her old gloves were on, but 'twas her hands;..." See in text (Act IV - Act IV, Scene 3)

The image of the gloves serves as a symbol of class and courtly behaviour. Aristocratic women in Elizabethan England would have worn gloves, a fashion which metaphorically conveys inactivity: to wear gloves is to be passive, to not dirty one’s hands. That Phebe does not wear gloves suggests both her lower class and also her active role in courting Silvius.

Zachary, Owl Eyes Editor

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