Touchstone is a fictional character in

Shakespeare William Shakespeare ( 26 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's nation ...

's play ''

As You Like It ''As You Like It'' is a pastoral comedy by William Shakespeare believed to have been written in 1599 and first published in the First Folio in 1623. The play's first performance is uncertain, though a performance at Wilton House in 1603 has b ...

''.

Role in the play

Touchstone is the court jester of Duke Frederick the usurper's court. Throughout the play he comments on the other characters and thus contributes to a better understanding of the play. Touchstone falls in love with a dull-witted goat girl named Audrey. William, an oafish country boy, makes clumsy attempts to woo her as well, but is driven off by Touchstone, who threatens to kill him "a hundred and fifty ways". Eventually Touchstone marries Audrey, but a prediction is made that the relationship will not last. Audrey does not love Touchstone in the real sense of the feeling but only to become a courtly lady. She is a rustic countrywoman. Touchstone is not a self-centered and selfish man, as is shown when he is willing to follow Celia into the

forest of Arden Arden is an area located mainly in Warwickshire, England, with parts in Staffordshire and Worcestershire, and is traditionally regarded as extending from the River Avon to the River Tame. It was once heavily wooded, giving rise to the name 'F ...

for the simple reason as to be a comfort on the journey and as a security too. Touchstone is thought to be a witty or clever fool, although Rosalind and Celia jokingly say that he is a "natural" fool ("Fortune makes Nature's natural the cutter-off of Nature's wit" and "hath sent this natural for our whetstone"). Often he tries to show off his wit and intelligence by making some wise comments and references. Touchstone compares himself to

Ovid Pūblius Ovidius Nāsō (; 20 March 43 BC – 17/18 AD), known in English as Ovid ( ), was a Roman poet who lived during the reign of Augustus. He was a contemporary of the older Virgil and Horace, with whom he is often ranked as one of the th ...

and Jaques likens him to

Jove Jupiter ( la, Iūpiter or , from Proto-Italic "day, sky" + "father", thus " sky father" Greek: Δίας or Ζεύς), also known as Jove ( gen. ''Iovis'' ), is the god of the sky and thunder, and king of the gods in ancient Roman religio ...

in Ovid's ''

Metamorphoses The ''Metamorphoses'' ( la, Metamorphōsēs, from grc, μεταμορφώσεις: "Transformations") is a Latin narrative poem from 8 CE by the Roman poet Ovid. It is considered his ''magnum opus''. The poem chronicles the history of the wo ...

''. The word "touchstone" appears in Book II of the second 1575 edition of

Arthur Golding Arthur Golding (May 1606) was an English translator of more than 30 works from Latin into English. While primarily remembered today for his translation of Ovid's ''Metamorphoses'' because of its influence on William Shakespeare's works, in his ...

's translation of this work. in which Mercury tricks Battus into revealing the whereabouts of the cattle of Apollo which Mercury himself has stolen and punishes Battus by turning him into a touchstone. In ''Shakespeare's Clown,'' David Wiles suggests that

Robert Armin Robert Armin (c. 1568 – 1615) was an English actor, and member of the Lord Chamberlain's Men. He became the leading comedy actor with the troupe associated with William Shakespeare following the departure of Will Kempe around 1600. Also a po ...

played the part of Touchstone in the first productions of ''

'' (p. 145). The addition of Armin to the

Chamberlain's Men The Lord Chamberlain's Men was a company of actors, or a "playing company" (as it then would likely have been described), for which Shakespeare wrote during most of his career. Richard Burbage played most of the lead roles, including Hamlet, Othe ...

in 1599 and the character of Touchstone marked the beginning of a series of court fool characters; these characters differed greatly from earlier

Shakespearean fool The Shakespearean fool is a recurring character type in the works of William Shakespeare. Shakespearean fools are usually clever peasants or commoners that use their wits to outdo people of higher social standing. In this sense, they are very si ...

s, typically played by

William Kempe William Kempe (c. 1560–c. 1603), commonly referred to as Will Kemp, was an English actor and dancer specialising in comic roles and best known for having been one of the original players in early dramas by William Shakespeare. Roles associat ...

, because their humour is mainly derived from the fool's wit and intellect. The earlier fools of this period were often nothing but stooges.

References

Bibliography

* Wiles, David. ''Shakespeare's Clown''. Cambridge:

Cambridge University Press Cambridge University Press is the university press of the University of Cambridge. Granted letters patent by Henry VIII of England, King Henry VIII in 1534, it is the oldest university press A university press is an academic publishing hou ...

. 1987, . {{Authority control Literary characters introduced in 1600 Fictional jesters Male Shakespearean characters As You Like It