Note to As You Like It, 1.1.18: "his countenance seems to take from me"


Return
to
As You Like It,
Act 1, Scene 1, line 18.
his countenance seems to take from me: —Literally, "countenance" means "face" or "facial expression." To "give countenance to" someone is to encourage that person with a smiling face. Here, Orlando sarcastically turns that meaning on its head. Oliver, Orlando's brother, is constantly frowning upon Orlando and discouraging him in every way.