Philip Weller caricature
Philip and Weller hugging

Welcome to my web site, now under development for more than twenty years.
-- Philip Weller, November 13, 1941 - February 1, 2021
Dr. Weller, an Eastern Washington University professor of English and Shakespearean scholar for more than 50 years.

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.