How we cite our quotes: (Act.Scene.Line). Line numbers correspond to The Norton Shakespeare, second edition, published in 2008.
Quote #7
ROSALIND
No, faith, die by attorney.
The poor world is almost six thousand years old,
and in all this time there was not any man died in
his own person, videlicet, in a love-cause. Troilus
had his brains dashed out with a Grecian club; yet
he did what he could to die before, and he is one of
the patterns of love. Leander, he would have lived
many a fair year, though Hero had turned nun, if it
had not been for a hot midsummer night; for, good
youth, he went but forth to wash him in the Hellespont
and, being taken with the cramp, was
drowned; and the foolish chroniclers of that age
found it was Hero of Sestos. But these are all lies.
Men have died from time to time, and worms have
eaten them, but not for love. (4.1.99-113)
Rosalind uses great tales from Greek mythology (the stories of Troilus and Cressida and Hero and Leander) to tell the most unromantic story possible. While Rosalind jests at love here, the real meat of these stories is the tragedy of love within them.
Quote #8
Take thou no scorn to wear the horn.
It was a crest ere thou wast born.
Thy father's father wore it,
And thy father bore it.
The horn, the horn, the lusty horn
Is not a thing to laugh to scorn. (4.2.14-19)
When a Lord kills a deer in the forest, Jaques says "let's present [the Lord] to the Duke [...] And it would do well to set the deer's horns/ upon his head for a branch of victory" (4.2.2). Um, OK. Apparently, putting deer antlers on the Lord's head sounds like fun, which is why all his buddies belt out a rowdy song in agreement. Check out "Symbolism, Imagery, Allegory" if you want to know more about this.
Brain snack: As You Like It contains more songs than any other Shakespeare play.