As you like it is a five-act pastoral comedy by Shakespeare, written in verse and prose between 1599 and early 1600 and published for the first time in 1623. The work, based on the novel Rosalynde by Thomas Lodge, he follows the story of heroine Rosalinda as he escapes from the persecution of his uncle's court and falls in love in the Forest of Arden. One of Shakespeare's most famous and quoted soliloquies is present in the opera, "The whole world is a stage". The comedy remains a favorite among the general public, and has been adapted for radio, cinema and musicals.