Touchstone is a fictional character in Shakespeare 's play As You Like It. He is a court Jester, he was used throughout the play to both provide comic relief through sometimes vulgar humor and contrarily share wisdom, [1] fitting the archetype of the Shakespearean fool.

Touchstone begins the play in Duke Ferdinand’s service, working in his capacity as a professional fool. Also known as “licensed fools,” such figures had long been part of royal courts in England and Europe, and they were permitted to make critical and …

Touchstone gives a slightly ambiguous answer. At first glance, he seems to be saying that he wants to keep his sexual impulses in check. Just as an ox has his bow and a horse his curb, a man must have the “yoke” of wedlock to keep him on the right path.

Shakespeare's Fools: Touchstone in As You Like It From The Fools of Shakespeare by Frederick Warde. London: McBride, Nast & company. "A Worthy Fool" To term Touchstone a clown, as he is called in the cast of characters of "As You Like It," seems to …

Finally, it must be acknowledged that in a fantasy such as As You Like It, it is not necessary that every character be fully developed. The strength of this play lies in its dialogue and in its masque-like elements.

Touchstone. I'll rhyme you so eight years together, dinners, and suppers, and sleeping hours, excepted. It is the right butter-women's rank to market.

A touchstone is a stone that's used to identify precious metals by testing their purity—for instance, scraping gold against the touchstone will leave a little trail of dust that one could judge as evidence of how pure or mixed (and thus how valuable) the gold was.

Touchstone (noted as "clown" in most scripts, but always named as well) is a jester character who appears intemittently througout As You Like It. He is considered to be the play's major comic relief character, and his side story is not truly relevant to the course of the overarching plot of the play.

Touchstone (As You Like It) In the Forest of Arden the royal intellectual nature of Touchstone as a witty person comes out. He indulges in sweet debate with Audrey, with Rosalind, with Silvius and many others.

Mistress, you must come away to your father. No, by mine honour; but I was bid to come for you. good pancakes, and swore by his honour the mustard was naught.... by your beards that I am a knave. By my knavery, if I had it, then I were. But if you. swear by that that is not, you are not forsworn; no more was this...