The quote by Rosalind in "As You Like It" is a pun. ( A
pun is a joke which exploits different plausible meanings of a word. Another definition
of a pun relies on the fact that or the fact that there are words that sound alike but
have different meanings.)
The pun exists in Rosalind's
quote given the actual word which she is referring to is 'presence' (seen in the
previous line spoken by Le Beau) and not "presents."
The
meaning behind the pun used by Rosalind refers to the fact that while the men are being
presented as "of excellent growth and presence", Rosalind recognizes them as common
criminals. This comes from the fact that, during this time period, bills were used as a
legal tool which allowed people to see what crimes a person had been charged with. Bills
were often placed above a criminal placed in shackles so that everyone would know what
they have been found guilty of.
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