In Act I of Shakespeare’s, As You Like It, the division between
city life and rural life is introduced.
Although it is only briefly mentioned, it seems to be a sort of turning
point for the play as the location changes from city to forest. Rosalind’s father, Duke Senior, is said to be
spending his exile in the forest. Then,
at the end of the scene, Orlando, Rosalind, and Celia are forced to leave the
city for the forest. Essentially, each
character seems to be going to the forest to escape some sort of ruling by the
court. City vs. forest is an obvious
theme in this play, but it will still be interesting to see how the characters
develop as the constraints of the city are lifted and the supposed freedom of
the forest is presented.
As Diamond says in her
introduction, we should, “explore performances as cultural practices that conservatively
reinscribe or passionately reinvent the ideas, symbols, and gesture that shape
social life” (2). In the context of As You Like It, it is interesting to note
how subtly the ideas of social life in the city and forest differ, just in the
first act. The rest of the performance,
or text, should be considered as a factor that may or may not shape how we view
the differences of city vs. forest and if they are carried over into modern
times.
2 comments:
Despite reading several plays written by Shakespeare and even viewing a couple too, I continue to struggle when it comes to deciphering Shakespeare text. It seems that I understand the main plot and the relationships between the characters, but generally miss the incredible amount of symbolism and themes incorporated into the play. This is most likely because I need to reread one sentence about five times to fully grasp what Shakespeare is trying to describe. Therefor, I found this comment very informative! Not surprisingly, I did not notice the division between city life and rural life being introduced in the first act of As You Like It. This realization has made it very helpful as I go back and reexamine the text of the first act, as well as thinking about the future actions of the characters. Thanks for this analysis!
In the beginning of Act 2, scene 1, Duke Senior states, "And this our life, exempt from public haunt, finds tongues in trees, books in the running brooks, sermons in stones, and good in everything" (15-17). I find the Duke's word choice in this passage interesting, especially because he uses the word "haunt" to describe the public. It is also interesting how he likens nature to a classroom. In regards to this passage, it is clear that the Duke feels constrained by the public, and freed by nature.
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