Setting in Shakespeare's As You Like It
The Relevance of the Forest of Arden in the Comedy by Shakespeare
As You Like It is one of William Shakespeare's most well known plays. It is a comedy, and thus finds its natural resolution in marriage, just as tragedy does so in death. It is a pastoral play, which means that the main characters and settings all have something to do with the representation of life in the country, and shepherds, cowherds and farmers. Pastoral literature is known to be very unrealistic, presenting an idyllic picture of country life and disregarding the hardships it entails. However, Shakespeare turns this around and creates a unique setting in which the characters enter a space where they are able to behave in ways and assume identities they would not be able to in the court.
Anarchy in The Forest of Arden
The Forest of Arden in Shakespeare's As You Like It represents the timelessness of nature, where the exiled and disguised can go to seek refuge. It is a curious mix of pastoral and strangely wild ecology, with tall forest trees and cattle co-existing. It is in this magical setting, then, that many possibilities arise for the characters that could never have appeared in the strictly structured life of the court, from which many of the characters have either been exiled or left of their own volition for various reasons. It is here that Rosalind is able to dress as Ganymede and push the boundaries of what she can do as a woman by training Orlando in the art of being a good suitor and also actively intervening in the affairs of other people, such as Silvius and Phoebe. There are many elements of homoeroticism and homosexuality caused due to the disguise of Rosalind: Orlando woos Ganymede, who in his eyes is a man; Phoebe rejects Silvius but falls for Ganymede: apparently a beautiful, effeminate boy.
"As You Like It": Character's Choices in the Play
As the title suggests, the Forest of Arden gives all the characters in the play a space to do, be or feel as they wish. Hence, Jacques languishes in his melancholy while Duke Senior rejoices in the absence of courtly politics and the woes that inevitably accompany it. Orlando and Silvius run around proclaiming their love for Rosalind and Phoebe, respectively, like lovers depicting Petrarchan love in their sonnets to their beloved.
Sudden Transformations in the Forest
The Forest of Arden in As You Like It seems almost like a magical place because of the sudden changes that occur in characters when they enter it. One significant example is the mending of the relationship between Oliver and Orlando, when the latter ignores his resentment and rescues the former from a lioness in the forest. The most spectacular transformation, however, seems to be that of Duke Frederick, the usurper of Duke Senior's throne, who repents and goes into voluntary exile after meeting someone just once in the forest. Celia and Touchstone both find spouses instantaneously.
It can be observed how Arden provides a magical setting where all wrongs are righted in one of Shakespeare's most vibrant comedies.
At Stratford-upon-Avon, Shakespeare's birthplace
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As You Like It by William Shakespeare
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