A N I NTRODUCTION TO A S Y OU L IKE I T Target ICSE a Pastoral Comedy by William Shakespeare
W ILLIAM S HAKESPEARE Who is this man?
W ILLIAM S HAKESPEARE Shakespeare is perhaps the greatest dramatist the world has known He is the master poet – the entertainer with an universal appeal Date of Birth – Unknown (Baptised 26 April 1564; died 23 April 1616) Place of birth: Stratford on Avon, England Widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist Often called England's national poet and the Bard of Avon
S HAKESPEARE S W ORKS 38 Plays (tragedies, comedies, tragi-comedies, historical plays) 154 sonnets 2 long narrative poems Several other poems j
W ILLIAM S HAKESPEARE Shakespeares plays have been translated into every major living language & are performed more often than those of any other playwright. As You Like It is one of the most amusing & delightfully entertaining of Shakespeares comedies.
S HAKESPEAREAN C OMEDY A Shakespearean Comedy is a drama/play that has : a happy ending, usually involving marriages between the unmarried characters a tone and style that is more light-hearted than Shakespeare's other serious plays. Shakespearean Comedy
P ATTERNS IN S HAKESPEAREAN C OMEDIES Internal and external conflicts Tension between different values. Movement to a "green world" (Forest of Arden in As You Like It) Change of heart Resolution of conflicts
S HAKESPEAREAN COMEDIES ALSO INCLUDE : A greater emphasis on situations than characters A struggle of young lovers to overcome difficulty Separation & re-unification Deception & mistaken identity A clever servant
S HAKESPEAREAN COMEDIES ALSO INCLUDE : Multiple, intertwining plots Use of all styles of comedy (slapstick, puns, dry humor, earthy humor, witty banter, practical jokes) Pastoral element (courtly people living an idealized, rural life), originally an element of Pastoral Romance, exploited by Shakespeare for his comic plots and often parodied therein for humorous effects Happy Ending, though this is a given, since by definition, anything without a happy ending can't be a comedy
S OME OF THE OTHER F AMOUS S HAKESPEAREAN C OMEDIES ARE … A Midsummer's Night's Dream Twelfth Night The Comedy of Errors Love's Labour Lost
A S Y OU L IKE I T A Pastoral Comedy
D ATE OF COMPOSITION The play is believed to have been composed in 1599 or earlier. It was first published in folio in
A S Y OU L IKE I T - A P ASTORAL C OMEDY Pastoral A Pastoral is a poem or novel or drama which depicts pastoral (shepherd) life, usually in an idealized manner and for urban audiences.
T HE S ETTING OF THE P LAY The action of the play opens in France But most of the succeeding action takes place in a location called the 'Forest of Arden.
Love Nature Family Deception Treachery Loyalty Pastoral Life Foolishness & Folly THEMES in As You Like It THEMES in As You Like It
Rosalind Orlando Celia Duke Frederick Duke Senior Oliver Touchstone Jaques Main Characters in As You Like It Main Characters in As You Like It
Let us see how the principal characters in As You Like It are connected ……
ORLANDO CELIA ROSALIND OLIVER DUKE SENIOR DUKE FREDERICK BROTHERS SISTERS BROTHERS FATHER LOVERS
O THER C HARACTERS IN A S Y OU L IKE I T Adam – Servant to Orlando & Oliver Silvius – a shepherd Phebe – a shepherdess Audrey – a village girl Charles - wrestler Amiens – a Lord Corin – a shepherd William – a village boy Lords
B RIEF S UMMARY Rosalind, the daughter of Duke Senior (the banished duke), is raised at the court of her uncle Duke Frederick, with her cousin Celia (daughter of Duke Frederick).
B RIEF S UMMARY Rosalind falls in love with a young man named Orlando, but before long, she is banished from the court by her angry & jealous uncle, Duke Frederick. Celia, who loves Rosalind not just as a cousin but as her dearest friend, accompanies her out of the court Rosalind disguises as a boy, (Ganymede) & Celia disguises as a peasant girl (Aliena) Touchstone, the court's fool, accompanies them They go to the Forest of Arden.
B RIEF S UMMARY Upon their arrival in the forest, they chance upon Orlando and his servant Adam, who are fleeing the wrath of Orlando's eldest brother. What follows is an elaborate scheme devised by the disguised Rosalind to find out the verity of Orlando's supposed passion for her, & to further capture his heart, through the witty and mischievous façade of Ganymede
B RIEF S UMMARY Eventually all the characters meet in the Forest of Arden, a magical place that resolves all conflicts and erases all evil. Duke Frederick & Oliver become good men and make peace with their respective brothers.
B RIEF S UMMARY The play ends happily with four marriages: Rosalind – Orlando Celia – Oliver Touchstone – Audrey Silvius - Phebe
As You Like It is one of the most popular comedies of Shakespeare and Rosalind is one of his most strong willed heroines. This is a complex play with multiple plots, each entwining into the other. The play is not only entertaining, it is also thought- provoking due to the themes it deals with.
Target ICSEs Course in As You Like It explores all the aspects of play in due detail. Happy Learning!
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