Shakespearean comedies Essay Example for Free

Shakespearean comedies Essay The world of Shakespearean comedies is undoubtedly romantic, poetic and idealized. As You Like It is no exception in this respect. Romantic in all aspects, especially form and spirit, the play presents before you a world of love, of deceit, of vulgarity, of humor, of music and what not! But it is the love theme that excels all that. To be more precise, â€Å"it seems wiser to agree with Charlton that Shakespeare was successfully developing his own kind of romance. † (Nicoll, Shakespeare Survey, Vol. 8, pg 3) It is rightly observed by Sheffield Theatres Education that, â€Å"William Shakespeare’s play As You Like It clearly falls into the Pastoral Romance genre; but Shakespeare does not merely use the genre, he develops it Shakespeare also used the Pastoral genre in As You Like It to ‘cast a critical eye on social practices that produce injustice and unhappiness, and to make fun of anti-social, foolish and self-destructive behaviour’ , most obviously through the theme of love, culminating in a rejection of the notion of the traditional Petrarchan lovers. † (www. sheffieldtheatres. co. uk) When we say that As You Like It is romantic in form, it should rush to our mind that the classical rules of dramatic composition, like the observance of the unities, are not at all regarded in its composition. The action covers a period much longer than a single revolution of the sun, and the action moves from the city to the Forest of Arden. Shakespeare was thoroughly against setting rules for a work of art as it had a narrowing and cramping effect both to the artist and the work of art. Hence he never cared for any rules of literary creation. For him the dictates of his fancy was prominent. Thus we have the large-scale explication of love theme in As You Like It; that too, in the Forest of Arden, a world that can only exist in our dreams. The Shakespearean world is the ‘country of the mind’. It can never ever be met with neither in this whole universe nor on the world-map. It is a place where we come across an idealized picture of life, life as it should be lived, or life as envisaged by the poet. The atmosphere of the Forest of Arden in As You Like It throughout is one of idyllic calm and quiet and no incidents have been introduced that was capable enough to mar this tranquility. This idyllic setting is the sole witness to Duke Senior’s and his companions careless fleeting away of the time like Robinhood and his merry men. It is here that Rosalind, Celia, Touchstone, Orlando and Oliver come up to, and it is here that the pageant of love is played out and the lovers are happily united before they go back to the din and buzz of the urban setting. This romantic-poetic world of Shakespeare contains noble specimens of humanity, who win our admiration, and we, the readers or audience, long to be one among them or one like them. This world is free of conservatism, and does not set any norms or codes for social behavior for the individual to conform to. Romance in the Shakespearean world goes beyond the accepted, normal and conventional. It shows forth different ways of life but we realize that these ways bring forth greater happiness and wellbeing than what the socially accepted ones bring in. That is why the readers are not surprised when Rosalind ventures to teach Orlando to woo. Critics might find a lot of absurdities in the plot of As You Like It. But it is concealed to the utmost by heightening the character-interest. In Walter Raleigh’s words, â€Å"he so bathes his story in the atmosphere of poetry and phantasy, his characters are so high-spirited, good-tempered and resourceful, the action passes in such a tempest of boisterous enjoyment, and is mitigated by so many touches of human feeling, that the whole effect remains gracious and pleasant; and the master of the show is still the gentle Shakespeare. † (Raleigh, Walter Alexander, Macmillan, 1907) Though it is accepted world-wide that the setting of Shakespearean comedy is imaginative and romantic to the utmost, we should duly acknowledge that it is not a mere escape world of romance. Reality is very much felt there and this world of romance never grows unsubstantial and fantastic. Romantic idealization is constantly kept in check by frequent reminders of harsh reality. In As You Like It, Shakespeare has undoubtedly presented a mingled yarn of joys and sorrows. There is always a confrontation of romance and reality here. The Forest of Arden is never shown forth as a conventional pastoral Arcadia. It also has its piercing wintertime and harsh weather, its own kind of usurpation and the ingratitude of friends which are very much present in the world around us, all days. There one has to face hardships of all sorts, and some one character or the other, usually the fool, constantly reminds us of those hardships. But it should be borne in mind that this realism never mars the charm of the romantic world. In spite of all the harshities, here life goes on most merrily, full of singing, dancing, and love-making. True, it is not life as it is, but as it should have been or as we yearn to be like. The idyllic Forest of Arden transports us to a rainbow world of magic and romance, where all sorts of marvels do take place and above all, we tend to believe all that and feel unaware of any improbability for the incidents in the play. The romantic love according to Shakespeare is an irrational passion that is not guided by reason, intellect or eye. Love is the presiding genius in the play. Celia falls in love with Oliver who is entirely unworthy of her. Not one or two, nearly all are in love and the play ends with a happy consummation of all of them in marriage. Towards the middle part of the play, we see that the whole atmosphere is surcharged with love. This play abounds in a varied assortment of love. We come across the true, deep and passionate love of Orlando and Rosalind, the sudden, swift and healthy love of Oliver and Celia, the courtly, pastoral, conventional and Petrarchan love of Phebe and Silvius, and a real parody of love between Touchstone and Audrey. The play itself ends with the ringing of marriage bells and ‘every Jack gets his Jill’. As You Like It burlesques most of the set norms of love usually dealt with in poetry and literature. For example, the widely accepted notion that love is a disease that invites suffering and torment to the lover, the supposition that the male lover is the slave or servant of his mistress and the female lover should never cross the limits set by the society finds expression here and at the same time it is ridiculed by the playwright in the words of different characters of the play. These ideas were boasted to be the central features of the courtly love tradition, which was embedded in European literature for hundreds of years before Shakespeare’s time. In As You Like It, we find the characters lamenting the torment caused by their being in love, but these laments are all unsuccessful, bizarre and ludicrous. While Orlando’s metrically inept poems keep in with the set norm that he should â€Å"live and die [Rosalind’s] slave,† these sentiments are roundly ridiculed (III. ii. 152). Even Silvius, the uncivilized shepherd, presumes as being a tortured lover. It is well evident in asking his beloved Phebe to notice â€Å"the wounds invisible / That love’s keen arrows make† (III. v. 30–31). But Silvius’s request for Phebe’s attention has in it that the enslaved lover can loosen the chains of love and that all romantic wounds can be healed—otherwise, his request for notice would be worthless. Hence it is evident that, As You Like It breaks usual notion of the courtly love which is always known as a force for happiness and fulfillment and mocks those who are content with the suffering that is always associated with truelove. Music adds a lot to the romantic quality of Shakespearean plays. As music speaks direct to human souls and influences and enriches it, songs and dances are scattered throughout the play. Perennial delight is the result of introducing music into romance plays. This is wholly achieved in As You Like It. In keeping with the conventions of romantic plays, Shakespeare, through the songs introduced gave apt expression to the renaissance passion for music and at the same time enhanced the entertainment value of the play. As You Like It is full of songs that articulate the spontaneous ecstasy these people derive from life in the Forest of Arden and the joy they can afford to give back to people around them. The songs show forth clearly the difference in the way of living in the forest from that of the court, because here they can tailor their actions to their moods. This can never happen in the court where one is forced to even breathe according to the norms set by the society. Romance plays always gave a good position for the women that added to the quality of characterization and plot. Love transforms and emboldens them to become capable of swift action, sacrifice, ingenuity and self-surrender. Shakespeare too enthroned woman as queen of his comedies owing to the more instinctive, impulsive and emotional nature of their being and as a result she was in love always. Here we have a bright, beautiful and glittering Rosalind who is adored by all even today. It is true when Orlando observes, â€Å"Helen’s cheek but not her heart Cleopatra’s majesty, Atlanta’s better part, Sad Lucretia’s modesty. †(III (ii)-143-6) She is wittier, more practical and more resourceful thereby outshining the hero and the men folk of the play whom we see as hesitant and torn within themselves whenever a crucial situation is at hand. It was rightly pointed out by Ruskin that ‘Shakespeare has only heroines and no heroes’ Women in Shakespearean romances are simply human and patiently natural when it comes to emotional crises like falling in love. Rosalind’s excitement when she first meets Orlando is as palpable as are her transparent endeavors to hide it. Their own passion sharpens the love even more through which they even seek the good of others. But, on the contrary, she is well aware that there is no certain and predictable relation between beauty and honesty in mankind. She is practical to the utmost. That is why Ian Johnston remarks, â€Å"Rosalind has not an ounce of sentimentality. Her passionate love for Orlando does not turn her into a mooning, swooning recluse. It activates her. She takes charge of her life. She knows what she wants, and she organizes herself to seek it out. If she has to wait to pursue her marriage, then she is going actively to enjoy the interim in an improvised courtship and not wrap herself in a mantle of romantic attitudinizing. She initiates the game of courtship with Orlando and keeps it going. She has two purposes here. This gives her a chance to see and court Orlando (in her own name) and thus to celebrate her feelings of love, but it also enables her to educate Orlando out of the sentimental pose he has adopted. † (www. mala. bc. ca/~johnstoi) The presence of a wise fool among the foolish wise adds to the effect of the romance and life in As You Like It. Here we have Touchstone who proves to be a man of keen observation, and remarkable powers of repartee and witticism. Unlike the usual tradition of jesters given to punning, word-play and word-jugglery of all sorts, Touchstone hates them and considers it as mere foolishness. According to the observation of Duke Senior, he â€Å"uses his folly like a stalking horse, and under presentation of that he shoots his wit. †(V (iv) 102-5) Though Shakespeare builds a world of romance in As You Like It, he also criticizes the same. Here he takes us to the romantic Forest of Arden where the Duke Senior and his followers fleet their time carelessly. At the same time he makes Jaques ‘jeer and rail’ at it. Romantic love is very much present in the affair between Orlando and Rosalind. But its parody is well explicated in the affair between Touchstone and Audrey. Rosalind’s words are testimonial for the foolishness of madly believing in love. When Orlando says that he would love his Rosalind for ever a day, she brings him back to earth by saying: â€Å"No, no, Orlando; men are April when they woo, December when they wed; maids are May when they are maids, but the sky changes when they are wives. † (IV (i) 126-9). It is here that Edward Dowden’s words gain true recognition, â€Å"Shakespeare abounds in kindly mirth; he receives an exquisite pleasure from the alert wit and bright good sense of Rosalind; he can dandle a fool as tenderly as any nurse, qualified to take a baby from the birth can deal with her charge. † (Warner, Library of the Worlds Best Literature, Ancient and Modern, pg 4810). In the olden days, romances and pastoral comedies were branded as one and the same as the settings, themes, accidental happenings –all characterized both the genres to be one. In that respect it is worthwhile to note that â€Å" As You Like It is clearly a pastoral comedy—with a country setting, much talk of love of all sorts, a story which consists, for the most part, of a series of accidental meetings one after the other, and a resolution involving implausible transformations of character and divine intervention. Although the Forest of Arden is not a completely idealized pastoral setting, we have here all the standard ingredients of pastoral drama. † (www. mala. bc. ca/~johnstoi) â€Å"The theme of pastoral comedy is love in all its guises in a rustic setting, the genuine love embodied by Rosalind contrasted with the sentimentalized affectations of Orlando, and the improbable happenings that set the urban courtiers wandering to find exile or solace or freedom in a woodland setting are no more unrealistic than the string of chance encounters in the forest, provoking witty banter, which require no subtleties of plotting and character development. The main action of the first act is no more than a wrestling match, and the action throughout is often interrupted by a song. At the end, Hymen himself arrives to bless the wedding festivities. † (www. bookrags. com/wiki/As_You_Like_It) Judicious reflections on life go hand in hand with the romance of love and the romance of pastoralism, and save the world of comedy from being unsubstantial. Further, the escape from reality is only temporary; the characters troop back to the city to play their respective roles, and occupy their respective places. Shakespeare, in his As You Like It, has tailored the conventions of romance to suit his idea and need so that he can attract the attention of generations of readers and audiences. Bibliography Foakes, R. A. , (Ed. ) Coleridge’s Criticism of Shakespeare, Continuum International Publishing Group, 1989. Miller, Naomi J. , Reimagining Shakespeare for Children and Young Adults, Routledge, 2003, pg110 Nicoll, Allardyce, Shakespeare Survey, Vol. 8, Cambridge University Press, 2002, pg 3. Raleigh, Walter Alexander, Macmillan, 1907 Shakespeare, William, As You Like It-The New Clarendon Shakespeare, Ed. Isabel J. Bisson, 12th Impression, 1995. Quiller-Couch, A. , Shakespeare’s Workmanship, Cambridge University Press, 1947. Warner, Library of the Worlds Best Literature, Ancient and Modern, Ed. Charles Dudley, International Society, 1896, pg 4810 http://www. sheffieldtheatres. co. uk/creativedevelopmentprogramme/productions/asyoulikeit/comedy. shtml http://www. mala. bc. ca/~johnstoi/eng366/lectures/Ayl. htm http://www. bookrags. com/wiki/As_You_Like_It