Pastoral in as You Like It by William Shakespeare

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NAME: Sanvari CLASS: B.A. (Hons.) English – Section A ROLL No.: 048 TITLE/QUESTION OF ASSIGNMENT: Shakespeare’s As You Like It offers both an affirmation and a critique of the pastoral convention. Discuss. _____________________________________________________________________ The lives of the characters of the play are tangled and sewn around materialistic desires of city life, until the interaction of the characters with the pastoral gradually untangles the complicacy of their lives with each one of them returning happy and content back to the city life. The moment the characters enter the Forest of Arden, their conscience is lit up and everything falls into place for them. And as the play ends, the characters are happy to return to their city life. All of the characters of the play were struggling to find a place in the social space and were in pursuit of the material things city life offered. In the beginning, Rosalind was not happy with her life as her father was usurped by her uncle, Duke Frederick. She fell in love with Orlando during the wrestling match and she was curious to discover her love for him. But, her uncle suddenly asked her to leave the court too, which meant she had to leave her cousin, Celia, and Orlando too. Therefore, Rosalind entered the Forest of Arden with an unattended love and a messy life with no place to call home. But, as soon as Rosalind disguises herself as Ganymede, a boy, her latent potential and courage comes out. Once she is out from the court restrictions, she goes by her emotions and her will and influences almost all of the lives of the characters in the play. Orlando had a strained relationship with his brother, who inherited all the wealth of his father after his demise, as per the law of that time period. He was economically weak for he was not well educated (His brother is to be blamed for it as their father
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