Gender and Politics in As You Like It
William Shakespeare and the new millennium seem to be diametrically opposed, yet his works are having a renaissance of their own after 400 years in the public domain. Why have some major film producers revisited his works when their language and staging would seem to be hopelessly outdated in our society?Perhaps because unlike modern writers, who struggle with political correctness, Shakespeare speaks his mind with an uncompromising directness that has kept its relevance in this otherwise jaded world.
Gender issues and social commentary are especially relevant in published criticism of Shakespeare's As You Like It since the beginning of the 1990's, as evidenced by the number of articles published in scholarly journals during the past twelve years. Janet Gupton's review in Theatre Journal, published in 2001as well as Louise Schleiner's article in the Shakespeare Quarterly in the fall of 1999, both deal with the treatment of gender-subjectivity.
While most scholars deal with the confused sexuality of Rosalind living in the forest, they do not discuss the possibility that if Shakespeare himself was bisexual he would naturally be more conscious of the conflicted feelings of his own psyche, and want to explore the taboos of gender issues on the stage.
Celia and Rosalind are portrayed as having an unusually close relationship in Act 1 Scene 1 of As You Like It.Even before they make an appearance, Oliver and Charles are discussing whether Rosalind has been banished like her father, in terms that indicate a strange relationship.
Oh, no; for the Duke's daughter her cousin so loves her, being
ever from their cradles bred together...and no less ...
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...e 4, 2001.
Leach, Robert.As You Like It-A "Robin Hood" Play.English Studies: A Journal of English Language and Literature 82, no. 5 Oct. 2001. p 393-400.
Marshall, Cynthia. The Doubled Jacques and Constructions of Negation in As You Like It.Shakespeare Quarterly 49, no. 4 (1998 Winter): p 375-92.
Ronk, Martha Clare, Locating the Visual in As You Like It.Shakespeare Quarterly 52, Issue 2, 2001.
Schleiner, Louise.Voice, Ideology, and Gendered Subjects: The Case of As You Like It and Two Gentlemen.Shakespeare Quarterly 50, no.3 (1999 Fall) p. 285-309.
Stirm, Jan.For Solace a Twinne-Like Sister: Teaching Themes of Sisterhood in As You Like It and Beyond.Shakespeare Quarterly 47, no. 4 (1996 Winter) p. 374-86.
Wilson, Richard.Like the Old Robin Hood: As You Like It and the Enclosure Riots.Shakespeare Quarterly 43, no. 1 (1992 Spring): p. 1-19.
Neely, Carol Thomas. “Shakespeare’s Women: Historical Facts and Dramatic Representations.” Shakespeare’s Personality. Ed. Norman N. Holland, Sidney Homan, and Bernard J. Paris. Berkeley: University of California Press, 1989. 116-134.
Clark, W.G., and W. Aldis Wirhgt, eds. The Complete Works of William Shakespeare. Vol 2. USA: Nd. 2 vols.
Shakespeare's Use of Violence and Conflict in Romeo and Juliet in Act 3 Scene 1
Vickers, Brian. 1993. Appropriating Shakespeare: Contemporary Critical Quarrels. New Haven and London: Yale University Press.
Macbeth's tragic downfall into insanity could be diagnosed as the mental disorder schizophrenia. Many of Macbeth’s actions during the play can make the reader to believe that Macbeth is crazy. However, by today's medical standards, Macbeth falls into several of the categories under the diagnosis of schizophrenia.This is a severe brain disorder in which people interpret reality abnormally. Schizophrenia may result in some combination of hallucinations, delusions, and extremely disordered thinking and behavior. Even though Macbeth shows various characteristics of other mental disorders, the symptoms he presents of schizophrenia are dominant in comparison.
... About You_.” Shakespeare Bulletin: A Journal of Performance Criticism and Scholarship 22.2 (2004): 45-66. Expanded Academic ASAP. Westfield State College Library, MA. 15 April 2005. 15 April 2005.
Shakespeare, W. (1998). As You Like It. (c. 1600) A. Brissenden (Ed.) Oxford: Oxford University Press
With the depression stage lady Macbeth went through that stage of bipolar really hit her hard. She was so down (from the movie lady Macbeth look very tired.) Lady Macbeth starts noticing all the wrong her and Macbeth was doing. So she stressed so much she slept walk, which brings on insomnia.
Kemp, Theresa D. Women in the Age of Shakespeare. Santa Barbara, CA: Greenwood, 2009. Print.
Vickers, Brian. 1993. Appropriating Shakespeare: Contemporary Critical Quarrels. New Haven and London: Yale University Press.
This paper will look at the different conceptions highlighted by Bulman in his article through the use of different methods used by the actors in the play. Twelfth Night, by William Shakespeare captures the different conceptions of gender identity and different sexualities within the Elizabethan period.
Cohen, Walter, J.E. Howard, K. Eisaman Maus. The Norton Shakespeare. Vol. 2 Stephen Greenblatt, General Editor. New York, London. 2008. ISBN 978-0-393-92991-1
Vickers, Brian. Appropriating Shakespeare: Contemporary Critical Quarrels. New Haven and London: Yale University Press. 1993.
Many characters undergo a change in William Shakespeare’s play, “As You Like It”. Duke Senior goes from being a member of a court to being a member of a forest and Orlando changes from a bitter, younger brother, to a love-struck young man. The most obvious transformation undergone, is undoubtedly that of Rosalind. Her change from a woman to a man, not only alters her mood, candor, and gender, but also allows her to be the master of ceremonies.
Shakespeare, William. As You Like It. Comp. Folger Shakespeare Library. New York, NY: Simon & Schuster Paperbacks, 2009. Print.