“As You Like it presents an image of human life, not as an arena for heroic endeavour, but as a place of encounters.” Consider some of the encounters presented in the play, and their significance to its insight into human life.
“Man in his Time plays many parts , his Acts being seven ages.” Here we are given two different worlds, with colourful characters ranging from “the Lover sighing like Furnace with a woeful Ballad” to the “Last scene of all” when Man revert to their “second Childishness and mere oblivion, sans teeth, sans Eyes, sans Taste, sans everything.”
The stage in the Courts and Forest of Arden served not to dish out mere swashbuckling heroes or heroines . In fact, we are presented with the likes of romantic lovers like Orlando and Rosalind. The emphasis on heroism and bravery is left to its minimum and usually these deeds are plot-movers, used to further the play. Amor Vincit Omnia is never more approriate to describe this play .Love is one of the basis of human life and it is usually through love and love-lost that one can gain an insight into the various characteristics of life. “There is sure another Flood toward, and these couples are coming to the Ark” , abundant love is illustrated by the numerous lovers in the play. Yet love is not merely romantic love, it also encompasses “sisterly love” , brothery love, love between companions and even love in the form of loyalty between the master and his servant. The play is opened with a scene depicting love-lost.Brotherly love ceased to exist and in the case of the brothers, Orlando and Oliver ,it breds evil. Oliver felt that he is “altogther misprized” by his “gentle never school’d and yet learned full of noble devices” brother, Orlando .In Oliver’s jealousy fit, he first tried to kill Orlando through manipulating Charles the wrestler and later, attempted to set fire to Orlando’s lodgings.
This encounter parallels an incident when Duke Frederick chids Celia ,“ she robs thee of thy name.” Jealousy is undeniably a character flaw in human beings and by setting it on stage for the audience to watch, a form of subtle moralization.
Nature and Fortune govern the lives of many and we see these two factors being discussed by the pair of Juno swans, Rosalind and Celia. “Nature hath made a fair creature may she not b...
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... the hero but a lover who hangs his verses in trees, character his thoughts in tree barks as witnesses to his love.
Orlando’s encounter with Ganimed further undermines his role as the warrior-hero. He laid himself open to the love games of Rosalind and swore that he was “that unfortunate he” who had been wounded by “love’s invisible arrows”. In fact, in the golden world of Arden, Orlando mellowed down .There was only a small incident which was not fully illustrated by Shakespeare, which is the encounter with the lioness and Orlando’s bravery for saving his brother.It was only by word of mouth , by Oliver that the audience came to know of Orlando’s heroic endeavour.
As the play draws to a close after the staging of hymen and the unions of the various couples, it is not difficult to see that Love is the reigning theme in the play. Along with Love, other human conditions are being discussed. “Breaking of ribs” was not meant for ladies and it is being tossed aside along with all the ‘baddies’ in humanity. The play is not an areana for heroic endeavours instead it dishes moral lessons as well as a introspection of human life.
There are many forces in the tragic play of Romeo and Juliet that are keeping the two young, passionate lovers apart, all emanating from one main reason. In this essay I will discuss these as well as how love, in the end, may have been the cause that led to the tragic deaths of Romeo and Juliet. Their strong attraction to each other, which some call fate, determines where their forbidden love will take them.
In conclusion, Hamlet is undeniably the crown of indulgence into contemporary behaviors and insight into human complexities. Shakespeare’s exquisite use of theme, entertainment and characterization not only develops the intricate plot and body of the play, but also invites the audience into a realm of knowledge and understanding. Ultimately, the pursuit of knowledge is the greatest asset known to humankind. Its infinite possibilities excite the imagination and for that reason, one should value contemporary literary works. But it is important to respect and study the foundation of these pieces, for they base their content off of the classics.
In one of William Shakespeare’s most renowned and celebrated plays, the story of a General named Othello unravels in tragic form as he falls victim to the lies created by Iago. Once revered as a war hero and wed to the beautiful Desdemona, Othello’s life spirals downward with the untimely death of his beloved in his own hands, ultimately ending with his own demise. Love is the force behind this tragedy. Tragedy is the main driving force that brings happiness and tragedy to the characters within the play. But even as such a prominent force, it lacks clear definition. Love has a different meaning to the characters in the play. Characters like Othello, Desdemona, and Iago all have different perspectives on love, which informs their behavior in different ways.
In the time of William Shakespeare where courtship and romance were often overshadowed by the need to marry for social betterment and to ensure inheritance, emerges a couple from Much Ado About Nothing, Hero and Claudio, who must not only grow as a couple, who faces deception and slander, but as individuals. Out of the couple, Claudio, a brave soldier respected by some of the highest ranked men during his time, Prince Don Pedro and the Governor of Messina, Leonato, has the most growing to do. Throughout the play, Claudio’s transformation from an immature, love-struck boy who believes gossip and allows himself to easily be manipulated is seen when he blossoms into a mature young man who admits to his mistakes and actually has the capacity to love the girl he has longed for.
Shakespeare cuts to the chase, eliminating much of the prologue to Rosalynde. We hear of old Sir Roland de Boys (Lodge's John of Bordeaux) only through Orlando's opening speech, not the extended deathbed collection of aphorisms Lodge provides (though this shade of Polonius perhaps influences old Adam's long-winded style). Likewise, the extended ruminations are cut entirely or, for the forest scenes, condensed into tighter dialogue. Lodge's grand tournament, with the jousting prowess of the anonymous Norman (proto-Charles) happens offstage, and we see only a wrestling match. Lodge's usurper favors Rosader after the tournament, but Shakespeare's Frederick spurns Orlando for his parentage and Oliver plots more quickly against his brother, further excising the plot-perambulations of the source and removing the months of tension and reconciliation that plague Saladin and Rosader.
middle of paper ... ..., suggests that Shakespeare’s exploration of the theme of love is to bring us closer to the nature of the reconciliation harmony which it embodies. This is because everyone is peacefully engaging with each other and enjoying the play, since the conflict has been resolved. Not only this, but different social classes emerge together. This is paralleled with, the relationship between Titaina and Oberon. Shakespeare explores the theme of love by the tensions built up to create comic resolutions, therefore helping to diffuse possibly unpleasant impact of themes.
Schoenbaum, S. As You Like It--An Outline-Guide to the Play. New York: Barnes and Noble, Inc., 1965.
The Classical Era lasted from approximately 1775-1825, which is when Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart became famous. The classical era was also known as the Age of Enlightenment. Rousseau, Voltaire, and Montesquieu wrote the value of the common person and the power of human reasoning in overcoming problems. The music of the Classical Era reflects the principles of clarity, proportion, and what critics of the day called “naturalness.” During the Classical Era, performing publically was the new view in the way music should be written for the common person. Church music tended to be more conservative than secular compositions. Three composers kind of dominated the Classical Era which are Franz Joseph Haydn, Ludwig van Beethoven, and Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart.
Shakespeare’s Hamlet is arguably one of the best plays known to English literature. It presents the protagonist, Hamlet, and his increasingly complex path through self discovery. His character is of an abnormally complex nature, the likes of which not often found in plays, and many different theses have been put forward about Hamlet's dynamic disposition. One such thesis is that Hamlet is a young man with an identity crisis living in a world of conflicting values.
Christianity and Islam continue to be the two fastest growing religions in the world. Men and women, both Christian and Muslim, are now asking the question, must these two religions collide? Is there no common ground between them? Many Muslims are taught that Christianity seeks to eliminate Islam; that Christians have no knowledge or understanding of their faith; that Christians condemn Islam, and hold the teachings of Islamic Fundamentalism responsible for many if not all the terrorist activities throughout the world.
The modern concept of love owes a great deal to the Humanist tradition of the Renaissance. The humanists focused on perfection and exaltation of this life as opposed to the afterlife. In Tristan and Iseult the seeds of Renaissance love are present in the Middle Ages. To the modern eye, it is a mystery how the period of the Middle Ages produced the seeds of the diametrically opposite Renaissance. Yet it is necessary to understand this transformation if one is to fully comprehend the forces that helped produce the modern consciousness. Courtly Love is a transitional concept that emerged in the Middle Ages. It is transitional because it emerged early and acknowledges God as the creator of love, yet it concentrates on the lovers themselves. The tale of Tristan and Iseult is one of the oldest tales that exhibits courtly love. The Love of Tristan and Iseult, as a metaphor for courtly love, is pivotal to the transition from the Middle Ages' focus on community and afterlife to the Renaissance focus on the individual and earthly happiness.
The Viennese School is the reason for some of today's most popular classical music. This school of composers started during the Classical Period, 1740-1825.
Over the last few years, there has been a lot of discussion and debate over the topic of sexting. It has become a widespread phenomenon, the number of teenage girls and boys, men and women who participate are rapidly increasing, and with this too comes the rise of moral panic within societies. Individuals within the communities are becoming more and more fearful, afraid and shocked at this new form of youth culture hysteria. Although young people ‘expressing’ their sexuality has become much more open and free as of the last decade or so, the real uproar of panic is due to the risks they involving themselves in as well as the damage and harm they are inflicting on themselves, whether they know it or not.
Shakespeare, William. As You Like It. Comp. Folger Shakespeare Library. New York, NY: Simon & Schuster Paperbacks, 2009. Print.
Many want to believe that it is possible to stereotype which teens will partake in these activities and which will not but it is not possible. It has been recognized that many surveys used to determine where the pressure to sext comes from and how many teens are doing it does not inquire about why (Lee, 2015, p. 459). Without understanding why teens desire to participate or allow themselves to be coerced into participating in sexting there is no way to stereotype the teens that are at risk for this inappropriate behavior. Most people believe that the troubled, rebellious teens are the only ones that would sext, however that is very much false. Any teenager with a smartphone, social media account, or access to the internet can be at risk for sexting and distribution of nude