As You Like It as a Pastoral play

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As You like it as a Pastoral Play


As you Like It is a pastoral play written by William Shakespeare. It was written in the year 1599. This play is based on a work entitled Rosalinde written by Thomas Lodge. The play is a pastoral comedy. Pastoral refers to the life of the shepherds and shepherdess.

The play begins in France and later shifts  to the Forest of Arden. The setting of the Forest of Arden is entirely pastoral, a space populated by shepherds. The Forest of Arden represents the country life and an escape from corruption while the Duke's court represents corrupted city life.

Rosalind's father, Duke Senior, has been banished by his own brother, Duke Frederick. Frederick is the villain in this play. Although he banishes Rosalind's father, he allows her to stay because she is so close to Celia. However, his patience runs out, and he decides to banish Rosalind as well. 

Rosalind and her cousin Celia, daughter of Duke Frederick escape into the forest and find Orlando, Rosalind's love. Rosalind disguises as a young boy named Ganymede and Celia as Aliena. 

Forest of Arden is a place of paradise for characters like Rosalind, Celia, Duke Senior, Jaques, Touchstone and Orlando. Duke Senior claims that people can seek peace, freedom and serenity in this forest.  He praises the brooks, trees, stones, in the forest. He expresses his grief for harming animals in the forest during hunt. Jaques is sentimental and he laments at the injuries of animals. 

Rosalind and Orlando  fall in love and their love is articulated in love poetry and in carvings on trees. Rosalind and Orlando’s love story deals with happy love. Their courting period in the forest is full of wild passion and joy. 

The pastoral life depicts the world of Shepherds and in the play Corin is the name of the shepherd who lives in the forest of Arden. Shakespeare introduces Silivius, a shepherd and his love for Phebe, a shepherdess. Orlando’s brother Oliver falls in love with Celia.  The courtly fool Touchstone falls in love with shepherdess Audrey. 

The play ends in marriage. Hymen is the God of Marriage. He appears to link the four couples at the end of the play, restoring Rosalind to her father so that he may give her to Orlando.

As You Like It is a pastoral play, and like other pastoral literature, the forest is portrayed as a peaceful and even healing place. The creation of the forest of Arden proves the most significant part of the play, for which the comedy As You Like It can be called one of the most successful Pastoral comedy, ever produced in the British theatre.



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