How does Shakespeare use or abuse the conventions of romance in as you like it?

Type :

Presentation

Pages :

4 pages

Format :

.doc

Published date :

06/15/2008

Category :

Philosophy & literature

Sub category :

Literature

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Summary :

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.
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.
The Forest of Arden is never shown forth as a conventional pastoral Arcadia.
As You Like It burlesques most of the set norms of love usually dealt with in poetry and literature.
As music speaks direct to human souls and influences and enriches it, songs and dances are scattered throughout the play.
Though Shakespeare builds a world of romance in As You Like It, he also criticizes the same.
In the olden days, romances and pastoral comedies were branded as one and the same as the settings, themes, accidental happenings

Abstract

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, "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, "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 itshakespeare 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.