Shakespeare AYLI Essay
Humanity possesses an innate desire for belonging, for its ability to reshape identities and provide individuals with a heightened sense of acceptance, security and purpose. William Shakespeare’s pastoral comedy As You Like It (c. 1599), T.S. Eliot’s The Love song of J Alfred Prufrock (1915) and John Brack’s painting Collins St, 5pm (1955) demonstrate belonging as an intrinsic and self-driven connection shaped by one’s social and cultural contexts. Through these texts, the responder more clearly understands that belonging can enhance an individual’s understanding of themselves and their world.
Shakespeare’s As You Like It reflects humanity’s instinctive desire to belong to particular places and communities as a major aspect in shaping one’s identity. The allegorical depiction of the Forest of Arden as the “golden world” contrasts with the toxicity of the court, with this duality allowing for a meaningful exploration of the impact of place on the individual. Indeed, the exiled forester Duke Senior uses figurative language to describe the “envious court” as “painted pomp”, the harsh plosives attesting to its covetous, superficial nature. Rosalind’s alliterative confession to Celia that she “shows more mirth than [she] is mistress of” underlines her adoption of a façade to mask the discontent inside the stifling atmosphere of the court, despite her affiliation with her “sweet coz”. She is unable to achieve happiness and belong within such a place and its corruption contrasts with the “Forest of Arden”, which Shakespeare uses as a Biblical allusion to the utopian Garden of Eden. As such, Duke Frederick’s entering the forest to “take his brother and put him to the sword” showcases his transformation from a cruel persona with “eyes of fury” into “an old religious man”, asserting the ability of place to alter one’s sense of belonging and character.
While humanity’s relationship with place can provide security and contentment, the persistent and unyielding pursuit of
Shakespeare’s As You Like It reflects humanity’s instinctive desire to belong to particular places and communities as a major aspect in shaping one’s identity. The allegorical depiction of the Forest of Arden as the “golden world” contrasts with the toxicity of the court, with this duality allowing for a meaningful exploration of the impact of place on the individual. Indeed, the exiled forester Duke Senior uses figurative language to describe the “envious court” as “painted pomp”, the harsh plosives attesting to its covetous, superficial nature. Rosalind’s alliterative confession to Celia that she “shows more mirth than [she] is mistress of” underlines her adoption of a façade to mask the discontent inside the stifling atmosphere of the court, despite her affiliation with her “sweet coz”. She is unable to achieve happiness and belong within such a place and its corruption contrasts with the “Forest of Arden”, which Shakespeare uses as a Biblical allusion to the utopian Garden of Eden. As such, Duke Frederick’s entering the forest to “take his brother and put him to the sword” showcases his transformation from a cruel persona with “eyes of fury” into “an old religious man”, asserting the ability of place to alter one’s sense of belonging and character.
While humanity’s relationship with place can provide security and contentment, the persistent and unyielding pursuit of