Orlando And Greed

In William Shakespeare’s play As You Like It, the characters find themselves caught in between the freedom in nature and the authority gained in civilization. Shakespeare manifests these two contradictions through the court and the forest. They are not simply places, a mere setting where the story unfolds, but they possess greater and more meaningful implications. Court life is portrayed as artificial and oppressive and in the beginning of the play, the main characters are under immense amounts of social scrutiny. They are obviously out of place amidst the jealousy, manipulation, and rivalry, which surrounds them. We as readers recognize Orlando and Rosalind have the poorest situations, but are still able to remain virtuous. In As You Like …show more content…
In society, without the prospect of education or his share of his father’s inheritance, Orlando is portrayed as being depleted of purpose. These feelings of hopelessness are shown at the wrestling match in his response to Rosalind and Celia’s requests not to fight when he says, “I shall do my friends no wrong, for I have none to lament me; The world no injury, for in it I have nothing” (1.2.141-42). This demonstrates how deeply attached he is to society’s ideals. Once Orlando flees to the forest for refuge, his fixations on status and lineage are replaced with love, specifically for Rosalind. The Forest of Arden is a place that does not have a collection of arbitrary rules. In the forest he ceases to lament over being deprived of his education and the forest manifests an impression that appears to be disinterested in who Orlando is. The obstacles that consumed him in court are no longer relevant to his experiences in the forest. It is through this escape in the forest that Orlando loses some of his superficial identity and is able to be truest to who he …show more content…
Duke Senior and Jacques are an example of two people who display a responsiveness to the forest. The forest evokes an individual reaction towards life within both of them, however they are equal in their awareness of themselves and the world around them. Duke Senior praises the forest by saying, “Hath not old custom made this life more sweet/ Than that of painted pomp? Are not these woods/ More free from peril than the envious court?” (2.1.2-4) Duke Senior feels that he can truly appreciate the peacefulness of nature, having experienced the affliction humanity is capable of. It is evident that he has more confidence and belief in an organic environment as he proclaims, “And this our life, exempt from public haunt,/ Finds tongues in trees, books in the running brooks,/ Sermons in stones, and good in everything” (2.1.15-17). Duke Senior appears to abandon credibility normally found in human knowledge and almost seeks divinity or existence within the elements of nature. In his mind, books, speeches, and basically words are replaced with the holiness of the earth. The intellect of man is seen as irrelevant while in the forest. Jacques is also a character who has immense amount of reverence for nature. When the first lord is describing Jacque’s manner while sitting next to the dying deer, he quotes him by paraphrasing, “Yea, and of this