Phoebe- a Shepherdess to Love or to Hate?
In the play As You Like It by William Shakespeare, the character Phoebe is misunderstood and thought of as being a ‘mean girl’ who is only present for comedic purposes. However, there is more to Phoebe than people might see at first. By analysing her dialogue and her level of speech, the reader may establish that she is not a mean character. In addition, Phoebe also plays an essential role in terms of theme in this play.
The first time the reader meets Phoebe in the play, she is pursued by Silvius, a fellow shepherd. Silvius follows her around and professes his love to her. However, as soon as Phoebe rejects him, Silvius accuses her of being cruel, to which the shepherdess replies: “I fly thee, for …show more content…
Phoebe’s behavior and personality drastically changes as soon as she lays eyes on Rosalind as Ganymede. The shepherdess decides to use Silvius’ love to her advantage when she pronounces to Silvius: the “company, which erst was irksome to me, / I will endure; and I’ll employ thee too” (3.5.94-95). When Phoebe falls in love, her moral compass disappears and she begins to manipulate Silvius into doing her bidding. Shakespeare also demonstrates the negative consequences of love through a different character in the play, Touchstone. When Touchstone encounters the man who loves his wife-to-be, whilst experiencing intense jealousy, he threatens to “kill [the man] a hundred and fifty ways. Therefore, [he should] tremble and depart” (5.1.51-52). Both Phoebe and Touchstone undergo a change in their personalities. When they fall in love, their dark characteristics, such as jealousy and possessiveness, overpower any good that they have once possessed. By comparing Phoebe to another character in the play, he enforces the idea that “love is madness” (3.2.355). Even if love is a key element of a comedy (Bergbusch “Lectures”), Shakespeare puts an emphasis on the fact that there are in fact negative aspects of
In the play As You Like It by William Shakespeare, the character Phoebe is misunderstood and thought of as being a ‘mean girl’ who is only present for comedic purposes. However, there is more to Phoebe than people might see at first. By analysing her dialogue and her level of speech, the reader may establish that she is not a mean character. In addition, Phoebe also plays an essential role in terms of theme in this play.
The first time the reader meets Phoebe in the play, she is pursued by Silvius, a fellow shepherd. Silvius follows her around and professes his love to her. However, as soon as Phoebe rejects him, Silvius accuses her of being cruel, to which the shepherdess replies: “I fly thee, for …show more content…
Phoebe’s behavior and personality drastically changes as soon as she lays eyes on Rosalind as Ganymede. The shepherdess decides to use Silvius’ love to her advantage when she pronounces to Silvius: the “company, which erst was irksome to me, / I will endure; and I’ll employ thee too” (3.5.94-95). When Phoebe falls in love, her moral compass disappears and she begins to manipulate Silvius into doing her bidding. Shakespeare also demonstrates the negative consequences of love through a different character in the play, Touchstone. When Touchstone encounters the man who loves his wife-to-be, whilst experiencing intense jealousy, he threatens to “kill [the man] a hundred and fifty ways. Therefore, [he should] tremble and depart” (5.1.51-52). Both Phoebe and Touchstone undergo a change in their personalities. When they fall in love, their dark characteristics, such as jealousy and possessiveness, overpower any good that they have once possessed. By comparing Phoebe to another character in the play, he enforces the idea that “love is madness” (3.2.355). Even if love is a key element of a comedy (Bergbusch “Lectures”), Shakespeare puts an emphasis on the fact that there are in fact negative aspects of