Corruption In The Forest In Shakespeare's As You Like It

Shakespeare’s comedy As You Like It follows members of an exiled court as they flee to safety in the Forest of Arden. The characters experience an open and free space, very unlike the confines and corruption that accompanies court life. Jean E. Howard describes the importance of their refuge in the forest in “As You Like It”: “The play thus participates in the rich tradition of Renaissance pastoral literature in which the rustic world of forest and field offer an alternative to and a sanctuary from the urban or courtly milieu to which it is contrasted” (377). Many use this new found freedom as an opportunity to explore and discover themselves in ways they were previously unable. Characters take on different identities, genders, and erotic possibilities. The forest has great significance in the play as it allows characters of all class ranks to intermingle, enabling the plot and characters to grow. All the characters who sought shelter in the forest eventually return back to court life at the end of the play, but they have transformed and changed from who they initially were. The first character to take shelter in the Forest of Arden is …show more content…
Ferdinand, the prince of Naples, is separated from the rest of his group on the island after the shipwreck. There is love at first sight when Ferdinand and Miranda come across each other. The intensity of their love is exhibited while Ferdinand works. Ferdinand does not mind the struggle of carrying logs for Prospero because of his love for Miranda. In act 3 scene 1 Ferdinand says: “The mistress which I serve quickens what’s dead, / And makes my labours pleasures” (3.1.6-7). Miranda even offers to help Ferdinand by carrying logs while he rests. The heroic couple must overcome Prospero’s initial aggression to Miranda’s love, which only strengthens their bond. Their marriage ends the play and enables reconciliation between Alonso and