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   linda-allen Teacher
   High School - 10th Grade

   eNotes Editor

   The only significance to the Forest of Arden is that it is the setting for the play. Shakespeare based this play on the novel Rosalynde by Thomas Lodge, and Arden is the setting of the novel as well. According to the eNotes study guide, the Ardennes, in France, would be the present-day location. Don't confuse it with the Arden Forest in England.

   Lodge's novel is an example of pastoral fiction. That is, it has a rural setting and deals with romance. In keeping with the character of the novel, Shakespeare had to have the same type of setting; he couldn't place it in a city.

   Visit the links below for more information.

   Sources:

   http://www.enotes.com/ayli/pastoral-conventions

   http://www.enotes.com/shakespeare-atoz/pastoralism

   http://www.enotes.com/shakespearean-criticism/pastoral-sh...

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   Posted by linda-allen on Thursday March 20, 2008 at 8:11 AM