As You Like It | Pastoral Conventions
In the first excerpt, Brigid Brophy surveys the elements of pastoralism in As You Like It and discusses the comedy in relation to its source, Thomas Lodge's novel Rosalynde. In the second excerpt, Kenneth Muir contends that Shakespeare did not intend As You Like It to be a traditional pastoral but a work suited to his own dramatic purposes. Muir also emphasizes the irony throughout the play.
Brigid Brophy
[Brophy surveys the elements of pastoralism in As You Like It (pastoralism is a literary form that presents an ideal and virtuous vision of rustic life). In addition, the critic discusses the comedy in relation to its source, Thomas Lodge's novel Rosalynde. Brophy asserts that among the play's most moving aspects are Shakespeare's brilliant dramatization of the romantic love affair between Orlando and Rosalind and the bond of friendly love exhibited by Rosalind and Cetia.]
As You Like It is a play I have loved virtually all my...
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