Describe Duke Senior and Duke Frederick's characters in Shakespeare's As You Like It.

One of the simplest ways to analyze these two is to compare and contrast them.  First, they are brothers and caught up in a bit of a struggle for power.  Duke Frederick is the younger, but holds the power at the opening of the play, having banished his elder brother Duke Senior.

For similarities, both are fathers:  Duke Frederick is the father of Celia and Duke Senior of Rosalind.  Both are also actually rulers of their dominions:  Duke Frederick at court and Duke Senior in the Forest of Arden.

But they are very different men.  Duke Senior is the rightful Duke, but as he has been banished by his brother, he sets up a Utopian society in the forest which he rules, sort of like Robin Hood (without the stealing).  He is good and virtuous.

Duke Frederick is sneaky, full of intrigues and a bit devoid of motivation for his actions.  He represents all the power plays and back-stabbings of a political life.  We can recognize the potential for this even in our politicians today when we observe that "power" can corrupt.

This being a Comedy in which a world turned topsy-turvey is made right at the end of the play, Duke Senior is restored to his rightful place of power.  And Duke Frederick repents and relents, restoring balance and harmony to the world of the play.

The sketch of any character's traits in any play is derived from the dialogue. Direct characterization comes from the character's lines, while indirect characterization comes from other characters' lines and reactions. Duke Senior has an interesting role because he serves as the philosophical voice that mediates different perspectives.

His first speech in Act II, scene i, orients the audience to his personality and his philosophy. He starts by praising the pastoral ideal by saying,

Hath not old custom made this life more sweet
Than that of painted pomp?

He then goes on the explain his philosophy that adversity can prove to be a crowning jewel instead of venom:

Sweet are the uses of adversity,
Which, like the toad, ugly and venomous,
Wears yet a precious jewel in his head;

In other speeches, for instance with Orlando and Jacques, he draws out then measures and evaluates the thoughts of others; and as well, he is the distributor of truth and justice.

And all the embossed sores and headed evils,
That thou with licence of free foot hast caught,
Wouldst thou disgorge into the general world.

What are Duke Frederick's characteristics in "As You Like It"?

As You Like It is a five-act pastoral comedy written by famed English playwright and poet William Shakespeare, originally published in 1623. It tells the story of Rosalind—a kind, smart, and independent young woman who gets banished from her uncle's court and flees in the Forest of Arden—where she makes new friends, finds the love of her life, and finally reunites with her father.

Duke Ferdinand is described as a greedy, cruel, and envious man obsessed with money and power. His main goal in life is to be the most feared and respected ruler. He falsely believes that his niece Rosalind is only pretending to be close to his daughter, Celia, so that she could betray him and take over the throne. Thus, he banishes her from his court, claiming that she is unworthy of being in the presence of the rest of the nobles and himself, as she is the daughter of his brother Duke Senior, whom he considers a traitor. Upon finding out that Celia left the court with Rosalind and might be with Orlando, the Duke becomes very angry and shocked and tells Oliver to find Orlando and bring him back.

Soon, more and more nobles leave the court to join Duke Senior, and Ferdinand decides to raise an army in order to find his brother and kill him. However, on the way to the forest, he meets a religious man who manages to convert him and transform him into a better person. Thus, he gives the crown back to his brother and decides to live the rest of his life as a hermit.

How do Duke Senior and Duke Frederick contribute to the meaning and dramatic effect of As You Like It?

Duke Frederick and Duke Senior embody one of two major conflicts between brothers in Shakespeare's As You Like It. The other conflict is between two younger men, Orlando and his older brother, Oliver. During the course of the play, these two conflicts intersect and provide a major impetus for much of what occurs in the play.

The dramatic importance of the conflict between Duke Frederick and Duke Senior is that it contributes directly to the major romantic plot line of the play between Duke Senior's daughter, Rosalind, and Orlando.

Before the opening of the play, Duke Frederick has deposed his older brother Duke Senior, usurped his power and his property, and banished him from his dukedom. As the play begins, Duke Senior and some of his loyal followers are living off the land in the Forest of Arden.

In the interim, Duke Frederick has become concerned about Rosalind's influence over his own daughter, Celia, and banishes Rosalind from his court.

DUKE FREDERICK: [to ROSALIND] Mistress, despatch you with your safest haste,
And get you from our court.

ROSALIND: Me, uncle?

DUKE FREDERICK. You, cousin:
Within these ten days if that thou be'st found
So near our public court as twenty miles,
Thou diest for it.

ROSALIND: I do beseech your grace,
Let me the knowledge of my fault bear with me . . .

DUKE FREDERICK: . . . Let it suffice thee that I trust thee not. (1.3)

Celia is distraught at the thought of being separated from her dearest cousin and best friend and vows to go with Rosalind.

CELIA: . . . Shall we be sund'red? shall we part, sweet girl?
No; let my father seek another heir.
Therefore devise with me how we may fly,
Whither to go, and what to bear with us:
And do not seek to take your charge upon you,
To bear your griefs yourself, and leave me out;
For, by this heaven, now at our sorrows pale,
Say what thou canst, I'll go along with thee.

ROSALIND: Why, whither shall we go?

CELIA: To seek my uncle in the Forest of Arden. (1.3)

Meanwhile, Orlando learns from an old family servant that his brother, Oliver, intends to kill him.

ORLANDO: Why, what's the matter?

ADAM: O unhappy youth,
Come not within these doors; within this roof
The enemy of all your graces lives:
Your brother . . .
Hath heard your praises; and this night he means
To burn the lodging where you use to lie,
And you within it: if he fail of that,
He will have other means to cut you off;
I overheard him and his practices.
This is no place; this house is but a butchery:
Abhor it, fear it, do not enter it.

ORLANDO: Why, whither, Adam, wouldst thou have me go?

ADAM: No matter whither, so you come not here. (2.3)

Orlando and Adam flee to the Forest of Arden, of course. In due time, Orlando meets Rosalind in the forest—who he doesn't recognize because she's disguised as a young man (but that's another story)—and the romantic plot of As You Like It takes center stage.

The conflict between Duke Frederick and Duke Senior is established at the beginning of the play. Once the conflict serves its purpose of putting into motion the romantic plot with Orlando and Rosalind, it's barely mentioned again until the end of the play, when Duke Frederick, having undergone some kind of religious conversion, restores his brother, Duke Senior to his rightful place:

JAQUES DE BOIS: . . . Duke Frederick, hearing how that every day
Men of great worth resorted to this forest,
Address'd a mighty power; which were on foot,
In his own conduct, purposely to take
His brother here, and put him to the sword:
And to the skirts of this wild wood he came;
Where, meeting with an old religious man,
After some question with him, was converted
Both from his enterprise and from the world;
His crown bequeathing to his banish'd brother,
And all their lands restored to them again
That were with him exil'd. This to be true
I do engage my life. (5.4)

Order is restored to the dukedom, and the play ends with four happy marriages, none of which would likely have happened without the conflict between Duke Frederick and Duke Senior.

What contrasts exist between Duke Senior and Duke Frederick in As You Like It?

Duke Frederick is ambitious, aggressive, despotic, materialistic, and unscrupulous. Duke Senior is virtually the opposite in character. He may have been more like Duke Frederick at one time, but his reversal of fortune and the mysteriously benign influence of the Forest of Arden have mellowed him. He has become a philosopher, not unlike the American naturalist Henry David Thoreau, author of Walden. Duke Senior has learned to value simplicity, freedom from stress, and love of nature. He expresses his values in the soliloquy which contains the famous line "Sweet are the uses of adversity." Having been usurped by his cunning and ruthless brother, Duke Senior has learned to enjoy the simple pleasures of life and to despise the false material values of the court life he has left behind him.

What is the contrast between Duke Senior and Duke Frederick in As You Like It?

The banished Duke Senior, Rosalind's father, is a philosopher, an idealist and a nature lover. His brother, father of Celia, is a realist, a materialist, a pragmatist. Duke Frederick's character probably explains why he was able to usurp the title and possessions of his older brother. It would seem that Duke Senior is a much happier man than his brother even living in the primitive conditions of the Forest of Arden. Conversely, it would seem that Duke Frederick is chronically unhappy and dissatisfied until he has a deus ex machina type of conversion towardss the end of Shakespeare's romantic comedy. Duke Frederick is a minor character in this play. He serves mainly to provide motivations to other characters, especially Rosalind, Celia, and Oliver. Duke Senior, on the other hand, is an important character as the monarch of the little kingdom in the Forest of Arden.