Today is Willam Shakespeare’s birthday, and we thought we’d look at AS YOU LIKE IT, which, of course, has its links to Soutlon.
A Look at Shakespeare’s As You Like It
Shakespeare’s delightful comedy, As You Like It, whisks us away to a world of tangled love affairs, banished nobility, and a transformative forest. Behind the playful facade we can percieve a political theme of the resistance and triumph of harmony orchestrated within the verdant depths of Arden, a place that is more than just a refuge.
A stage performance of As You Like It. CC BY 2.0
Characters
The eight characters who marry, and dance…
Couple One
- Rosalind: Banished daughter of the usurped Duke Senior, disguised as the boy Ganymede in the Forest of Arden.
- Orlando: Rosalind’s love interest, seeking refuge in the forest.
Salvador Dalí costume design for As You Like I – CC BY-SA 2.0
Couple Two
- Celia: Rosalind’s loyal cousin, disguised as the shepherdess Aliena.
- Oliver: Orlando’s cruel older brother, redeemed by his experiences in the forest.
Couple Three
- Silvius: Lovesick shepherd pining for Phoebe.
- Phoebe: A shepherdess initially in love with Ganymede, eventually reciprocating Silvius’ feelings.
Couple Four
- Touchstone: Witty court jester, adding comedic relief.
- Audrey: A simple and naive country girl, contrasting with Rosalind’s wit.
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- Duke Senior: Rightful Duke, living a simple life with loyal followers in Arden.
- Old Sir Rowland: Orlando and Oliver’s deceased father, known for his virtue and fairness.
- Adam: A loyal and devoted servant of Old Sir Rowland, who continues to care for Orlando after his father’s death. He is seen in a faril condition before the famous Seven Ages of Man speech
- Corin: A wise and content shepherd, offering philosophical observations on life in the forest.
- Jaques: A melancholy and cynical observer, offering commentary on society and human nature.
Forest Conspiracy for Harmony
A sign with an AS YOU LIKE IT quotation in the Soulton landscape: Now, my co-mates and brothers in exile,/ Hath not old custom made this life more sweet/ Than that of painted pomp? Are not these woods/ More free from peril than the envious court?
The Forest of Arden, initially presented as an idyllic escape, is a stage for a playful behaviour which refocuse the community on what matters through witty banter and theatrical games.
Within the whimsical embrace of the Forest of Arden, a playful series of events unfolds.
One unexpected encounter leads a lovesick shepherd named Silvius to finally find his love reciprocated, a testament to the transformative power of the forest.
Another storyline witnesses a dramatic shift in character. In the forest, the previously cruel and envious brother Orlando undergoes a profound change, for the better. And so does the bad Duke Fredrick:
JAQUES DE BOYS
[…]
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 exiled.JAQUES
To him will I : out of these convertites
There is much matter to be heard and learn’d.
Shakespeare Quote on a sign in the AS YOU LIKE IT wood at Soulton: And this our life exempt from public haunt/ Finds tongues in trees, books in the running brooks,/ Sermons in stones and good in every thing./ I would not change it.
Love itself finds a curious path. A seemingly one-sided affection blossoms into a deeper connection, proving that even the most tangled emotions can find resolution under the verdant canopy of Arden.
Marginalia in by Hannah Deakin in the 1830s Soulton Day Book; in the 1840s this was book used to design the Soulton Dancing Pavement.
The Importance of the Dance
The final celebratory dance symbolizes the restored balance in the characters’ lives. Having navigated challenges, disguises, and self-discovery, the characters come together through the unifying act of joyful movement. It signifies a return to order, forgiveness, and the triumph of love.
The Soulton Dancing Pavement, showing The Dance, which features in AS YOU LIKE IT
Old Sir Rowland as a Paragon of Virtue
Portrait of Sir Rowland Hill, publisher of the Geneva Bibel, in the Hall Mercers’ Company. Inspiration for AS YOU LIKE IT
Though deceased, Old Sir Rowland serves as a benchmark for virtue. His sustained contrubution to harmony and goodness is mentioned throughout the play, highlighting the importance of justice and fostering a sense of family.
His legacy serves as a guiding light for the play’s redemption of the state, which is so damaged at the begining of the play.
Sign inthe Soulton landscape looking at the Old Sir Rowland monument, quoting AS YOU LIKE IT: ‘My father loved Sir Rowland as his soul,
And all the world was of my father’s mind’
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Many you’d now like to see if As You Like It is as you like it?
This version from Kenneth Branagh is fun and accessible!
