Essay about Relationships in Shakespeare's As You Like It

To understand the value of relationships in Shakespeare’s works, it is imperative to first understand the dynamic of male-to-male friendships and their influence on martial ties. During the Elizabethan era, male-to-male relations were far different than they are in our current day and time. During that period, relationships were centered heavily on the societal place an individual held. This ensured that one could only be a legitimate friend with someone if they were of the same sex and the same social class. Thus, guaranteeing equality of the relationship. Furthermore, some authors of the Elizabethan era held more qualifiers for such bonds. For example, Elyot adds the qualifier that males cannot establish their relationships on profit or pleasure if the bond is to be of value and legitimacy (344). When viewed through this strict lens, there exists a narrow division to who can be friends, especially when it comes to those of higher social and monetary standing. Due to these qualifiers and dynamics, husband and wife could not exist as friends because they were not equals due to their position in the household and their opposite genders. In the analogy of the sun and the moon, the wife must serve as the moon and reflect her spouse’s light: submissive to his needs and obedient to his authority. If a husband and wife did procure a friendship, it would be unnatural according to Montaigne. He inflexibly believed women to possess too unpredictable and fiery of a demeanor for a

wonder if he is really interested in her or just this idea he has of

Incest-- sexual relations between people who are too closely related to marry each other. Incestuous marriage became a debatable topic in the 1600’s, and is an evident part of Shakespeare’s playwrights. Many of his characters were involved in incest throughout the plots. William Shakespeare alludes to his disagreement with incest in many of his playwrights. Over half of Shakespeare’s playwrights involve an incestuous relationship that leads to death, betrayal, or torturing of the mind.

In the play, As You Like It written by William Shakespeare, as well as the short story “Let Me Promise You” by Morley Callaghan, both playwright, and author are trying to convey the idea of a strong emotional bond between certain characters. In Shakespeare’s play, we see how Celia and Rosalind, two cousins, have been inseparable ever since a young age and will do anything for one another. In Callaghan’s short story, Alice has strong feelings towards George, waits restlessly by the window, and despite their differences, she still tries to please him. The theme that these two works show is unconditional love. The playwright and author are trying to illustrate what one will do for another even though the situation and conditions might be though.

Inherent within humanity is the need to belong, in which an individual must accept one another in order to achieve a greater sense of connectedness and identity. This is firstly evident in Shakespeare's As You Like It whereby the ideas of love are used to reveal how relationships are fundamental to one's sense of belonging. Act 1 Scene 3 explores belonging and not belonging through love and nature as it establishes the plot at the mark of separation from court and country by Rosalind and Celia breaking the sense of belonging to place. Celia and Rosalind convey a strong bond evident in Celia’s plea to her father, Duke Frederick, to keep Rosalind at court rather than banishing her to the Forest of Arden. Conventions of love are evident

William Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet Romeo and Juliet loved each other, but they knew that it wouldn't be possible to have a relationship because of their feuding families. Their deaths were tragic, as it was mainly the people around them that made them so unhappy. They were so in love with each other that they took risks to be together, which lead to their unfortunate deaths. Romeo is a Montague. He falls in love with Juliet the moment he sees her at a Capulet ball.

“As You Like It” also deals with belonging to relationships. This can be seen between Orlando and Rosalind. After first meeting Rosalind, Orlando instantly falls in love. This is shown in the line “What passion hangs these weights upon my tongue?.” This rhetorical questions is a metaphor to show to us that Orlando becomes somewhat speechless or nervousness in Rosalind’s presence as to not do anything to ruin the image she has of him and he is not quite sure what to say because he has not felt this passionate ever before. This shows he has found a sense of

Reading about the endless death that characterized the lives of women during this period, dread of their own death, anguish at the deaths of their children, was particularly hard to deal with, but it is necessary. It paints a powerful and intense picture of the experiences of the time, and the distance between that time period and our own. I believe the book is also useful and important for the theory and thesis it propounds, that women are placed within a system of power which they did not create and which does not always value them. The women of the Renaissance endured lives of pain and repression, any other forms of existence were deviations from the norms imposed upon them. This does not make the book easy to read, but it does make it important, perhaps even

Throughout the entirety of Romeo & Juliet, Shakespeare is hinting at the “star crossed” deadly fate of the lovers spoken of by the chorus in the prologue. Romeo and Juliet are also constantly mentioning their uneasy feelings and how they can sense that something bad will happen, which confirm the aforementioned conclusion. This foreshadowing not only tells us this tragedy planned, but there must be pawns of fate that have to drive Romeo and Juliet together, while at the same time leading them to their death. In Romeo and Juliet, their deadly destiny was written by the universe and characters along the way, such as Capulet, Montague, Nurse, Friar Lawrence, Friar John, and Mercutio.

rather do I not in painest truth tell you I do not, nor I cannot love

In the epilogue, the audience is reminded that the character Rosalind is played by a boy actor when she says the lines; “If I were a woman, I would kiss as many of you as had beards that pleased me, complexions that liked me, and breaths that I defied not” (Epi. 17-20). Based on the gender norms during this era, this line would cause discomfort among the audience because the boy actor is saying that he would kiss the men in the audience if he was truly a woman. During Shakespeare’s time it was okay for a man to have feelings for another man for a short period of time as long as he never acted on it because this shows that the man has not yet matured. He will only truly mature into an adult when he has taken a wife for himself and forget about

Paris. A letter is sent to Romeo, but is unable to reach him in time.

William Shakespeare was a very talented man known for his various works of literature. His works include poems, plays, and sonnets. His works are then broken down into tragedies, comedies, and histories. Shakespeare left this world centuries ago, but his writings continue to live throughout the world today. He has greatly impacted the world of literature and his existence will forever be remembered.

The movie that is being compared to a story here is one of the all-time best. The main theme portrayed in "Shakespeare in Love" is a love that is never meant to be. "Shakespeare in Love" parallels the play Shakespeare is currently working on, Romeo and Juliet, in which love is not meant to be due to the many obstacles in the way. Shakespeare's life in the film is very comparable to Romeo's life in Romeo and Juliet. William Shakespeare's life in the film and the play he is writing has several similarities and differences. In my opinion, this is one of the best movies and books to compare.

“O, what a deal of scorn looks beautiful in the contempt and anger of his lip! A murd’rous guilt shows not itself more soon than love that would seem hid: love’s night is noon. – Cesario, by the roses of the spring, by maidhood, honor, truth, and every thing, I love thee so, that maugre all thy pride, nor wit nor reason can my passion hide. Do not extort thy reasons from this clause, for that I woo, thou therefore hast no cause; but rather reason thus with reason fetter: love sought is good, but given unsought is better.” (Shakespeare. Twelfth Night. 3.2.144-156).