Society Is Corrupt And Wisdom And Goodness Are To Be Found In Nature
Comedic convention suggests that “Society is corrupt and wisdom and goodness are to be found in nature” to what extent do the first two acts of ‘As You Like It’ agree with this view?
In Shakespeare’s play ‘As You Like It’ it is evident that the corruption of society can be easily distinguished from the wisdom and goodness found in nature primarily through the vast contrast between urban and rural life. Immediately the audience learns that despite it being against their father’s will, and despite Orlando being deserving of it, Oliver deprives him of his right to be a gentleman “mines my gentility with my education” to the extent that even Oliver’s “horses are bred better”. This comparison reveals the brutality of his brother, who lives in an urban-town setting, thus highlighting his greed for power along with the depth of the anger and envy he feels towards Orlando. Shakespeare has entwined three of the deadly sins: greed, anger and envy in his play, primarily in the first act, not only because the deadly sins are conventionally used in dramatic comedy but also because they widely reflect the corruption of society. In comedy we often see society’s customs exposed as foolish, and thus corrupt. An example of this is the idea of inheritance. It is made obvious that Orlando is the more deserving brother to gain his father’s inheritance, as even Oliver admits he is “full of noble devise”. However Oliver, who unintentionally reflects himself as “an envious emulator of every man’s good parts” when attempting to describe Orlando to Charles, has dangerously inherited power despite this. Society’s customs effect everybody. This is not problematic if the outcome is beneficial, however if the custom is negative an individual alone is not affected but a society as a whole. When the sibling rivalry between the Dukes lead to the banishment of Duke Senior and the new ruling of Duke Frederick, everyone he now rules over in court suffers from his moody and suspicious
In Shakespeare’s play ‘As You Like It’ it is evident that the corruption of society can be easily distinguished from the wisdom and goodness found in nature primarily through the vast contrast between urban and rural life. Immediately the audience learns that despite it being against their father’s will, and despite Orlando being deserving of it, Oliver deprives him of his right to be a gentleman “mines my gentility with my education” to the extent that even Oliver’s “horses are bred better”. This comparison reveals the brutality of his brother, who lives in an urban-town setting, thus highlighting his greed for power along with the depth of the anger and envy he feels towards Orlando. Shakespeare has entwined three of the deadly sins: greed, anger and envy in his play, primarily in the first act, not only because the deadly sins are conventionally used in dramatic comedy but also because they widely reflect the corruption of society. In comedy we often see society’s customs exposed as foolish, and thus corrupt. An example of this is the idea of inheritance. It is made obvious that Orlando is the more deserving brother to gain his father’s inheritance, as even Oliver admits he is “full of noble devise”. However Oliver, who unintentionally reflects himself as “an envious emulator of every man’s good parts” when attempting to describe Orlando to Charles, has dangerously inherited power despite this. Society’s customs effect everybody. This is not problematic if the outcome is beneficial, however if the custom is negative an individual alone is not affected but a society as a whole. When the sibling rivalry between the Dukes lead to the banishment of Duke Senior and the new ruling of Duke Frederick, everyone he now rules over in court suffers from his moody and suspicious