Write an essay on court versus country in Shakespeare s As You Like It and Wyatt
Shakespeare’s ‘As You Like It’ and Wyatt’s ‘Mine Own John Poynz’ concentrate on the contrasting and opposing characteristics between court and country in the sixteenth century. ‘As You Like It’ is written in a form of a play, whereas Wyatt chooses poetry as his vehicle for expression. It seems that Shakespeare and Wyatt reflect on the pessimistic elements of the court and the positive attributes of the country. In both pieces of literature the writers criticise the many failings of court life, the duplicity ‘favel has a goodly grace’ and hypocrisy ‘where one must him incline/ Rather than be, outwardly seem’ required to succeed in such a setting. However they appear to find the country far more appealing and frequently commend the simplicity ‘fleet the time carelessly’ and honesty, unlike the falseness ‘painted pomp’ of the court. Shakespeare and Wyatt use a satirical form to address the problems they believe exist in the court. Wyatt refers to Henry VIII’s royal court in his satire, whereas Shakespeare’s play is in reference to the fictional court of Duke Frederick. Similarly, both reject the court life because of the tyranny and restrictions that are enforced on members of the court under their rulers Therefore they venture into the country ‘The cause why that homeward I me draw/ And flee the press of courts’ where a structural antithesis of the court is portrayed ‘To liberty, and not to banishment’. ‘As You Like It’ complies with pastoral literature. ... Within ‘As You Like It’ Shakespeare uses many such conventions of the pastoral. ... Many ideals are implemented into the forest’s environment to create this. The Forest of Arden is perceived as a utopian society: Le Beau encourages Orlando to leave the court and enter ‘in a better world than this’ and the Duke Senior refers to the lifestyle ‘more sweet/ Than the painted pomp’ than the court. ... The Duke is described as living ‘in the Forest of Arden, and merry men with him; and there they live like the old Robin Hood of England’. ... The court is recognised as a dangerous, corrupt and tyrannous environment. ... Adam highlights this when he states that Oliver’s court is ‘But a butchery;/ Abhor it, fear it, do not enter’. The country is an antithesis of this; Celia proclaims ‘Now go in we content/ To liberty, and not to banishment’. Pastoral literature thrives on the contrast between life in the city and life in the country. It is often suggested that the oppression in the city can be remedied by a trip into the country’s therapeutic woods and fields. A person’s sense of balance and rightness can be restored by conversations with the uncorrupted shepherds and shepherdesses (Williams, 1973).