Allusions In Shakespeare's As You Like It

Monday, May 13, 2013

Introduction

In William Shakespeare's As You Like It, the language can be somewhat confusing. Not only has our slang and some spelling changed, but the characters often allude to myths and stories that we do not understand. The purpose of this blog is to explain how some of these allusions affect the meaning of the text and relate to the plot. Each allusion is a separate post, with the text including it and the explanation. These are the titles:

Allusion #3 - Jove in a Thatched House
Allusion #4 - Adam
Allusion #5 - Juno's Crown
Allusion #6 - Noah's Ark
Allusion #7 - Veni, Vidi, Vici (I Saw, I Came, I Overcame)
Allusion #8 - Bastard of Venus
Allusion #9 - Juno's Swans
Allusion #10 - Atalanta

Works Cited

http://www.goddess-guide.com/juno.html

http://dictionary.reference.com/

http://englishplus.com/grammar/00000117.htm

http://greekandromangods.weebly.com/

Friday, May 10, 2013

Allusion #1 - Diana's Lips

As You Like It Act 3 Scene 4

CELIA He hath bought a pair of cast lips of Diana. A nun of winter’s sisterhood kisses not more
religiously. The very ice of chastity is in them.

Celia and Rosalind are waiting for Orlando to arrive for his appointment with "Ganymede", in which "Ganymede" is supposed to help him out of love by pretending to be Rosalind.
Orlando is late for his first appointment, and while waiting Rosalind and Celia are wondering if he really does love Rosalind as he says he does. In this quote they allude to Diana, the Roman goddess of chastity, who was worshiped in the wild. She, being the virgin goddess, would not kiss for pleasure but rather because she had to. This means her kisses would be without love.
The girls are saying Orlando has Diana's lips. Diana kisses without emotion; therefore Orlando kisses without emotion, and doesn't really love Rosalind as he says so often he does.

Tuesday, May 7, 2013

Allusion #2 - Robin Hood

As You Like It Act 1 Scene 1

CHARLES They say he is already in the Forest of Arden, and a many merry men with him; and there they live like the old Robin Hood of England. They say many young gentlemen flock to him every day and fleet the time carelessly, as they did in the golden world.

Robin Hood was a robber who thieved riches from the wealthy and gave them to people in need. He lived an unrestricted life in the Sherwood Forest (which had many caves) with his merry men and Maid Marian, doing as they pleased. In the notes of the book, it also mentions that he used to be a knight until his land was taken, and that he then lived in the Sherwood Forest for a time until he finally regained his land.
In his speech Charles compared Duke Senior and his faithful followers to Robin Hood and his merry men. Duke Senior is indeed like this. As I said in the sentence before, the men who follow Duke Senior into exile are his followers, just as the merry men are Robin Hood's followers. Also, his life in the forest was free, and so in a way was Duke Senior. In As You Like It, Act 2 Scene 1, he proclaims that life in the woods is freer of danger than in court (a comparison of city and country).
I also mentioned earlier that the Sherwood Forest was full of caves. While the Forest of Arden might not be so abundant in these rocky shelters, some are mentioned. For example, Orlando leaves Adam in a cave while he goes to look for food, and after Orlando saves Oliver, Orlando is taken to Oliver's cave where his wound is discovered.
Like Robin Hood, Duke Senior also was kicked off his land, the dukedom. He also went to the forest and lived there until he got his land back (when Duke Frederick was converted).
Either Charles has got both brains and brawn when he compares these two men, or Shakespeare is just doing some foreshadowing.

Allusion #3 - Jove in a Thatched House

As You Like It Act 3 Scene 3

JAQUES O knowledge ill-inhabited, worse than Jove in a thatched house.

Jaques is watching Touchstone and Audrey talk. Touchstone is making a bunch of puns in his speech, but Audrey, being not so smart, doesn't catch them.
Jove is the Roman king of gods. When Rome conquered Greece, they admired Greece's culture and modeled their gods to fit the Greek gods. One adaptation was that the Roman gods also lived on Mount Olympus, or at least used it as a base. Each day they would come to a gate in the clouds which would be opened by four goddesses. For their meal they ate ambrosia and drank nectar, which was passed out by another goddess. While they ate, they were entertained by Apollo on his lyre and the muses. Then they departed to sleep. This lifestyle contrasted with that of those who lived in thatched houses, who were generally poor. It would be rather unusual, then, to have the king of the gods living in a poor man's house. He belongs at Mount Olympus, not in a thatched house.
As I mentioned earlier, Audrey is not clever enough to understand or see any of his puns. This is because Audrey, being from the country, is not as well learned as Touchstone, who comes from the city. This is a comparison of city and country. Touchstone's jokes do not belong in the country as they cannot be fathomed; rather they are better off in the city where the people of the court can understand.
Just like Jove is out of place in a thatched house, so is Touchstone's wit.

Allusion #4 - Adam

As You Like It Act 2 Scene 1

DUKE SENIOR ... (this part removed)
Here feel we but the penalty of Adam,
The seasons' difference, as the icy fang
And churlish chiding of the winter’s wind,
Which, when it bites and blows upon my body
... (this part removed)

This is a reference to Adam's punishment for sinning, which was the changing of the seasons. This story coincides with Duke Senior's predicament.
When God made the first man (Adam) and the first woman (Eve), they lived in the Garden of Eden (sounds like Arden, huh? We're getting there). They were innocent and had no idea what living in a world of sin was like. They were allowed to do anything except they could not eat from a certain tree. Well, they did, and after eating, they knew sin and felt ashamed. As punishment, God banished them from the Garden of Eden. Adam and Eve had children, and they too could not help but sin and know it, and their children had children had children, and so on.
In both As You Like It and this story in the book of Genesis, the natural world is good: In As You Like It, the Forest of Arden is the Green World where everything is natural, in contrast to the city where brothers plot against their siblings and the Duke banishes his own family. In the biblical story, the Garden of Eden is where Adam lives before understanding sin, and once his heart and mind are tainted with it, he is sent outside of the Garden, which in this case represents the city.
Duke Senior was banished from the city when his brother usurped the throne and took over. Adam (and Eve) were banished from the Garden when they ate the forbidden fruit, and their minds were taken over with sin.
Duke Senior's allusion to Adam is very much like his current situation.

Allusion #5 - Juno's Crown

As You Like It Act 5 Scene 4

HYMEN ... (this part removed)
Wedding is great Juno’s crown,
O blessèd bond of board and bed.
'Tis Hymen peoples every town.
High wedlock then be honorèd.
Honor, high honor, and renown,
To Hymen, god of every town.

It's the end of the play, and all the couples are getting married by Hymen. In his singing he mentions Juno, Roman queen of the gods, wife to Jove (god of the skies), and goddess of marriage. It is said that June, Juno's month, is a good month to be wed.
He says that wedding is Juno's crown, which is related to the current plot. Orlando and Rosalind are currently being married. Soon after, Jaques De Boys comes with the news that Duke Frederick, converted by a religious man, has returned to Duke Senior all that he took when he usurped him. This means that Orlando, having married Rosalind, will inherit his fortune, and in a way getting a sort of "crown", or power.
Juno is also goddess of pregnancy. Touchstone and Audrey have physical love, remember, and as soon as they are married, they will do the thing that causes pregnancy. If all works as it should, Audrey will become pregnant.
Not only does "great Juno" do all of these things, she also helps to straighten out arguments between spouses. However, it seems that she has decided not to assist the aforementioned Touchstone and Audrey, as according to Jaques' prediction, they will fight so that their marriage will last but two months.
As a Greek god of marriage ceremonies, Hymen seems to be "marrying" the situations with the song, as they relate and intertwine.