As You Like It - Side Romances

« P Side Romances - As You Like It → main plotline in AYLI : about Orlando & Rosalind romance and how they manage to grow up in their mind, accept their nature etc an initially awkward relationship (disguise, weird poems, melodramatic scenes) // a coming of age story which them to become the ideal couple The role of side romances : love is omnipresent in the play and visible under all its form, both positive and negative : a driving force, leads to forgiveness and redemption and allows Shakespeare to explore more nuances of love ● ● Importance of Romantic love over friendly love Takes into account the unworthy side of romantic interest → goal = make Orlando and Rosalind look better in comparison ; highlight their nobility through the flaws of all the other romantic relationships in the play Silvius & Phoebe One sided Romance : see : Act III - scene 6 → non shared romantic interest = imbalance of power, dynamic of → S = uses unflattering and violent imagery (inappropriate and not flattering) victim and persecutor “The common executioner / → pathetic & unromantic // uninterested characters Whose heart th’accustomed sight of death makes hard / Falls not the axe upon the humbled neck” → fit archetypal characters : ridiculous, laughable = moments of + iambic pentameter comic relief between dramatic mmts S = the devoted but rejected lover P = the “hard to get” girl → P = vexed, angry : she reject him brutally “I would not be thy executioner” → Silvius implies Phoebe is cold hearted, sees her as a negative “Thou tell’st me there is murder in mine eye” figure = he probably doesn’t really love her “They should be called tyrants, butchers, murderers!” Ganymede & Phoebe Impossible Romance : see : Act III - scene 6 → Based on deception and trickery; Rosalind is not enacting the role of Ganymede to fool Phoebe and tries to dissuade her from pursuing this relationship, however she acts in a way that could mislead her → just advises her to stay away without explanation “I pray you do not fall in love with me for I am falser than vows made in wine” → compares herself to promises made when inebriated, which shows that she is unreliable but gives no reason as to why → misunderstanding, which only attracts P.

more → Unreciprocated feelings, Phoebe is in love with Ganymede but “Tis not your inky brows, your black silk hair, your bugle eyeballs nor your cheek “he” hates her and insults her appearance of cream that can entame my spirits to your worship” → very simple and rustic imagery, all are very dark = lack of finesse, she is not a delicate beauty but a → She falls in love with him after he insulted her; mirrors Silvius’s common, rugged woman love for Phoebe and accentuates the ridiculous nature of her feelings → makes both romances look foolish “I had rather hear you chide than this man woo” → comedic moment, the audience is meant to laugh at the ridiculous nature of P’s feelings Touchstone & Audrey Dysfunctional Romance : see : Act III - scene 4 : → Purely based on T.’s carnal desires, no emotions + an occasion [Touchstone] : “Doth my simple feature content you?” for Shakespeare to do some sexual jokes [Audrey] : “Your features - what features ?” → Audrey is an innocent, or stupid character = she doesn’t understand T, there no chemistry, love, passion between them → Misunderstanding, awkward situation when the audience is aware of T. → Marriage as an occasion to gain a social status, a convenient desires and witness A.

totally missing the point ~~~ ceremony because T.

needs someone to help him because he is getting old → Presence of Jacques the philosopher who is appalled by T. attitude. »