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Essay / A Clash of Two Worlds in "As You Like It" - Green Vs. Maxist Theory
The "Green World" and "Mismanagement" theories of Northrop Frye and CL Barber are very evident in As You Like It (ASYI) by William Shakespeare. Frye discusses his theory of the "green world" in his books Anatomy of Criticism, in 1957, and A Natural Perspective, in 1965. Frye describes a "normal" or judicial world, a "green world", and a modified judicial world. . Barber's theory, found in Shakespeare's Festive Comedy, published in 1959, draws on an anthropological perspective. He describes structures as tensions, releases and clarifications rather than worlds. The cultural materialist/Marxist view focuses more on how one class suppresses another. The Marxist view focuses on economics, power, and social classes, while Frye and Barber are more concerned with AYLI's plot. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get the original essay Frye's court world, according to his theory, is where all the characters are at the beginning of Shakespeare's play. The court of AYLI, or the normal world, is that of injustice. It is a world where abuse of the law is widespread. Act 1, scene 1 reveals that Oliver knows how brutal Orlando's fight with the Duke's wrestler could become, but he only uses "underhanded means" (I. i. 138) to dissuade him from the fight . The word “sneaky” is noted at the bottom of the page as meaning “discreet, neither overt nor obvious.” Oliver abused the “rules” of the normal world to try to get Orlando killed. Evidence of the murder plot is found in these lines addressed to Charles, the challenger: "I had as life you broke his neck like his finger" (I. i. 143-4). Another abuse of the court is in scene 2 after Orlando fights Charles and wins. Instead of giving Orlando his prize, Duke Frederick responds: “The world esteemed your father honorable, / But I always found him my enemy. / You should have pleased me better with this act / If you had come down from another house. / But go ahead. you well” (I. ii. 220-5). Two more abuses are discovered in scene 3 when Rosalind is banished by Duke Frederick on his whim and readers learn that it was he who usurped Duke Senior, her brother. Barber would characterize these injustices as growing tensions. At this point, something must break or be released. Act II brings all three theories into play. The change of scenery to the Forest of Arden follows Frye's "green world" theory. He describes this world as having the potential for characters to temporarily "lose" their identities. Celia and Rosalind dress as Aliena and Ganymede to change their identities. Frye also talks about how only certain characters enter the Green World (for example, Duke Frederick and Oliver are left behind). He identifies the exploration of liberating potentialities in his theory, which he found evident in AYLI when there is class interaction in the forest. Duke Senior and his men are compared to “the old Robin Hood of England” (I. i. 115). The lines immediately following this label suggest Barber's theory of liberation: "Many young men are said to flock to him every day, and pass the time carelessly, as they did in the gilded world" (I. i. 115 -18). in situations too tense for them to handle, they run away to Duke Senior for a "release" or vacation license. Historically, as increasing industrialization and decreasing agrarianism fueled tensions in European societies, the instinct was for society to escape to nature. THE..