As a pastoral comedy, much of As You Like It takes place in a rustic forest setting far from the strictures of courtly life. Pick one character and use them as a starting point to compare the significance of the settings of the court and the forest. (Note: The character you choose must have lived in both the court and the forest, which eliminates characters such as Phoebe and Silvius). Then, answer the following questions:
Why does your character move from the court to the forest? How is the court depicted in As You Like It?
What happens to your character in the forest? How do they experience pastoral life? Does it change them, and if so, how?
Does your character choose to return to court at the end of the play? Why or why not?
Please include a couple of sentences at the end of your activity summarizing the significance of the pastoral setting according to Nardizzi’s article. This doesn’t have to be integrated with the rest of your activity.
Your setting analysis activity should be at least 250 words in length and include at least one direct quotation or paraphrase from Nardizzi’s article.
You will be graded on the following criteria: follows above instructions, meets the required word count, is proofread carefully for spelling and grammatical errors.