Historically, critical response has varied, with some critics finding the play a work of great merit and some finding it to be of lesser quality than other Shakespearean works. Medieval era [ edit ] The Coughton wayside cross where travellers would pray before entering The Forest of Arden. Archaeologists coming closer to breaking the 'code' of ancient Shropshire hall which folklore links to Shakespeare". 14 June 2023.

Bate, Jonathan (2008). Soul of the Age: the life, mind and world of William Shakespeare. London: Viking. p.37. ISBN 978-0-670-91482-1. Shakespeare's Arden seems to have promulgated a vision of the forest that fits in with the English nostalgic autostereotype of Merry England, and inspired subsequent artists such as Pre-Raphaelite John Collier. The Historical Reality of Fantasy Forests: Arden, Sherwood, and Sambisa – as You Like It | Marin Shakespeare Company". 16 July 2014. In Arden, both Rosalind and Oliver have a chance to reinvent themselves. Rosalind, having fled the corrupt society of court, approaches the Forest of Arden as a place where she may be able to be free to be herself. In a move that suggests the particular oppression of women in Renaissance England, Rosalind re-imagines herself as the mythological male figure of Ganymede: a Trojan boy of great beauty and Zeus' cupbearer (II.1.123). In Rosalind's attempt to shed her identity in outside society as the daughter of Duke Senior, she chooses the identity of a strong male. Underneath her disguise, however, she clings fiercely to her femininity. Even in her man's apparel, Rosalind insists that she can "cry like a woman" (II.4.5). Act 5, scene 2 Orlando, envious that his brother Oliver and “Aliena,” having fallen in love, plan to be married immediately, tells “Ganymede” how bitter he finds his own situation. “Ganymede” tells him that, if Orlando wishes to marry Rosalind, “Ganymede” can, through magic, make Rosalind appear at the wedding. “Ganymede” also exacts a promise from Phoebe: if at the time of the wedding Phoebe refuses to marry “Ganymede,” she will marry Silvius.As You Like It follows its heroine Rosalind as she flees persecution in her uncle's court, accompanied by her cousin Celia to find safety and, eventually, love, in the Forest of Arden. In the forest, they encounter a variety of memorable characters, notably the melancholy traveller Jaques, who speaks many of Shakespeare's most famous speeches (such as " All the world's a stage", "too much of a good thing" and "A fool! A fool! I met a fool in the forest"). Mary Arden, mother of William Shakespeare, was a member of this prominent West Midlands family. [12] The shepherdess, Phebe, with whom Silvius is in love, has fallen in love with Ganymede (Rosalind in disguise), though "Ganymede" continually shows that "he" is not interested in Phebe. Touchstone, meanwhile, has fallen in love with the dull-witted shepherdess Audrey, and tries to woo her, but eventually is forced to be married first. William, another shepherd, attempts to marry Audrey as well, but is stopped by Touchstone, who threatens to kill him "a hundred and fifty ways".

The area of the Forest of Arden correlates with an area of underlying Mercia Mudstone (shown in light brown) and Carboniferous Sandstones (grey). Sherwood Forest lies 40 miles to the North, on the same band of Mercia Mudstone, which forms a narrow arc across England.The River Avon marked the boundary between two distinct areas, the Feldon, cultivated land to the south, and Arden, forested land to the north, including the village of Wilmcote where Shakespeare’s mother came from. Where the forest had been cleared land was used for farming and the typical medieval ridge and furrow ploughing system can still be seen as close to Stratford as the fields surrounding Clopton House. The Arden edition of Shakespeare makes the suggestion that the name "Arden" comes from a combination of the classical region of Arcadia and the biblical garden of Eden, as there is a strong interplay of classical and Christian belief systems and philosophies within the play. [15] Arden was also the maiden name of Shakespeare's mother and her family home is located within the Forest of Arden. Religious allegory [ edit ] Illustration by Émile Bayard (1837–1891): "Rosalind gives Orlando a chain" Orlando writes simple poems full of sincere emotions. Rosalind is free from the tyranny of her uncle and closer to her father. Her courage and wit are many times greater in the Forest of Arden.