Gender and Social Norms in Shakespeares As You Like It Essay -- Shake

Gender and Social Norms in As You standardized It Shakespeare based his comedy As You Like It primarily on third other deeds. Its plot follows the basic structure of Rosalynde, published in 1590 by Thomas Lodge. The Tale of Gamelyn, written by an unknown author in the mid-fourteenth century, is a violent Middle English narrative that was found among Chaucers document and provides further details for Shakespeares work. With the Forest of Ardenne serving as an escape for our main(prenominal) characters, Shakespeare takes his details from the countless Robin Hood ballads popular in medieval England. This paper will examine how Shakespeares adaptations and alterations of emphasis and plot from these source works have turned our attention to the role of gender norms in society, the restrictions of amicable norms, and human influence on ones future. Lastly, included is a brief intelligence of how these factors might influence a production of this clever and entertaining work. In Shakespeares play, the question of womens role is central to theme and plot. By assuming the wearing apparel and likeliness of a man, Rosalind treats herself to powers that are normally beyond her reach as a woman (Spark 7). She is able to talk, walk and have the freedoms of a man, period having the heart of a woman. She is even able to court a yellowish brown of her own choice and train him in the art of love. Shakespeare focuses his work on the drastically different role that she can take under the dissembling of a man. In contrast, the novel Rosalynde, focuses only on the male concerns of the story. The faultless story has been directed exclusively to men and made glaringly taken for granted(predicate) in its preface beginning with the words, To Gentleman Readers. Throughout the story, L... ...int.htm. Kuhn, Maura. Much protect in It. Shakespeare Quarterly 28 (Winter 1977) 40-50. Hanawalt, Barbara A. ed.. Chaucers England- Literature in Historical Content. Minneapolis Un iversity of atomic number 25 Press, 1992. Howard, Jean E., Intoduction to As You Like It. The Norton Shakespeare Ed. Stephen Greenblatt, et.al. New York W. W. Norton & Company, 1997. 1591-1599. Prendergast, Maria Teresa Micaela.Rennaissance Fantasies- The gathering of esthetics in Early Modern Fiction. Kent Kent State UP, 1999. Sparknotes. As You Like It, by William Shakespeare. 8 Nov. 2002 http//www.sparknotes.com/shakespeare/asyoulikeit/. Strout, Nathaniel. As You Like It, Rosalynde, and Mutuality. Studies in English Literature 1500-1900 v. 41 no 2 (Spring 2001) 277-95. Tenney, Edward A.. Thomas Lodge. Ithica Cornell UP, 1935.