The Comparison Of Forest Of Ar

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The Comparison of Forest of Arden versus Forest of Eden

It is the innate desire of man to seek a place of freedom, .an utopia, which allows him to escape into fantasies and away from the hardships of reality. In the play 'As you like it'; by William Shakespeare, the playwright indirectly compares the Forest of Arden to the Forest of Eden by exploring the theme of illusions, the idea of the forest as a place of refuge and Arden's mystical powers.

The two forests are not only related by the fact that they sound similar but the many imageries and ideas that were mentioned in the play are somewhat related to the story of Genesis. In Duke Senior's first speech, he refers to 'the penalty of Adam'; , reminding the reader of the Fall of Man and the Garden of Eden. Therefore from the start, Arden is associated with a world of innocence and simplicity, in which man did not need to work. In the forest of Eden, the life of man is not controlled by time and ultimately, death. Whereas there are also suggestions of timelessness in the forest of Arden, as when Orlando points out that there is 'no clock in the forest'; .

According to geographic sources, the Forest of Arden is in the Ardennes, France. In the play, Duke Senior and his followers live in the forest itself, while the shepherds live in the more open country on the edge of the forest. However, some elements in the play can be found in neither France nor England. For example: the deer, the oak trees, palm-trees; and also exotic animals such as a green-and-golden and a lioness roam the forest. Clearly then, the landscape belongs to the realm of fantasy.

Although Arden seems as to be an idealistic world and resembles no known place, it is not merely an escape from real life. It is true that people flee to Arden from the cruelty of the world. The play opens outside Arden, in a world where cruelty, tyranny, and injustice reign; Arden provides a refuge from these evils. However, it is not an easy salvation. It is not even easy to get there: Rosalind, Celia, and Touchstone, and then Orlando and Adam, and finally Oliver, all arrive in Arden in a state of physical exhaustion. This relates to the fact that it is just as hard for us to enter the kingdom of God.

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