“Hath not old custom made this life more sweet than that of painted pomp?”
“ –The churlish chiding of the winters wind which, when it bites and blows upon my body, even till I shrink with cold,”
The pastoral imagery is balanced by the realities of life- with Arden’s bitter weather and wilderness which goes against the idyllic genre.
There is an abundance of imagery drawn upon by Shakespeare in this short verse. The Duke refers continually to the Forest of Arden as being his new and better Dukedom- a place full of wisdom and education, devoid of the artifice and façade rampagent (?) in court life. In place of the corrupted court counsellors whose words served only to flatter and mislead, the Duke has Nature to “feelingly persuade me who I am”. Although he makes a suggestion that the forest has parallels to the paradise of Eden- “Here we feel not the penalties of Adam” (referring to Adam’s banishment into the cruel world from Eden), the forest is yet a far cry from a heavenly abode. Yet he is adamant in his belief that no matter the adversity, there is good to be found in everything. To drive this point in further still, the Duke refers to a creature widely despised in the Elizabethan period for its vulgarity and supposedly poisonous form- but a life saver with its remedial antidote to poison.
The Forest of Arden seems to be a place which brings out and projects the true character of a person. Duke Senior- exiled and removed from his rightful throne to a place of incivilisation and uncomfort should by rights be bitter and resentful, yet he describes his leafy exile as a place of education and rehabilitation to the real world when one could;
“Find tongues in trees, books in running brooks, sermons in stones and good in everything.”
The Duke embraces his situation as a blessing and relief from the poison of court life and encourages his Lords to understand and appreciate the forests values. Shakespeare provides the audience throughout the speech, with a verse which emphasises the goodness and strength of character possessed by the Duke. Every word spoken contrasts to that of Duke Frederic’s in previous scenes. Duke senior’s informal yet controlled blank versed speech; structured in a flowing iambic pentameter, indicates a corresponding controlled character- supported by the logical substance of his words- similar to that shown by Rosalind in Act1 scene 3.
The Duke’s address to his men is that of one to equals and “brothers”- there is none of the pretentious air or the arrogance of power which is displayed so portentously by Duke Frederic. Instead of commanding or ordering his entourage to agree with his views upon the Forest of Arden, he instead tries to convince them with reasoning and persuasion that they are infact lucky in their new situation. Rhetorical questions comparing life at present to the life at Court, remind the men of the malice and spite left behind them and the lack of any such malevolence in the rural life:
“Are not these woods more free from peril than the envious court?”
Alliteration of words such as “painted pomp”, “churlish chiding”, “sermons in stones” serve to provide tonal emphasis to his points and contributes to the euphony of the passage- providing a melodic air. This linguistic device encourages the audience to listen more carefully to his words. The use of a caesura similarly provides further emphatic effect; “This is no flattery- these are counsellors”-a momentary lapse in speech provided for the audience and lords to absorb his words. The syntax of the verse is also peppered with the repetition of vowel sounds- the use assonance such as “churlish chiding” and “books in running brooks”. The use of consonance is also employed by Shakespeare- a stylistic device which repeats consonant sounds: “painted pomp- peril- penalty.” These devices were not only used for their effect in speech, but more practically, were aids to the actors in learning the verse.
