Explore some of the dramatic and linguistic means by which Shakespeare presents various aspects of love in As You Like It

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Explore some of the dramatic and linguistic means by which Shakespeare presents various aspects of love in As You Like It

The play "As you like it" was at the beginning of the 17th century and in this era, audiences were fascinated by language and Shakespeare capitalised on this by creating a play that focuses on the use of language and drama to portray different aspects of love through many of the characters. The hero-heroine relationship between Orlando and Rosalind is the antithesis of the petrachan love of Silvius and Phoebe.

I have chosen two extracts that I feel demonstrate Shakespeare's use of drama and language to represent a variety of relationships. The first extract is the exchange between Orlando and Rosalind in act three scene two. The conversation is in prose and the language used by both characters is specific to their type of love. The second extract follows on from this scene and occurs between Touchstone and Audrey. The fact that the second extract follows on immediately after the first exaggerates the antithesis between the characters and their attitudes regarding love and highlights the fact that Shakespeare has used language to show different