Young gentlemen flock to him every day and fleet the time carelessly as they did in the golden world How does Shakespeare explore the notion of an idealised past in As you like it

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'Young gentlemen flock to him every day and fleet the time carelessly as they did in the golden world' - How does Shakespeare explore the notion of an idealised past in As you like it

Shakespeare constructs the world of the Forest as a representation of a golden past; the 'golden era' in which man can 'fleet the time carelessly'. This falls in line with classic pastoral mode by suggesting an absence of time within the Arcadian space. In addition, the 'Gentlemen' become 'merry men' and 'live like the old Robin hood of England', suggesting an attempt to emulate and romanticise the fact that they, like Robin Hood, are both outlaws and in the wilds like Robin Hood. The fact that Shakespeare chose the English folk-legend of Robin Hood suggests a degree of focus on the nature of a conscious, nostalgic desire in the men to see themselves as noble outlaws who reject the modern offerings of the 'pompous court'. It also arguably suggests an element of fantasy, a construction, the fact that Robin Hood is but a myth might also infer that their escape into the past is also one.

Another example of how the