Belonging in As You Like It and As It Is In Heaven Essay

Belonging HSC

Belonging is a fundamental need, intrinsic to humankind. A sense of belonging with people, places, groups and communities is essential in gaining meaningful experiences and notions of identity, relationships, acceptance and understanding. This is profoundly evident throughout the play, As You Like It composed by William Shakespeare and the Film As It Is In Heaven (As It Is...) directed by Kay Pallock. These texts convey significant ideas about belonging through the use of powerful characters, diverse settings, dramatic structure, universal themes, effective dramatic and filmic techniques which compel responders to gain a greater understanding and appreciation of themselves and the wider world.

The play As You Like It, was composed by William Shakespeare during the Elizabethan period and reveals significant conventions of Elizabethan romance. This is reinforced through the Shakespearian actor; Sean O`shea who states that throughout the play Shakespeare puts preconceived ideas of love and lust on trial (2009). The ambiguous title reinforces this idea. Shakespeare suggests that life and love consist of a great variety in characters, attitudes and beliefs and individuals have the ability to carve out their own perspectives of belonging. This is emphasised in the epilogue presented by Rosalind I charge you, O women, for the love you bear to men, to like as much of this play as please you this forces audiences to ponder the differing perspectives on love presented in the play and its impact on the characters, responders then apply their own beliefs to these paradigms.

The play belongs to the literary and theatrical tradition known as pastoral drama; this is a highly idealised and microcosmic natural setting which confines a small group of characters from the pretentious world at large. The worlds of court and countryside are discordant. The court promotes belligerence and rivalry that creates a barrier to belonging this is illustrated through the superficiality of the court as seen in the phrase painted pomp, which is juxtaposed with the benevolent nature in the Forest of Arden free from peril, the forest provides Harmony and congeniality. When the characters remain in the court they are vulnerable and insignificant as reinforced through Olivers character. This enforces them to leave the capricious authority of the court and turn to the genial nature of the forest which provides them with individual freedom and a forum to express themselves. It is here where the characters obtain a positive sense of belonging. Arden is a non-hierarchal social environment where social status no longer imposes restraint. The natural world of the forest has the power to nurture and heal this is in contrast to the artifice nature of the court that restricts individuals from forming a meaningful sense of belonging.

As You Like It represents aspects of not belonging through a central character of the play, Jaques. The dramatic monologue presented by Jaques illustrates his inability to belong all the worlds a stage all the men and woman are merely players: they have their exits and their entrances... sans teeth, sans eyes, sans taste, sans everything Jaque views life as insignificant and pre-determined and thus meaningless, this monologue captures Jaques negative views on the world, his existential paradigmal views are overly cynical which illustrates that he does not belong due to a choice it is a melancholy of mine own Jaque has not attained any sense of belonging and thus struggles to gain a sense of identity, relationships, acceptance and understanding. Jaque provides a pivotal contrast with other characters viewpoints; he is isolated. Jaques refusal to shift his paradigm and his subsequent inability to belong restricts him from forming a meaningful existence. Jaques character is in stark contrast to not only the other characters within the play but also Daniel from As It Is...

The sense of belonging Daniel experiences as he returns to his childhood village is in great similarity to the characters from As You Like It. The fruitless nature of the global world compels Daniel to return to the natural setting of his childhood, this is significant insofar as it allows Daniel to overcome the restraints of the outside world and reconcile with the demons of his childhood that prevent him from forming a meaningful sense of belonging. Daniel must gain a greater understanding of his past as it enables him to appreciate the present and strive towards a peaceful future. The scene in which Daniel is seen jumping in the snow reinforces this idea, the non-diegetic sound of the serene, uplifting music, the score to Cohens Hallelujah emphasises the utter joy Daniel`s is experiencing, the point of view shots illustrate that Daniel has formed a connection to the natural world which allows him to achieve a sense of belonging to place. This is again reinforced through the scene when Daniel stands on the rock cliff, the background is serene and natural, there is a strong release of tension, he is at one with the natural world as highlighted through his echoing voice. Traditionally in literature the natural world is a place for rejuvenation, this is parallel to the characters of As You Like It who also form a connection to the natural world in Arden and to the characters in As It Is... These two texts both reinforce the way in which a sense of belonging is essential in forming a meaningful and fulfilled existence.

As It Is... is a Swedish film composed in 2004, and like As You Like It conveys significant views on belonging. There are dramatic variations contextually between these two texts; As You Like It was set during the Elizabethan period compared to As It Is... which is a modern day film set in Sweden. This illustrates that belonging is a universal issue that has the power to transcend the boundaries of time and place. Maslow`s hierarchy of needs suggests that one must achieve belonging needs in orders to progress through the upper rungs of the hierarchy, this is demonstrated through Daniel`s growth as an individual and Orlando in As You Like It, who discovers a meaningful sense of belonging to place, people and the community.

Shakespeare employs disguise, a dramatic convention, developing dramatic irony, this positions the audience to know what the characters within the play are unaware of. The relationship of Ganymede and Orlando allows Orlando and Rosalind to gain a greater sense of understanding and acceptance for one another let no face be kept in mind but the fair of Rosalind. The purity of Rosalinds and Orlando`s relationship is in stark contrast to the other three marriages that take place, this reinforces the significance of the title As You Like It. The Human philosopher; Maynard Adams (2003) reinforces this idea love is an experience or cognitive attitude toward something the existence of which is a fulfilment. This emphasises the fact that a sense of belonging with people is essential in living a fulfilled life and is profoundly evident through Rosalinds and Orlando`s relationship. This relationship is equivalent to the relationship of Daniel and Lena from As It Is... The bicycle is employed by Lena to mentor Daniel and strengthen their relationship with one another, you cant learn to ride a bike on your own. Someones got to hold on. This is symbolic insofar as it reinforces the fact that one must form meaningful connections in order to live a fulfilled life, highlighting the strong humanistic concerns of the film. The diagetic sound of the orchestral music that plays when Lena teaches Daniel to ride the bike highlights that they are coming together and captures the utter joy that Daniel is experiencing. The importance in forming a sense of belonging to people is illustrated throughout both texts.

Shakespeare utilises song to illustrate a sense of belonging in the community of Arden, this is illustrated by Amiens`s who doth ambition shun and love to live`i`th sun; seeking food he eats and pleased with what he gets the cordiality of the forest community represented here promotes characters to experience a sense of belonging to the community. This song creates an upbeat atmosphere serving to engage the audience members and highlight the frivolous pursuits that exist in the community of Arden. This is in comparison to the community of Norsland in As It Is..., both these communities draw upon the importance of song in finding a sense of belonging. In the final scene of the film, the images of the choirs final performance are interspersed with Daniels final moments this is significant as it illustrates that the characters within the film have provided Daniel with a sense of belonging just as he has allowed them to strengthen their relationships within the community and form a sense of acceptance and understanding that has provided them with the ability to belong independently. In the final scene of the film the members of the audience stand and join in harmony with the choir this illustrates that Daniel has fulfilled his dream- he has created music that opens people hearts. This also evident within the forest of Arden, it is the sense of belonging that the community achieves which enables them to transcend into the setting of the court, the belonging they have formed with one another enables them to independently navigate the duplicitous nature of courtly life, both communities have achieved predominant and meaningful connections with one another.

The play, As You Like It composed by William Shakespeare and the Film As It Is In Heaven (As It Is...) directed by Kay Pallock convey significant ideas about belonging through the use of powerful characters, diverse settings, dramatic structure, universal themes, effective dramatic and filmic techniques which compel responders to gain a greater understanding and appreciation of themselves and the wider world. A sense of belonging with people, places, groups and communities is essential in gaining meaningful experiences and notions of identity, relationships, acceptance and understanding. Belonging is a fundamental need, intrinsic to humankind.