Eco-consciousness in Shakespeare’s As You Like It

Abstract

The major thrust of this study is to probe the projection of eco-consciousness in Shakespeare's As You Like It. An appreciation of the natural beauty of the forest is presented through the song of Amiens in Act II Scene (v). The song is truly dedicated to a true lover of nature to lie down under the greenwood tree and enjoy the sweet, joyful song of the birds. Here the only enemy is the adversities of the rough, wintry season. According to the song, this is an ideal place for a person without any worldly ambition, to live in the open air, greeting the wind and rough weather. In short, eco-criticism is an effort on the part of literary critics to add their contribution to the collective efforts of the participants in other disciplines such as: theology, politics, anthropology and psychology, to reserve nature around them that had been kind and benevolent throughout the ages. Duke Senior too accepts the valuable effects of the forest. In the last scene, the Pages sing a song in appreciation of spring, portraying a beautiful picture of this lovely season. As this is the season of the lovers, they too sing in ecstatic state of mind along with the sweet, tinkling song of the birds. There are plenty of signs of the contrast between the forest and the court. For example, we may refer to the introductory speech of Duke Senior in Act II scene (i) addressing his companions in exile. Here through a rhetorical interrogation he asserts that their present state of exile in the heart of nature is sweeter than their previous life in the court.