Does the use of an 1850s Victorian setting achieve an effective understanding of William Shakespeare’s As You Like It when presented to a 21st century audience?
Abstract
This dissertation aims to look into the way in which the central themes and
dynamics present within Shakespeare’s As You Like It may be presented to a
contemporary 21st century audience. This will be done by investigating the
historical time period of the Victorian 1850s due to the heavily comparable
similarities between the play’s themes and the social dynamics of Victorian
life. The use of a historical setting will provide audiences of the 21st century
with a clear understanding of the issues present within the play but will still be
clearly understood thanks to the increasingly popular presence of television
period drama that already exists.
By using extensive textual analysis to draw out the specific areas within the
play that highlight the key themes within the play these can therefore be
illuminated effectively through the use of comparison next to a Victorian
backdrop.
Through further visual research presented in the form of accompanying
portfolio, this study will allow for a visual representation of the mood,
atmosphere and initial artistic ideas formed during the process of designing
the world for As You Like It. The written element of the study will research
further into the dynamic of gender within the Victorian period and the way in
which the characters reflect the social responsibilities expected of their sex,
as well as the social hierarchy which dictated the way the Victorian people lived and how class played such an influential role in their lives much the
same as the way these issues affect the characters of As You Like It.