Discuss Shakespeare’s presentation of Jaques as the “odd man out” in As You Like It Essay Example for Free

Discuss Shakespeare’s presentation of Jaques as the â€Å"odd man out† in As You Like It Essay It can be argued that Shakespeare continuously presents Jaques as the odd man out throughout the romantic comedy As you like it through a range of methods. Jaques’ melancholy character would have been a solid portrayal of man courtiers at the time both in society and in literature as this misanthropic attitude was perceived as fashionable. As You Like It is based on Thomas Lodge’s â€Å"Rosalynd† – Jaques is not a character in this, he is Shakespeare’s own creation, prominent character who provides balance, through his cynicism, from the pastoral and romantic idyll. As You Like It is not wholly a pastoral piece however, as Shakespeare diverges slightly from the conventional pastoral tradition throughout As You Like It. To be continued†¦ Paragraph One – Act 2, Scene 1: Act 2, Scene 1 is the first time we are introduced to Jaques, despite him not being present, his absence from stage immediately depicts him as an odd man out as he is not with the people he has chosen to be exiled with, he is apart from the group he is supposedly part of. Although Jaques is not in this scene, this scene is vital in beginning to mould our impressions of Jaques, through reportage one of the Lords gives Jaques the epithet â€Å"the melancholy Jaques† this is the first time he is mentioned and it singles him out as rather strange, as a â€Å"melancholy† man he certainly stands out in such a light hearted play. Being introduced as â€Å"melancholy† would have led the Elizabethans to believe that Jaques had an excess black bile leading to his unbalanced behaviour; this imbalance of the four humours would have singled him out as an odd man out. Jaques bemoans how the exiled Duke and his courtiers are usurping the deer of the forest by hunting them: â€Å"You do more usurp than doth your brother that hath banished you.† This reaction is rather expansive and it contrasts with Duke Seniors more moderate view of realising the necessity of hunting. This idea of hunting is where Shakespeare falls slightly away from the conventional pastoral tradition. Shakespeare probably chose to incorporate the more realistic aspect of hunting so he was able to present Jaques as a courtier struggling to adjust  to forest life. This contrasts with the other courtiers who are trying to adjust to life in Arden. The initial visual image of Jaques, again created through reportage: â€Å"as he lay along under an oak whose antic root peeps out upon the brook† this depiction of Jaques under a tree beside a brook presents Jaques here yet again as an odd man out through this pose which was a prominent pose for a philosopher in contemporary Elizabethan art, and the Elizabethan audience would have recognised this. The Lords quotes Jaques, â€Å"Poor deer, thou maks’t a testament as worldlings do, giving thy sum of more to that which had too much.† Shakespeare presents Jaques, through dialogue, as the commentator who connects the rather irrelevant death of the stag to his cynical view of the world, this commentating role that Jaques adapts reaffirms our initial impressions of him as an odd man out. He â€Å"weeps† for the deer and seems greatly affected by such a trivial event. Jaques’ view of hunting in Act 2, Scene 1 juxtaposes the celebratory tone in reference to hunting in Act 4, Scene 2: â€Å"Let’s present him to the Duke like a Roman conqueror.† This precarious attitude towards hunting makes us question whether Jaques’ melancholy is merely an affectation. Jaques cannot, however, be classified, in Act 2, Scene 1, as a complete malcontent as Duke Senior desires his company, â€Å"I love to cope him in these sullen fits† and whilst Jaques is separate from the other exiled courtiers in this scene; he is not alienated by them. In this scene he is presented as an odd man out, but only to a certain extent. Paragraph Two – Act 2, Scene 5: In Act 2, Scene 5, Shakespeare use of the simile â€Å"I can suck melancholy out of a song as a weasel sucks eggs.† to show how Jaques relishes in his melancholy, he is almost boasting the fact that he can find melancholy in anything, this furthers our impression of him as an odd man out in this sportive play. Jaques compares himself to a weasel, a disagreeable, sharp toothed animal, out of place in this pastoral idyll; this comparison strongly presents him as an outsider. Jaques’ satirical verse of song gives an alternative view of the courtiers’ situation, he parodies Amiens’ song and by putting his own idiosyncratic twist on it, he is showing himself to be the odd man out, he is not adjusting to the forest as the others have. He calls the courtiers â€Å"gross fools† for leaving the comfort of court for country life, although it was not their choice. He seems to forget that he  is one of the â€Å"fools† that has left his â€Å"wealth and ease† for exiled life in Arden, in this way it could be argued that he is not in fact an odd man out to the extent that he is a complete outsider, rather he is actually part of the ensemble of Duke Senior and the other exiled Lords. Paragraph Three – Act 2, Scene 7: Act 2, Scene 7 is arguably the most important scene of the play for Jaques, in this scene Jaques is presented as being envious of the license of the fool which Touchstone holds, â€Å"I am ambitious for a motely coat† he says that the metaphorical motely coat is his only â€Å"suit† playing on the word â€Å"pursuit†, to have the license of the fool is the only thing he will pursue. Shakespeare uses the simile â€Å"I must have liberty withal, as large a character as the wind to blow on whom I please† to reinforce this ambition to be a commentator. This audacious satire presents him as an odd man out because he wants to separate himself from society and be able to comment and criticise the world around him freely. The 1590’s were a great time of censorship, satire was under threat and Shakespeare takes this opportunity to address the issue that writers should be allowed to use satire. The idea that Jaques wanted to â€Å"cleanse the foul body of th’infected world† would have resonated with the Elizabethan audiences who lived in a corrupt world, under the rule of Queen Elizabeth’s Dictatorial court. However DS is quick to chastise Jaques through badinage, saying that Jaques has been a â€Å"libertine† he suggests that it would be hypocritical for Jaques to attempt to cleanse the world of its’ vices and follies because he is just the same as the rest of us, for he has been a hedonist, this suggests that Jaques is not an odd man out, he attempts to present himself as being a patrician but he is in fact no better than the rest of us. Jaques’ Seven Ages of Man extended metaphor is the longest speech in the entire play; it gives Jaques’ bleak view of life. His very ideas of life are melancholic; the image of the â€Å"mewling and puking† baby is not what comes to the common persons mind when they would think of a baby, showing Jaques to be a contrarian. The entire speech is about the cyclical pattern of loss throughout life, in the beginning we have nothing and anything we gain in life we end up losing anyway. Jaques presents himself as the commentator, commenting on the different stages of life that people aspire to such as that of the lover, he  presents the lover as â€Å"sighing like furnace with a woeful ballad made to his mistress’ eyebrow† he presents the lover as then he satirises the parts of life which should be honourable; he mocks the soldier with his â€Å"bubble reputation† and the corrupt judiciary. As he continues, what he says grows continuously morose, the sibilance in â€Å"Shrunk shank† suggests the muscle wastage in old age; Jaques suggests that life is ultimately about loss. This bleak outlook on life shows Jaques to be a misanthropic odd man out. The way Jaques compares the world to theatre was quite conventional of literature at the time, but it is quite interesting that Shakespeare chose to compare life to a â€Å"history†, with Jaques’ melancholia it may have been more suitable for him to compare life to a tragedy but perhaps Shakespeare is suggesting that Jaques does see that life is a mixture of comedy and tragedy so maybe his view isn’t so unique, maybe he is only an odd man out to some extent. The juxtaposition of the following scene shows that Jaques melancholic view isn’t quite universal, neither Orlando the romantic hero of the play, nor Adam the old man fit their stereotype, Orland is seen as greater than just the lover, he is honourable and shows compassion to Adam and Adam is referred to as a â€Å"venerable burden† he does not fit the scathing analysis of the elderly by Jaques. Through this juxtaposition Jaques is clearly presented as the odd man, he has his own separate view of life, which does not really reflect reality.

Le Grand Meaulnes :: essays research papers

Titre: Le Grand Meaulnes Autor: Alain Fournier Genre: Roman d’adventure Date de Publication: 1913 Temps: Se deroule en 1890 et dure a peu pres 6 ans Lieu: Sainte-Agathe en Sologne et puis a Paris Personnages principaux: Augustin Meaulnes, Franà §ois Seurel, Ynonne de Galais et Frantz de Galais. Personnages secondaire: Mme Meaulnes, M. et Mme Seuriel,Mouchboef, Valentine Blondeau, Les Charpentiers, M. de Galais, Ganache, oncle Florentin. Resume Brief Augustin Meaulnes arrive comme interne dans l’à ©cole de M. Seurel, pere de Francois Seurel, le narrateur. C’est un garcon original qui bouleverse la tranquillità © de cette vie campagnarde. Un jour,il s’à ©gare dans le bois et parvient à ¡ un chà ¢teau oà º se dà ©roule une fà ©te à ©trange, en l’honneur des fiancailles du maitre, Frantz de Galais. La fiancà ©e ne viendra pas. La fete s’achevà ©, et Frantz s ‘à ©nfuit. Mais Meaulnes a rencontrà © Yvonne de Galais,la sÅ“ur de Frantz. Elle est belle. Il en tombe amoreux.Il doit cependant rentrer à ¡ l’à ©cole. Dà ©sormais Meaulnes ne cesse de la rechercher, de meme qu’il essaie avec Francois de retrouver,en vain, le domaine mysterieux. Frantz reparait,fait promettre à ¡ Meaulnes par un serment de rà ©pondre à ¡ tout appel au secours.Meaulnes part pour Paris,retrouve Valentine la fiancà ©e de Frantz tandis que Francois retrouve Yvonne que Meaulnes à ©pouse f inalment.Mais le matin des noces,là ¡ppel de Frantz se fait entendre. Meaulnes fifà ©l au serment y rà ©pond,part en abadonant sa jeune femme qui mourra en couche.Meaulnes reveindra chercher sa fille un an plus tard et partira avec elle pour de nouvelles aventures. Personnages Principaux Augustin Meaulnes: C’est le hà ©ros du roman. Il est aventurier, idà ©aliste absolu et toujours insatisfait. Il veut toujours plus, il n’est jamais content de ce qu’il a. Quand il n’obtient pas quelque chose, il se donne a fond pour l’obtenir et quand il l’a, il veut dà ©ja autre chose. Il vit d’inquià ©tude, cherche autour de lui quelque chose qui soit capable de le contenter totalement et de lui faire conquà ©rir le royaume des reves. En plus de cela, il est un entraineur, un chef. Il n’accepte pas le monde tel qu’il est fait par les autres. Il est illuminà © et crà ©e autour de lui comme un monde inconnu. Pour y arriver, il organise des escapades et une de ses escapades le conduit a Yvonne, dont il tombe amoureux. Dà ©s le debut du rà ©cit on remarque que le mot â€Å"fuite† est associà © au pesonnage de Meaulnes. Un premier portrait de Meaulnes nous est fait par sa mere au debut du livre.

Music, Race, and Nation

Peter Wade’s Music, Race, and Nation is a book that takes a long look at something that the author clearly has a passion for. Not only does Wade have a clear and honest passion for the cultures of South America, but it is clear through his writing that Wade has spent plenty of time researching the things that he writes about. In the book, Wade’s primary goal is to shed a fun and interesting light on the cultural dances which are such a part of the culture in places like Colombia. After reading the work, it would seem foolish for anyone to argue that Wade did not achieve his stated objectives, as he clearly hits the mark with both his message and the overall presentation of that message to the reader. The basic themes presented in this book are a bit heavier than one might expect when they pick it up, but after reading, one can clearly understand why they were included. In Colombia, the music is a huge part of the cultural fabric there. In a nation that has long been dominated by white people and their overbearing culture, a mostly African dance takes hold and becomes a staple of the country. In order to truly understand the social dynamic that exists in Colombia, one has to understand the interesting dynamic presented with the relationship between the music and the people who enjoy it. Wade seems to understand the importance of this theme and because of his understanding; he does everything within his power to impart that knowledge to those who read the book. The presentation of this theme is somewhat different when compared to other works, but in the context of his objectives, the presentation certainly works. Before Wade gets started with the deeper and more complicated themes in his book, he makes sure that the reader has a strong grasp on the history of the subject at hand. Because the majority of people reading his book do not have a firm understanding of the basic pretenses on which it was written, Wade had to give those readers a crash course, or else they would be lost. In this regard, he succeeds beautifully. The organizational tactics used in this work give the reader a chance, while other books with similar themes might preclude those people who do not already have a basic understanding of Colombian culture. From that history, Wade does not just jump to his next theme. As any good author would, he builds upon the history that he has established in order to show how the music and dancing is interwoven into the country’s history. This is a very interesting way to present a thesis to readers and in this case, it is an effective means to the stated end. In this work, Peter Wade sticks to the point and never deviates from that. This is a fine line to walk when it comes to presenting a book with some history involved. Authors want to include enough information so that their readers can understand, but they do not want to include so much information that the readers feel like they are taking another history class. Wade walks this fine line and never falls over into the dreaded scholastic feel with this work. He gives the reader exactly what he or she needs and he does not do it with much fluff. The styling of the writing is simplistic enough to stay on point, yet it flows with enough grace to be easily readable. In short, Wade hit a home run with his diction and style. His writing is almost like the dance that it is describing. When one considers this book’s overall contribution to the topic that it addresses, it is easy to see why the book has been so successful. Though a few books have been written about South American music and South American culture, few have done it with this much passion. When the author cares about the subject matter contained in the book, that comes out through the writing. After flipping only a few pages, readers can tell that they are reading a work by an author that has a deep, profound understanding of Colombian culture. In addition, this book speaks to the importance of the Colombian music in the development of the culture of that country. This is an important theme that absolutely must be captured if individuals want to fully grasp the culture of Colombia. In regards to impact, it sheds a positive light on something that people did not know very much about. It brings to the forefront a brand of music that helped create a nation and helped create a culture that is often misunderstood. The work is a good one for a number of reasons. No book can be considered perfect, but this one is perfect in that it achieves its set objectives. When writers like Wade pour their heart and soul into the research of a subject, the resulting work bares that out. Music, Race, and Nation is one of those works. Â  

The Value of Higher Education for Police Officers

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