What is pastoral Comedy ? Consider As You Like It as a pastoral comedy ?

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Significance of Forest of Arden
Ans- The word ’pastoral’ has its etymological root in the Latin word ‘pastor’ meaning ‘shepherd’. The pastoral is a
genre of literature that takes place in the country and depicts life there in a romanticized and highly idealized way.
A pastoral comedy refers to a literary work dealing with shepherd and rustic life. It has its setting away from the
city or court life. Thus the word 'Pastoral' come to be identify and ideal space representing innocence, peace,
philosophical idea. Pastoral romances were highly popular in the Elizabethan age and in As You Like It by William
Shakespeare has followed the same tradition.

Shakespeare sets “ As You Like It” in a remote forest, far away from the court. Almost two-third of the play
is based on the Arden. This pastoral setting provides not only the essential background, but it also conditions the
characters and influences the course of the play.

In As You Like It the main action takes place entirely in the natural atmosphere of the forest of Arden.
Among with some beautiful natural surroundings which includes beasts, birds, bees, snakes, hungry animals and
many others. We find many actor of the play, in the course of action comes to take shelter in the bosom of the
forest of Arden, for their self enjoyment and also for necessity. In the entire play almost all the major characters
including Oliver, Orlando, Rosalind, Cilia, Touchstone, Jacques, two Dukes have taken shelter in the forest of
Arden. All the major incident also occurred in the ideal atmosphere of Arden. There is a full Restoration of all the
complexities happen in Arden, and all the characters finally get their due respect honour and position on the
natural bosom of the Pastoral

In keeping with the nature of the play, the pastoral setting has also been dealt with in a free manner. All the
major characters posses one view of the forest. For them, it is a world ‘Far from the madding crowd’, a place
which is free from the problems of the court. There are no villains or conspirators here. Seen from this
perspective, the pastoral world appears to be a place where music, love, and playing innocent tricks seem to be
the only activities.

The pastoral setting provides a refuge or a shelter where one can achieve a perfect blending of the court life
and forest life. The pastoral world of the Arden is shown to be the other world . It has cultured respectable people
as well as uncivilized and unruly people . It is the world of grace and simplicity. The forest of Arden is also the
place where the fruition of the Love of Rosalind and Orlando, and of the three other couples took place. It also
changed the minds of people like Duke Frederick and Oliver.

In this way, the pastoral setting of Arden is an integral part of the play. It contributes its own variety of love. It
provides opportunities of witty exchanges between courtly jester like Touchstone and rustics like William. It also
helps in establishing that people and places are essentially the same. Thus people are good or bad as they like.
The forest of Arden thus had a tremendous impact on the action of the play .