As You Like It Lesson Plan

How is nature characterized in Act 2, Scene 1? How does the wilderness contrast with human society, and what do the characters think about the intrusion of human society into nature in the form of the Duke’s “court?”

In the Duke’s opening speech of the act, he characterizes nature as a harsh but welcome refuge, emphasizing that the challenges of living in nature bring out the natural good in people. Both the Duke and Jaques describe the deer as citizens of the forest realm using the language and imagery of human society, and each finds some regret in the Duke’s intrusion on the animals’ rightful realm. Indeed, they see in this a parallel to Duke Frederick’s seizure from...