• MOHAMMAD A. AL-ALI

  Author

The aim of this paper is to explore the real protagonist in Shakespeare’s As You Like
It; the element that changes all the evil characters in the play; namely, the setting. In the court,
the evil characters conspire to steal, kill and banish their kinsmen. Duke Frederick usurps the
dukedom of his brother and banishes him to the Forest of Arden. Oliver also conspires to murder
his own brother, who flees to the Forest of Arden. In the forest, all the good characters meet.
Nature has a magical power that changes all the evil characters into good ones. No sooner do
they enter the forest than they are redeemed. It is nature that has the power to purify characters’
souls. Through the course of the play, however, there are some incidents through which the
playwright shows that nature can be dangerous. So, Shakespeare actually does not want all the
people to leave the city and live in the country. The message that Shakespeare conveys to his
audience is that every now and then people need to live the simplicity and purity of nature to
redeem and purify their souls.

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