English 432
Dr. Desmet
Winter 1997

Wordcruncher Exercise for As You Like It

(Keyed to Paper Topics on AYLI, MND, and TN)


In this exercise I have keyed the exercises to particular plays, and to particular paper topics within those plays. Sometimes I will refer you to a previous exercise. Feel free to think of other words that might be relevant to a particular search!

III. As You Like It

1. For question #1, you might start with MND #1. Then, because the hermaphrodite is a doubled figure representing love, check to see who talks about love and their attitude it. Crunch on love*.

Since the hermaphrodite image can be an idealized image or romantic love, you might want to consider its opposite, the sexuality associated with people's "animal nature."

You might also want to consider the relation of animals to love in this play, particularly the professions associated with:

sheep*
lamb*
ewe
cock
ape*

It might even be appropriate to consider the role of the

deer*
doe*
fawn*

2. For question #2, on female power, see #1 under Twelfth Night. Furthermore you might want to consider the role of a powerful outside force that is often characterized as a woman: Fortune. Crunch on fortun*.

You might also consider a term that is related both to status and feminine temperament: "gentle." Crunch on gent* to see who is associated with gentleness as aristocratic rank and gentleness as kindness. Is gentleness a gender-specific virtue or do men and women differ at all in the kinds of gentleness that they are supposed to exhibit? You might also consider the role of that gender-ambiguous entity, the "youth." Crunch on "youth" to see what role the boy/girl plays in this comedy.

3. For question #3, see MND #7. Try also the word incontinent. Crunch on incontin*. Relevant also to this question is Touchstone's desire that Audrey should be "poetical" and therefore not "true" and chaste. Crunch on poetical.

4. For question #4, see TN #8. Another potent use of the mouth in this particular play is kissing. To see what role kissing plays in the relationship between speech and silence, crunch on kiss*.

5. For question #5, see TN #4.

6. I'm not quite sure what the Wordcruncher will yield here, but crunch on

wrestl*
wrastl*
throw*
overthrow*

7. For question #8, on the role of conversation in AYLI, start with the words used in MND #8. Try also: moraliz*. Use Jaq. and Touch. as speech prefixes to see the role the long speeches of these characters play in this verbal education.

Look also at the ways in which characters evaluate the role of "wit" in this play. I suppose also that Orlando's efforts at poetry are relevant to this discussion. Try crunching on:
poem*
vers*

7. I like question #12, on hunting in AYLI. For starters, try crunching on

hunt*
deer*
doe*
fawn*
horn*

8. For question #13, begin by crunching on

wood*
forest*
green
winter
weather
tree*
bough*
rose*
season
In examining the ways in which the play constructs its pastoral setting, you may want to look at the third level of text and see whole passages describing the Forest of Arden. You will probably also want to consider the relation between the green world and the pastoral world of shepherds. Start by crunching on: sheep* and shepherd*.