Comic

Jacques the Antagonist?

Jacques has some elements of antagonist. He is very contrasting to the protagonists and the other people so his difference makes him antagonistic. But is seldom evil and not your typical “villainous” perception of antagonist. He dislikes Orlando (one of the protagonists) he is melancholy and cynical when Orlando is romantic and passionate. His misery is contradictory to the mythic idealized forest and even the hard life of the shepherds. He doesn’t really like anyone but touchstone. And touchstone like him is anti romantic and is critical of the country, but touchstone participates in life and love which is the spirit of the forest, which Jacques doesn’t do. In terms of Jacques being an antagonist in a villainous sense, I think he is the exact opposite. Initially the villains appear to be Oliver and duke Frederick they seem to be the more predictable antagonists but after Orlando, Rosalind, and Celia leave they become mundane, except for when Oliver returns, but then he is no longer villainous. Touchstone I think is even crueler and more villainous than Jacques. We see what he does to poor William and plans to marry Audrey and then divorce her. Jacques is rude to Amiens but that’s not as bad as completely destroying William. And Jacques mourned the loss of a dear for which no one really cared about and this showed that he is quite caring, not the typical villainous antagonist. Jacques I think is more of a tragic hero in a comedy, which makes him out of place and contradictory to the nature of the story, as an antagonist would be. But he is never really against any one and doesn’t really want the others to suffer, which isn’t like an antagonist. He also makes insightful commentary, more insightful than Orlando which I don’t think is typical of an antagonist. He leaves at the end of play which often antagonists do, and the protagonists have their happily ever after. But he wasn’t cast out in like most antagonists at the end he left the play willing. He also remained in the forest which is perceived to be a good place and where people have learned their lessons of love and challenged their city values; it is not the place where an antagonist would dwell. I think part of the reason he decided to stay in the forest was because he still had to learn and experience. Most of the other characters have gotten married and interacted with life in the forest. Jacques made social commentary but didn’t really interact as much as the other characters.

On the Directors Cut

The adaptation provided a lot of insight into the analysis of the play. I had previously thought there was a clear preference of the country over the city but the adaptation reminded me that there was more duality in the play. I wasn’t aware how much analysis is required of adaptations, before but now it makes sense that there would be because you have to give justice to Shakespeare’s play whilst putting your own interpretation into it. Hearing performers and directors discuss the play made me consider the audiences role more. Plays I think require more attention to pleasing the audience than literature, because you have to cater to a wider audience and they’re geared more for entertainment than books. The audience also has to sit through a play where as a book can be picked up or put down when ever.

I thought Naomi Frederick made some interesting comments about how her role as Rosalind influenced the perception of Orlando. She said that if she wasn’t a believable boy then Orlando would come off as stupid for believing it. This just shows a lot about the interconnectedness of actors, if one can’t deliver and make the audience believe that character then everyone they interact with wont look believable. This goes to show how difficult it is to cast a play well. I thought Naomi Frederick helped expand on some the theme of the relationship between gender and identity. Naomi Frederick described her change in gender as “seductive” but it was also the hardest part of the role. I think this related to Rosalind a lot. Because Rosalind was free to explore other aspects of her own identity as well as teach Orlando about love, but she often struggled to maintain a masculine identity. Her comments about the globe it self shows the significance of the audience and its interaction with the play. The audience changes the entire feeling of the play and makes it become more alive. The globe theater reflects how Shakespeare likes to acknowledge the audience in the play.