ABSTRACT
Dalam Tugas Akhir ini saya menganalisis elemen penokohan dari tokoh
utama wanita dalam drama karya William Shakespeare yang berjudul As You Like It. Di dalam drama ini, saya menemukan bahwa tokoh utamanya, yaitu Rosalind,
memiliki beberapa karakteristik yang membuat drama komedi ini menjadi lebih menarik dan menghibur. Rosalind digambarkan sebagai seorang wanita cantik yang pintar (smart), berbicara secara terang-terangan (outspoken), persuasif
(persuasive) dan mandiri (independent). Dengan idenya yang cerdas untuk merubah penampilannya sebagai pria, gaya bicaranya yang terang-terangan dan
caranya untuk membuat orang lain mempercayainya, membuat drama ini berhasil untuk menghibur penontonnya. Saya menemukan bahwa karakteristik yang dimiliki oleh Rosalind ini termasuk unik mengingat bahwa drama ini ditulis pada
zaman Shakespeare, ketika wanita dianggap lebih rendah dari pria. Tetapi karakter Rosalind dalam drama ini menunjukkan bahwa seorang wanita juga dapat
memberikan pengaruh yang besar bagi lingkungannya dan mampu untuk mengontrol kehidupannya sendiri. Oleh sebab itu, karakteristik wanita seperti ini
muncul dalam drama komedi untuk menghindari kontroversi dalam masyarakat patriarki. Masyarakat pada zaman itu hanya akan menganggap karakteristik seorang wanita seperti ini sebagai hal yang lucu karena berbeda dengan keadaan
TABLE OF CONTENTS
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ...i
ABSTRACT ... ii
TABLE OF CONTENTS ... iii
CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION Background of the Study ... 1
Statement of the Problem ... 3
Purpose of the Study ... 3
Method of Research ... 4
Organization of the Thesis... 4
CHAPTER TWO: ANALYSIS OF THE PORTRAYAL OF THE FEMALE PROTAGONIST IN WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE’S AS YOU LIKE IT ... 5
CHAPTER THREE: CONCLUSION ... 18
BIBLIOGRAPHY ... 21
APPENDICES: Synopsis of As You Like It ... 23
CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
Background of Study
In this thesis, I analyse As You Like It, a comedy by William Shakespeare, a renowned English playwright and poet whose works are considered to be the greatest works in history of English literature (“William Shakespeare”). He was
also an official playwright to King James I, the King of England at that time. Shakespeare also made such an important contribution to the world of literature as
he had
. . . an influence on a large number of writers in succeeding centuries, including Herman Melville, Charles Dickens, Thomas Hardy,
and William Faulkner. Shakespearean quotations appear throughout
Dickens' writings and many of Dickens' titles are drawn from Shakespeare.
Melville frequently used Shakespearean devices, including formal stage directions and extended soliloquies, in Moby Dick. . . . (“Shakespeare’s Influence”)
1700 of our common words by changing nouns into verbs, changing verbs into
adjectives, connecting words never before used together, adding prefixes and suffixes, and devising words wholly original. Some examples of words coined by
Shakespeare are accused, birthplace, courtship, countless, torture, laughable (Mabillard). Examples of phrases that Shakespeare coined are “All of a sudden, For ever and a day, Good riddance, Hot-blooded, In the twinkling of an eye, Love is blind” (“Phrases Coined by William Shakespeare”).
As You Like It is one of Shakespeare’s greatest comedies. The female
protagonist, Rosalind, has a double role, as Rosalind herself and as a young man named Ganymede. Other comedies by Shakespeare include Much Ado About Nothing (1623), The Winter’s Tale (1623), Merchant of Venice (1600). I have
chosen this play because I am interested in the unique portrayal of Rosalind. As You Like It remains one of the most frequently performed comedies. It is stated in
a website article in Hudson Shakespeare Company that “Considered one of
Shakespeare's mature comedies, As You Like It, has remained extremely popular with modern audiences and is one of the most frequently produced works” (“As
You Like It”).
When reading As You Like It, I found that the most prominent aspect is the
portrayal of the female character, Rosalind. The definition of character and characterization are: “Character - representation of a person, place, or thing
performing traditionally human activities or functions in a work of fiction. . . .
Characterization - The choices an author makes to reveal a character’s personality, such as appearance, actions, dialogue, and motivations” (“Literary analysis: Using
makes a person, thing, or group different from others” (“characteristic”). I have
chosen to analyse the portrayal of the female protagonist as the subject of my thesis, as Barton, an American-English scholar and Shakespearean critic, argues that “Rosalind is extraordinarily important in As You Like It, as central and
dominating figure in her fashion . . ." ("Rosalind (Ganymede) in As You Like It").
In analysing the portrayal of the female protagonist, I use formalism approach because all the information that I need to analyse this subject can be
found in the play. Formalist Criticism is an approach which regards literature as a unique form of human knowledge that needs to be examined on its own terms. All the elements necessary for understanding the work are contained within the work
itself, which means all the elements can be found within the text. A primary goal for formalist critics is to determine how such elements work together with the text’s content to shape its effects upon readers (“Critical Approaches to
Literature”).
Statement of the Problem
The problems I am going to discuss are:
1. How is the female protagonist portrayed in the play?
2. What is the purpose of the author in portraying such a character?
Purpose of the Study
The purposes of the study are:
1. To show how the female protagonist is portrayed
Method of research
I am using library research for my thesis. First, I read the play. After reading the play, I search and collect a number of references from books and
internet websites to support my analysis. Lastly, I draw a conclusion.
Organization of the Thesis
This thesis is divided into three parts, preceded by the Acknowledgments, the Abstract and the Table of Contents. Chapter One is the Introduction, which
consists of the Background of the Study, the Statement of the Problem, the Purpose of the Study, the Method of Research and the Organization of the Thesis. Chapter Two is The Analysis of the Portrayal of the Female Protagonist in William Shakespeare’s As You Like It. Chapter Three is the Conclusion. The
CHAPTER THREE
CONCLUSION
After analysing the portrayal of the female protagonist of Shakespeare’s
As You Like It, I conclude that Rosalind is portrayed as a smart young woman who knows how to deal with her situation. She has an ability to take control over her
own life as she resourcefully uses her trip to the Forest of Arden and gets what she wants. She knows how to take opportunities as she is able to make people fooled by her false appearance and she is able to make her plan work out perfectly. Her
smartness makes her more attractive and her smart idea to disguise herself as a young man is brilliant and becomes the play’s main interest.
Besides being smart, she is portrayed as an outspoken person. She expresses her opinions to other people in a free and honest way, even though it may be unpleasant for those whom she criticizes. However, those traits make her
unique. She does not speak to please people around her. When she speaks out her mind, she just wants to be honest about what she considers right, for example,
Rosalind is also portrayed as a persuasive person as she is able to persuade
people to do or believe what she says. Becoming such a persuasive person is part of her smartness. Because she is smart enough to plan something, she certainly
knows that things will happen according to her plan. Thus, it is easier for her to persuade people since she is the one who controls the situation, for instance, when she (as Ganymede) persuades Orlando that he will marry Rosalind. Her smart
speeches and ideas also make her become more persuasive. Even though not all her words are necessarily true, people believe her and her unique traits also make
this play become comical.
The last characteristic that I find in Rosalind is independent. Throughout the play, we can see that Rosalind is an independent person because she is able to
decide on her own what she will do, where she wants to go and with whom she wants to be. In other words, she is free from outside control. She is able to take
control of her own life and chooses her own destiny. Such an independent and smart woman like Rosalind may not have an opportunity to stand out during
Shakespeare’s time, considering that women in that era had very limited freedom
of expression compared to men. It is therefore such a character like Rosalind appears only in Shakespeare’s comedy, in order to avoid controversy within a
patriarchal society. As a comedy, the audience at that time will considered her manners funny but at the same time it will make them realised that it is possible for a woman to be as independent as Rosalind.
Shakespeare makes this play become funny and interesting. In addition, in
Shakespeare’s time, it is considered as a funny thing for a woman to have traits
like Rosalind. It is obvious that through such a character like Rosalind,
Shakespeare wants to make his audience laugh. Moreover, as this is a comedy play, it has to be funny in order to entertain the audience. However, through Rosalind’s characteristics, we can see that a woman is able to give a huge
influence to her surroundings. But Shakespeare made a character like this in a comedy play to avoid the controversy within patriarchal society. That is why such
a character like Rosalind appears in Shakespeare’s comedy.
In conclusion, I think Shakespeare succeeds to entertain his audience in this play through the character like Rosalind and he also succeeds to deliver the
message that women are capable of controlling their own lives and they cannot be underestimated. Rosalind’s smartness to disguise herself as a young man, her
outspoken nature, the way she persuades people and her independence which considered funny at that time, make this play become entertaining and able to open up people’s mind at that time about women. In my opinion, this comedy play
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Primary Text
Shakespeare, William. As You Like It. Ed. John Crowther. New York: Spark
Notes, 2004. Print.
References
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Mabillard, Amanda. Words Shakespeare Invented : Shakespeare Online. 20 Aug.
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“More information about: William Shakespeare.” BBC. 2015. Web. 16 Apr.
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