ICSE Drama As You Like It Act I Scene III Solved Contextual Question

ICSE Drama As You Like It Act I Scene III Solved Contextual Question

Extract 3

Duke Frederick: Ay, Celia; we stay’d her for your sake:

Else had she with her father rang’d along.

Celia: I did not then entreat to have her stay;

It was your pleasure and your own remorse.

I was too young at that time to value her;

But now I know her; if she be a traitor,

Why so am I; we still have slept together,

Rose at an instant, learn’d, play’d, ate together;

And wheresoe’er we went, like Juno’s swans,

Still we went coupled and inseparable.

i) Why did Duke Frederick detain Rosalind from accompanying her banished father?

                  He did so to let her be a companion to his daughter Celia who he knew loved

and cherished Rosalind like anything. Besides he perhaps realized that he would double

his sin if he banished the poor girl too in addition to his noble elder brother whom he     

forced to leave the dukedom so unceremoniously.

ii) What does ‘pleasure’ and ‘remorse’ mean? What was the ‘pleasure’ and ‘remorse’

of the Duke for keeping Rosalind back at the court?

            The contextual meaning of ‘pleasure’ is self-interest here. The meaning of

‘remorse’ is the feeling of guilt which the usurper felt after banishing his elder brother.   

            Duke Frederick was pleased to keep back Rosalind because it will make Celia

happy and as a father it was but natural for him to take such an action. His ‘remorse’

was born the moment he expelled his elder brother because no man can expel his

conscience from his heart.

iii) Give the significance of the expression Juno’s swans. How have the cousins lived

like Juno’s swans?

            The expression signifies the inseparability of the two cousins just like Juno’s

swans which draw the chariot of Venus, the goddess of love and beauty.

            The cousins, like the Juno’s swans which always live together, have always

kept together, have risen from bed at the same moment, have studied together, played

together, eaten together, and gone everywhere together.

iv) According to the Duke, what would happen if Rosalind were to continue to live

in the Duke’s court?

            As such the people admires and pities Rosalind for her charms and forbearance

And so if she were to continue to live in the dukedom, her presence would only serve

to eclipse Celia’s good name and prestige.

V) How does Celia react to the sudden banishment of Rosalind?

            Celia begs her father to allow Rosalind to stay at the court and even goes to the

extent of threatening him that she would accompany Rosalind if she is exiled. She also

boldly points out how he detained Rosalind when banishing his elder brother partly to

atone for his unethical action.

vi) How can you conclude from this scene that Celia has great love and loyalty for

Rosalind?

            Celia’s great attachment to Rosalind is clearly evident in the scene. She boldly

defends Rosalind when Duke Frederick accuses her of being a traitor. When Duke

Frederick went away, Celia tells Rosalind that it is not Rosalind alone who has been

Banished but that she herself too is also ready to put up with what Rosalind has to

suffer.

© SOMNATH MITRA 2010

                       

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