Shakespeare and the Forest of Arden

Shakespeare came up to London from a rich market town, growing up in the relatively unself-conscious 1570s and 80s. His festive plays were perfectly situated to express both a countryman's participation in holiday and a city man's consciousness of it. If we take Shakespearean drama to be festive celebration then one way we can get more out of our reading is to align it with the seasons. The comic genre has its roots in past traditions which yearn for a return to nature,. A land where clocks and time does not exist as the marvellous thing about the forest of Arden.