Date of Award
5-2010
Degree Type
Thesis
Degree Name
M.A.
Degree Program
English
Department
English
Major Professor
Loomis, Catherine
Second Advisor
Krantz, Susan
Third Advisor
Doll, Daniel
Abstract
Ecocriticism explores the way in which artists interact with, interpret and represent the natural world. The concept of “nature,†according to ecocriticism, goes beyond simply flora and fauna, extending to human nature as well. In Shakespeare's England, a person's nature was determined by his bodily humors, so the melancholy humor particularly lends itself to an ecocritical approach because it is inextricably linked to the natural world. Transcending genre, melancholy is not limited to the green world of comedy but rather appears in tragedy as well. In As You Like It, the melancholy Jaques offers a foil for the forest teeming with sanguine lovers. In Hamlet, however, melancholy becomes a much more bleak and ambiguous quality, raising questions concerning the nature of acting and suicide. In the study of melancholy within As You Like It and Hamlet, an ecocritical perspective offers a unique insight into the way Shakespeare experiences and interacts with the natural world.
Recommended Citation
Brown, Angela, "Earthbound Humors: An Ecocritical Approach to Melancholy in As You Like It and Hamlet" (2010). University of New Orleans Theses and Dissertations. 1169.
https://scholarworks.uno.edu/td/1169
Rights
The University of New Orleans and its agents retain the non-exclusive license to archive and make accessible this dissertation or thesis in whole or in part in all forms of media, now or hereafter known. The author retains all other ownership rights to the copyright of the thesis or dissertation.