School Books: Romantic Comedies (First Impressions)

I have decided to review the first couple of school readings together: dramatic romantic comedies. For my 16th Century Drama class, we are reading John Lyly's "Gallathea" and William Shakespeare's "As You Like It." I am going to call these "first impressions" because this is the first time I have read the two of them. (I will be rereading them for this class at least once more).

I found "Gallathea" extremely strange. It was rather hard to follow, with scenes and characters seeming to come randomly. The main plot, of Gallathea and Phillida having to disguise themselves as boys to avoid being sacrificed and falling in love with one another was rather funny. But I didn't like the happenings of the Dryads and Cupid. It seemed unnecessary filler. And the brothers who were looking to find someone to apprentice them, that also seemed like unnecessary filler.

On the other hand, I thought "As You Like It" was great! The play was well written (of course! It's Shakespeare!) and the plot was extremely entertaining. Everything seemed to have a purpose - nothing came across as unnecessary filler. The whole story came together beautifully in the end.

That was what I thought of the two romantic comedies. If the professor gives me any neat tidbits, I will post about them later on here. I will also be watching a few film versions of "As You Like It" by the professor's suggestion. I will probably be reviewing them on Shauna's World once I do.