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Prompt #18
"I heard you like Shakespeare..."
Theater kid Alicia is back again! Today’s prompt is inspired by the concept of Shakespeare’s “Green World,” which is admittedly nerdy but stay with me.
”The archetypal function of literature in visualizing the world of desire, not as an escape from "reality," but as the genuine form of the world that human life tries to imitate." — Northrop Frye, Anatomy of Criticism (1957)
“The plots of these comedies often follow the formula of action starting in the normal world and then progressing to an alternate one in which the conflict is resolved before returning to the normal world… The concept of the Green World is used to contrast the civilized world of man with the often harsh natural world.”
If you think about it, Sir William was obsessed with going into the woods. Midsummer? They go into the woods, As You Like It? Into the woods. Romeo and Juliet journey into the woods, King Lear and Edgar are always getting lost in the Heath somewhere. Nature and wild lands symbolize a place for transformation and unexpected challenges. This tradition still exists today; think about The Forbidden Forrest in Harry Potter, Frodo’s Journey away from the Shire, etc. Which brings me to a prompt.
In the medium of your choice, write about a character that gets lost in a lush forest wherein laws of physics and the natural world need not apply. Anything can happen here (see: Midsummer Night’s Dream).
While there, they are met with their greatest fear or greatest adversary. What/who is it, and how do they escape?
Set your timer for 10 minutes and write! Feel free to go beyond 10 minutes if the mood strikes.
Share this post to write with a friend!
I’m watching extremely silly tiktoks, because I’ve fallen into a screentime whole.
I’m reading a very thick book about Genre for an upcoming class I’m teaching!
I’m listening to The Social Network Soundtrack while I work.
How did it go? Let me know in the comments!
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