...METATHEATRE IN A MIDSUMMER NIGHT’S DREAM (SHAKESPEARE). The term metatheatre is used to refer to any instance in which a play draws attention to itself as a play, rather than pretending to be a representation of “reality.” Various uses of metatheatrical devices can be found in the works of William Shakespeare. One of Shakespeare’s favorite such devices is the “play-within-a-play.” With this device, the theatre audience finds itself watching an audience (on stage) watching a play. The play-within-a-play is thus a self-reflexive device that addresses the question of where audience reality ends and theatrical illusion begins. Shakespeare often incorporated the device as an integral part of his plots. A famous example can be found in Hamlet, in which a play is used as part of the effort to uncover the guilt of Hamlet’s Uncle Claudius. Another famous play-within-a-play is found in A Midsummer Night’s Dream. In this work, the play performed by Nick Bottom and his friends takes up almost the entire final act. It appears after the major issues of A Midsummer Night’s Dream have been resolved, and thus it is clearly not integral to the development of the plot. Nonetheless, as this paper will argue, the play-within-a-play in A Midsummer Night’s Dream serves an important function by making commentaries on the events that occurred in the first four acts. Various metatheatrical elements can be found throughout A Midsummer Night’s Dream. For example, Bottom appears...
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...AMND A Midsummer Night’s Dream is a comedy/fantasy fiction by William Shakespeare wrote in 1595 or 1596 where Theseus plans to marry Hippolyta, and where lovers spend the night in the forest and fairies do spells and pranks on them. The play takes place in Athens. The plays first performance was on January 1, 1605 (Study.com, 2003-2018) and has been a popular play all over the world, ever since. The play is about love; it is not a tragedy. There were many different types of love portrayed in the play. Shakespeare talked about four different kinds of love in A Midsummer Night’s dream. He talked about forced love, parental love, romantic love, and complicated love. Forced Love- At the beginning of the play Theseus and Hippolyta have a forced love....
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...Major Task Essay What is it that appeals to audiences of A Midsummer Night’s Dream? Reading the work written by Shakespeare, many of the readers feel different emotions; humour, confusion, happiness, sadness. However this emotions, show that if one author can allow the reader to feel these emotions than they have a very powerful gift. Shakespeare gives the reader a glimpse of his ‘magical’ powers in A Midsummer Night’s Dream. This book has a very large base of which this book appeals to, due to criteria, it can be placed in. Wether it be fantasy, romance or comedy, this book is fit for anyone, however recommended for High School Children and up. Comedy is a very good element to have in a book as this is something everyone looks for, and A Midsummer Night’s Dream gives the reader a huge proportion of comedy. A character who is known for their comedy is Nick Bottom as he exaggerates his movements and voice all the time. He is is the light of comedy because he isn’t funny, which makes him funny. The mechanicals who put on the play, where humorous as they turned the play from tragedy to comedy. The comedy is shown with irony of love. The ‘lovers’ in the book are often switching partners and always falling ‘in and out’ of love. The love is eventually resolved with everyone falling in love with the partners they are supposed to fall in love with. Midsummer Night’s Dream brings many people ‘back to the old days’ when they were watching Disney movies and reading about an enchanted...
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...SHAKESPEARE COMPARISON PRESENTATION PLAY SYNOPSIS A Midsummer Night's Dream" deals with the universal theme of love and its complications: lust, disappointment, confusion, marriage. The plot focuses on three parallel stories: * The trials and experiences of two sets of lovers camping in a magical forest * The world of the Fairy King and Queen and their elves * And a group of amateur actors attempting to stage a production of "Pyramus and Thisby" for the wedding of the Duke of Athens. Hermia is in love with Lysander, but her father wants her to marry Demetrius (who is loved by Helena). Hermia has to choose between marrying Demetrius, death or becoming a nun. To escape the arranged marriage, she and Lysander elope into the woods followed by Demetrius and Helena. While there we have the two male characters in love with Hermia, while Helena is trying to win the heart of Demetrius back. With this going on in the ‘main plot’ we are re-introduced to the fairies who try to ‘help’ the situation by using a love potion. The whole thing goes completely wrong which adds to the comedic elements of this play and ends up with Lysander and Demetrius now loving Helena and they find themselves in the same situation that they were already in before. "The course of true love never did run smooth" comments Lysander, uttering one of A Midsummer Night’s Dream’s most important themes. The theme of love’s difficulty, which is explored through the motif of love out of balance. The...
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...A Midsummer Night's Dream Genre Comedy A Midsummer Night's Dream is a classic example of Shakespearean comedy. What, you don't believe us? We'll prove it to you. We've got a checklist that details all the typical conventions and features of the genre so you can see for yourself: Light, humorous tone: Check. The play features fairy magic (like Oberon's love potion), silly pranks (like the transformation of a guy's head into that of a jackass), and the botched performance of a play-within-the-play by a bunch of wannabe actors. Need we say more? Clever dialogue and witty banter: Check. Shakespeare is a huge fan of punning and snappy wordplay, so naturally, his characters know how to get their witty repartee on. Shakespeare reserves some of the best dialogue for his warring lovers, especially Oberon and Titania, and even the "rude mechanicals" manage to wow us with their clever banter. Deception and disguise: Let's see…Hermia and Lysander try to sneak away from Athens to elope (behind Egeus's back). Also, Titania and the young lovers have no idea they've been drugged by Oberon and his magic love juice. So, check. Mistaken identity: Check. Sort of. In most of Shakespeare's other comedies, someone usually runs around in a disguise to mask his or her identity. (Sometimes, a lover is even tricked into sleeping with the wrong person by mistake.) This isn't necessarily the case in A Midsummer Night's Dream, unless we count the fact that the love juice causes Titania to fall head...
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...In “A Midsummer Night’s dream” William Shakespeare shows a variety of different types of love. A few examples of love are: true, parental, friendship, and romantic. Also, Shakespeare shows how easily one’s feelings can change for one another. Even though “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” was written in Ancient Greek times, people can easily relate to the different types of love shown throughout the drama. Love can be a beautiful thing or either it can be chaotic and at times nerve racking, but in the end everything works together for the best. Parental love and true love are commonly used in the drama. Hermia saw that parental love can be rather nerve racking because she wants to marry Lysander but her father wants her to marry Demetrius instead....
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...Allusions in A Midsummer Night’s Dream Carlos Fuentes wrote “There is no creation without tradition; the 'new' is an inflection on a preceding form; novelty is always a variation on the past” (Myself with Others: Selected Essays). Judging from William Shakespeare’s own extensive use of allusions, he would agree with Carlos Fuentes. William Shakespeare was an English Renaissance author of many timeless pieces, including A Midsummer Night’s Dream. A Midsummer Night’s Dream is a tale of how love, (whether it be true love or the misuse of love potions,) blurs the fine line between dreams and reality. In the preceding literary piece, and many more of his unlisted works, William Shakespeare used allusions. Literary allusions are “implied or indirect references to a person, event, or thing, or to a part of another text” (Encyclopedia Britannica). William Shakespeare, author of A Midsummer Night’s Dream, used allusions to reinforce the intended persona of his characters. As revealed earlier, Shakespeare used allusions to better the character development in his writing. This was made very self-evident when it came to Hermia’s character in A Midsummer Night’s Dream. Hermia...
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...Explore the ways writer’s present characters in difficult circumstances. What similarities and differences do you find in the ways Juliet in ‘Romeo and Juliet’ and Hermia in ‘A Midsummer night’s dream’ are presented in their battle to be with the man they love. Both plays, Romeo and Juliet and A Midsummer Night’s dream are based upon the theme of love. Shakespeare’s explores the difficulties faced by the characters in both plays and how they struggle to be with the person they love, I will be exploring two main female characters in both plays which are Juliet in “Romeo and Juliet” and Hermia from “A Midsummer Night’s dream”. Both Women face difficult and challenging decisions throughout the plays however the plays differ on what kind of story they are “Romeo and Juliet” is a tragedy, whereas “A Midsummer Night’s dream” is a comedy. Juliet is in a land of hostility where the audience knows from the very beginning the audience know she is controlled by fate and is going to die at the end. The Audience are told this right at the beginning in the prologue where it says “The fearful passage of their death-marked love,” this tells the audience that the lovers of the story are going to die in a tragic way. On the other hand, Hermia’s surroundings are fair more kind and because the play is a comedy, the audience know it’s going to end with a wedding and you could say “happy ever after”. There are parallels throughout both plays that copy each other but these parallels exist within...
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...A Midsummer Night’s Dream ‘All Shakespearean plays are relevant to modern audiences.’ Shakespeare’s plays have an exciting and capturing quality about them that continues to excite modern day audiences. One of his most famous plays, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, has many themes such as love, dreams and farcical events that make us laugh at the foolishness of the smitten characters. We watch as the play unravels before us, showing the obstacles people go through to achieve happiness when they are in love. Because of these characteristics, A Midsummer Night’s Dream is a riveting play that is still relevant to modern audiences. One of the key features in A Midsummer Night’s Dream that is used to engage viewers and readers is love vs. reason. This is cleverly demonstrated when Bottom says “…reason and love keep little company together nowadays.” as Titania, the fairy queen, professes her unjustified and undying love to him. Shakespeare used personification in the text because Bottom and Titania are portraying ‘reason’ and ‘love’ while they speak, seeing as fairies and mortal humans do not mix. Finding love illogical or having no reason is still relevant and a very common occurrence in our modern day lives, as (coming from a non-scientific point of view) we still don’t understand how or why love happens. Love and all its glorious mayhem shall always persevere throughout the ages, and even throughout varying cultures, as it is a part of being human. Being such a dominant theme in...
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...in a midsummer night's dream women are portrayed as characters that will do almost anything for love, even when they are not under a spell. the women characters in this play are shown to be very gullible, and are all greatly effected by the love spell. women are manipulated a lot in this play. friendships built upon more solid foundations crumble when attacked by the artillery of petty jealousies or when undermined by misunderstandings, which creates a complicated portrayal of women and their relationships with one another that cannot be understood in one specific way. Shakespeare wanted to convey regarding the nature of female passions and affections, not only as they affected women, but also as they impacted women’s relationships with men. The friendships and relationships of women in “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” by Shakespeare are important to the plot and even the general structure of “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” by Shakespeare. One of the most interesting representations of the friendships of women in A Midsummer Night’s Dream by Shakespeare can be seen in the conflict between Titania and her husband, Oberon. This is occasioned by the fact that both the wife and the husband want to retain possession of a young Indian boy who has been placed in Titania’s care. Titania does not want to give up the boy because she has, as she states in one of the important quotes from “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” by Shakespeare, “never had so sweet a changeling” (II.i.23); for this reason, she...
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...In the play A Midsummer Night’s Dream by Shakespeare, there are many aspects of love. Many characters present a dark feeling of love towards others. Helena believes her friendship with Hermia has changed ever since men have entered their lives. Helena reacts to this adjustment in her life with jealousy. Theseus shows his love for Hippolyta in a more manly way rather than romantically. He believes in the more dominant type of love, where man overpowers woman. Egeus, Hermia’s father, is an ignorant man. He does not care for his daughter’s happiness with Lysander but for his own well-being. Shakespeare approaches the concept of love in a negative way. Helena and Hermia are best friends but ever since men have made an impact in their lives, Helena has been left out. She believes her friendship with Hermia has taken a turn for the worst. She feels jealous because she wants to be like Hermia, she wants to be loved by Demetrius and have the characteristics that he loves about her. She misses her simple friendship with Hermia, “So we grow together, Like to a double cherry, seeming parted, But yet a union in partition, Two lovely berries moulded on one stem; So with two seeming bodies, but one heart;” (III.ii.208-212) Helena explains how close she used to be with Hermia. They have branched apart and wish she could be like her because men like her and she is beautiful. This represents the fact that when a relationship is put between friends the love in the middle of the friendship can...
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...Arranged Marriages Arranged marriages have been practiced for years in many countries. For many people, the idea of arranged marriages brings joy and happiness. For others, it brings great displeasure in not being able to choose the one they want to marry. For example, in the play A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Hermia is in love with Lysander, yet her father wants her to marry Demetrius. Hermia has to make a decision on who she wants to marry. Hermia has to either marry Demetrius or Lysander. In order to marry Lysander, they were going to run away together. In the end, she is able to marry Lysander, her true love. Arranged marriages were quite popular during the time that Shakespeare wrote this play. However, there are many countries today that still arrange many marriages. One country in particular is India. In India, there are many reasons why and how they arrange marriages. Arranging a marriage in India is part of their culture and plays a big role in their country. Parents choose to find a match for their children in India. Finding a husband for the daughter allows her to relax and enjoy life. It takes unnecessary stress away from the child. Parents have their children’s best interest at heart when it comes to education and marriage. Both are considered to be a very important part of their culture. A successful marriage and a good education for the child directly reflect on the parents. There was an article written on arranged marriages and Sita, an Indian...
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...Love means many things, to each person it means something different. Sometimes, the word love doesn't even mean love, it merely becomes an image of something we want it to be. In the book a Midsummer Night's Dream love can be defined in three different ways; friendship love, relationship love, and mistaken love. The friendship love comes between the couples Hermia & Lysander, Helena and Demetrius, and Thisbe and Pyramus. In act five Thisbe and Pyramus were shocked but yet accepted what had happened between the couples and set the wedding and events for them. This shows friendship love between the couples because they accepted their differences like true friends do. The next type of love is relationship love. We see it mostly between Hermia...
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...True love does not exist without a harsh path traveled. Love shows how vulnerable people are. In the romantic comedy A Midsummer Night’s Dream, a play in the Elizabethan era, William Shakespeare uses comedic conventions to explain love’s harsh and chaotic nature can make a fool out of anyone. Love not only makes a person a fool, but also guides people to make poor decisions. Shakespeare shows this through Hermia inquiring to Theseus the punishment for refusing to marry Demetrius because she loves Lysander, “But I beseech your Grace that I may know the worst that may befall me in this case if refuse to wed Demetrius”(I, i, 64-66). The fact that she would even ask the question that disobeys her father’s wishes makes an excellent example of a poor decision. Hermia not only asks this but also has thoughts of running away with Lysander and tries to carry out these plans, “Take comfort: he no more shall see my face. Lysander and myself will fly this place” (I, i, 207-208). Hermia also makes the poor decision of telling this to Helena who wishes to impress Demetrius out of love and Helena tells Demetrius of Hermia and Lysander’s plans to escape....
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...What can two random components like love and a potion have in common? According to Shakespeare’s play “A Midsummer Night’s Dream”, pouring a love potion on two separate love interest did not make for a good night. Thankfully, George Lucas’s storyline explained Shakespeare’s play in the animated movie ‘Strange Magic’. While there are some differences, the similarities between “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” and ‘Strange Magic’ are salient. While the plots are similar, each work stands alone due to their differences. “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” is one of Shakespeare’s play comedies. The play begins with Theseus who is preparing the city for his marriage to Hippolyta with a festival. Theseus is named the Duke of Athens, which makes him have the highest title Meanwhile, Egeus enters followed by Hermia, Lysander, and Demetrius. Hermia is Egeus’ daughter and she is in love with...
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