...Name: Instructor: Course: Date: A Midsummer Night's Dream (Love & Madness) The theme of love has always been the main subject when it comes to Shakespeare. The play “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” is no exception. The multiple love triangles in this play have enhanced the manner in which the theme of love can be perceived in this case. Love has been presented as a form of insanity where people opt to do crazy things all in the name of love. The characters in the play are involved in different acts of love that portray the idea of madness. As a result of this, love has been shown as a form of madness brought about by the actions of those in love. A quote from the play states “Lovers and madmen have such seething brains; such shaping fantasies, that apprehend more than cool reason ever comprehends.” This goes to prove the insanity evident in love. This argument brings about a different comprehension to the works of Shakespeare. This is evident from the notion of insanity applied to the interpretation of love; thus making love to look like something different other than the desire and passion intended by the author. While the story revolves around love, we are introduced to different acts of love that the different characters are involved in. The major story of love is portrayed by Theseus and Hyppolita. The different love triangles among the other characters such as Hermia, Helena, Lysander and Demetrius also portray the notion that love has been represented as a form...
Words: 728 - Pages: 3
...A Midsummer’s Night Dream Running Head: A MIDSUMMER’S NIGHT DREAM A Midsummer’s Night Dream David Ephriam Gilbert Bethel University A Midsummer’s Night Dream The imaginative role that we humans all assume in relationships throughout of love, honor, and dignity do not explain how one’s history should be lived. In a Midsummer’s Night Dream, the characters are unique individuals who will do almost anything to demonstrate differing views of affection. In the challenges that are pertinent to a Midsummer’s Night Dream, Lysander and Demetrius are both in love with the same human. Hermia is the “fair one” who both men so desire to marry. Demetrius is favored by Hermia’s father and his happiness for his daughter has been frustrated by misunderstanding or parental opposition. The other love battle is Helena; Hermia’s young childhood friend who have become hated rivals throughout the ordeal in their present mood of self-pity and injured self-regard. Lysander and Demetrius now have been confronted by turning on one another for characteristically aggressive male ways. The four lovers then rhythematically discuss openly in verse about how Hermia’s father refuses to allow Lysander to marry his daughter. Hermia’s father feels that Lysander is not royal worthy of Hermia. Lysander disagrees with Egeus and Helena having being rejected by Demetrius can only suppose that she is going to be made fun of by Demetrius. Hermia begins to make Helena feel doubtful; she begins to think...
Words: 550 - Pages: 3
...Antithesis in A Midsummer Night’s Dream In Shakespeare's play A Midsummer Night's, there are a lot of themes that are evident. Some of these themes included order, disorder, reality, dream, harmony, enmity, amity, harmony, and dissonance are just to name a few. Normally, none of these themes would even be present at the same time because of their contrasting nature and the fact that they are complete opposites. However, the fact that not only are these themes present at the same time, but they even interact with one another inside of the play to create events within the play is the epitome of antithesis. Shakespeare even includes character antitheses that intertwine with the themes. Furthermore, in A Midsummer Night's Dream the main overshadowing theme is the concept of antithesis because the fact that all of the themes present in the play have opposites that can be clearly be seen and the fact that Shakespeare places next to each other in contrasting beauty show antithesis. In this play, none of these themes would exist without their opposites. Initially, one of the examples of antithesis, and probably the most prevalent, in A Midsummer Night's Dream is the theme of disorder and its companion order. Disorder is a dominant theme in this play because it is seen on nearly every page and in many aspects of the play. In most cases, the disorder is cause by the fairies. These fairies are part of the dream world that actually controls the real world. One of the main fairies that...
Words: 585 - Pages: 3
...A miIn Act 1 Scene 2 I will set up the scene with Peter Quince in the middle on a box stool having him already set out to the audience as being very drama queen like showing to the audience how interested he is in making this little play happen. Then from Peter Quince’s view I will have all the other actors in a semi circle facing both the audience and Quince , this will tackle moving and space and not make it seems like the actors are afraid to use the space ; also by having the actors in this position will propose that each actor has their own space and their own characteristics that no other character can interfere with or take away from. As a director I want the audience to instantly recognise that Shakespeare’s portrayal of Nick Bottom’s character as hilariously overt. In Act 1 scene 2 I will take Bottoms line ‘ An I may hide my face, let me play Thisbe too. Ill speak in a monstrous little voice: ‘Thisne,Thisne!’ ‘Ah ,Pyramus,my lover dear; thy Thisbe dear and lady dear.’ I will have Bottom interrupt Peter Quince before as he says ‘An I may hide my face’ . I will do this because it will already show how humours Bottom is in a very eager way as he cannot wait to interrupt to let out how eager he is to play all characters. When Nick Bottom says this first word I will have him burst out quickly into the centre with his arms open. I will do this because having him walk in the middle will show the audience that he is purposely taking the centre stage because he wants all...
Words: 2510 - Pages: 11
...In A Midsummer Night’s Dream, by William Shakespeare, the rhetorical device of dramatic irony is used to begin our decent into the long tale of that night in the forest. Puck proves to be quite accurate characterizing the four main characters when he states, "O what fools these mortals be” (III, ii, 119). The four main characters believe this is reality, but is it? Helena and Demetrius, Hermia and Lysander, and Theseus and Hippolyta are the main lovers throughout the story. Each with different roots of love. Shakespeare wants to open our eyes to the ways we become fools for love. These characters are a true definition of lovesick. They appear to be in love with love, more than in love with each other. Demetrius is a fool because he is unaware that his love changes throughout the play. At the start of the play Demetrius does not love Helena. Demetrius says, "I love thee not, therefore pursue me not." (II, ii, 188) "Hence, get thee gone, and follow me no more."(II, ii, 194) In III ii, Demetrius after being juiced begins to love Helena. Demetrius says, "Lysander, keep thy Hermia; I will none. If ever I loved her, all that love is gone. My heart to her but as guest- wise sojourned, And now to Helen is it home returned, There to remain." (III, ii, 169-173) This proves he is a fool, because he is not aware of his changing love for Helena. Helena is a fool because Demetrius does not love her but she still persists in chasing him. Demetrius says, "I'll run from thee, and hide me in...
Words: 760 - Pages: 4
...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...
Words: 885 - Pages: 4
...the title of A Midsummer Night's Dream in context of the play's events if we know that the Elizabethans still only recognized three seasons of the year. The three seasons were autumn, winter, and summer. The Elizabethans also still used the Julian Calendar, which placed the new year as starting in March, with New Year's Day on March 25th. Hence, according to some critics, the new year began in March, which was summer, although that is hard to confirm. If summer begins in March then May Day, or May 1st is certainly in midsummer as Shakespeare knew it. We know that the play centers around May Day because when the lovers awake in the forest and are found by Theseus and Egeus, Theseus observes that the couples must be in the forest at dawn "to observe The rite of May". Critics also observe that May Day was often celebrated in the Elizabethan era at sunrise with an opening ceremony of singing . Hence, we see, that according to some critics, the play is set beginning on the eve of May 1st and continues through to May Day, which was indeed considered to be midsummer. Therefore, the title A Midsummer Night's Dream is completely fitting. The title of one of Shakespeare's greatest comedies "A Midsummer Night's Dream" is an allusion to the summer solstice (the longest day of the year), around June 23, but in fact the play is set in May. Still, the holiday of "A Midsummer Night's Dream" is appropriate since this day was associated with magic (herbs gathered on this night could charm), with...
Words: 377 - Pages: 2
...use of irony, helped this play become so popular. Verbal irony is when the speaker says the opposite of what they mean. Dramatic irony is when the audience knows something that the characters don’t know. One theme or lesson you can take from this play is , “The course of true love never did run smooth” (1.1.134). https://www.shmoop.com/midsummer-nights-dream There are a lot of examples of dramatic irony in A Midsummer Night’s Dream. One example was when Titania fell in love with Bottom which was the man who turned into a donkey. “Fetch me that flower . . . . The juice of it on sleeping eyelids laid will make man or woman madly dote upon the next live creature that it sees” (2.1.175- 178).https://www.shmoop.com/midsummer-nights-dream This shows...
Words: 422 - Pages: 2
...Shakespeare’s Four Different Kinds of Love in 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....
Words: 701 - Pages: 3
...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...
Words: 1794 - Pages: 8
...Puck, trickster sprite and curator of chaos, delivers this monologue to bring A Midsummer Nights Dream to an end. Through this speech, peppered with a lexicon of dreamlike images, Puck has successfully denied the audience catharsis, through forcing upon the play an entirely new tone. Every ‘vision’, every ‘shadow’ - every touch of magic - is explained away by ‘slumber’. Thus, if one believes the ‘honest puck’, that the entire play has indeed been the fictitious outcome of a ‘slumber[ing]’ audience, one cannot ignore the metatheatrical undertones of this assumption. Metatheatre - through the breaking down and staring straight through the ‘fourth wall’ - not-so-subtly reminds the audience that what they are watching is fictitious, that the...
Words: 458 - Pages: 2
...6/14/14 05 A Midsummer Night's Dream. Love can be known to be crazy and complicated. love has many different aspects to it and it can be understood to be magical and a beautiful thing, as well as vise versa. love is known to have many powers and Shakespeare is very interested in both magic itself and love. These two things in A Midsummer Night's Dream are greatly connected. This is why I think that the magical and surreal world Shakespeare creates in his play, reflects the almost supernatural power of love. The things that he creates within his text to embody this are the love potion, the "dreams", the double worlds, and the forests. the love potion and magic itself that are woven within the play makes some characters feel love drunk, confused, or under the influence. the first example of this is when Demetrius thinks he's in love with Helena while under the potions powers, when you can tell from the beginning of the play he really is not. "O Helena, goddess, nymph, perfect, divine! To what my love shall I compare thine eyne." (3.2.137-138) This piece of text evidence shows exactly the powers of this plant. The potion on Demetrius makes him think that he is in love with Helena, but he doesn't realize that he is under the influence of this potion, leaving him confused and not sure of his real feelings for Hermia. Another thing that involves the love potion and reflects the actions of being drunk is when Oberon orders puck to put the love potion onto Tatania's...
Words: 1330 - Pages: 6
...METATHEATRE in A MIDSUMMER NIGHT’S DREAM Course : Approfondissement Shakespeare ; theatre, meta-theatre and pact of performance Professor : F. MARCH Student: Louize Zara Dierickx (Erasmus Belgium) Course : Approfondissement Shakespeare ; theatre, meta-theatre and pact of performance Professor : F. MARCH Student: Louize Zara Dierickx (Erasmus Belgium) INTRODUCTION During the Elizabethan era meta-theatre was often used in plays to obtain the interest and participation (imagination) from the audience. Also Shakespeare used a lot of metaphors and references to theatre in his plays. In this research paper we will study the use of meta-theatre in Shakespeare’s famous play A Midsummer Night’s Dream. First, the term ‘meta-theatre’ will be explained. Then, the period in which meta-theatre was an important aspect of theatre, also Shakespeare’s period, namely the Elizabethan Era, will be discussed. Finally, a number of specific scenes in the play A Midsummer Night’s Dream will be analysed. Midsummer night’s dream is a romantic comedy. The play has 2 levels: the human world, which takes place during the day, and the fairy world, which takes place at night. In the human world the story is about 4 young people, searching their way to true love, as well as about a theatre company, preparing a play for the coming wedding of the king and queen. At the fairy level, the fairy king and queen quarrel about their marriage. These two levels are combined by a love potion, which...
Words: 2257 - Pages: 10
...A Midsummer Night's Dream is one of Shakespeare's more ambitious and fantastical plays. With over-arching plotlines, many interesting characters, magic, and odd creatures, Shakespeare really put a lot of imagination and hard work into ensuring A Midsummer Night's Dream could work as a play. The play has a few different themes going on at once, including but not necessarily limited to the idiocy of humanity and fiction versus reality. Scene III.1 embodies the two themes of the play, while also allowing Shakespeare the avenue to represent the arduous task of play-writing, while mocking those who feel they can make easy money doing something he excels at. The scene is quite important as it begins the introduction of the laborers/actors, who are effectively the idiots of the play, but also the idiots of humanity, who try to essentially fail at presenting a well thought out and...
Words: 1516 - Pages: 7
...of time. Even today they are used in education, personal leisure and of course entertainment, as they were always meant for. Today, plays like A Midsummer Night’s Dream, have been made into movies. But how well do the actors portray the timeless characters in Shakespeare’s world? Can modern day actors do Shakespearean characters justice in their portrayal? In A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Puck is one of the most significant characters. In the 1999 film adaptation the character of Puck is played by actor, Stanley Tucci. In A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Puck, also known as Robin Goodfellow is the mischievous sprite who serves Oberon, the Fairy King. He spends his days playing annoying tricks on people or helps them out with their chores. In the play, Puck brags about when he has been a nuisance to women in the village, “Sometimes for three-foot stool mistaketh me/Then slip I from her bum. Down topple she” (Shakespeare 2.1 52-53 857) more than anything else, Puck enjoys a good practical joke. After he changes Bottom’s head into the head of an ass, he delightedly proclaims, "My mistress with a monster is in love" (Shakespeare 3.2 6 870). Puck can be considered the heart and soul of the play because of his playful spirit, enthusiasm and disposition to prank anyone. His sense of humor and the tricks he plays infuse A Midsummer Night's Dream with a whimsical and disheveled quality that forms the majority of the play's amusing atmosphere. In the film, Stanley Tucci portrays the character...
Words: 1284 - Pages: 6
