...and A Midsummer Night’s Dream by William Shakespeare are highly evocative pieces of theatre that have transcended the category of brilliance and have had a profound effect on the course of Western literature and culture. Both plays explore a broad range of themes, from the supernatural to comments on the power of religion in society. However, I have chosen to explore the ways in which they portray the theme of gender. Firstly I will examine the issues regarding gender in A Midsummer Night’s Dream in particular the oppression of the female characters. I will explore Shakespeare’s portrayal of Titania and Hermia and his ability to disguise the deeper feminist consciousness that is at work. I will then look at the way in which gender is presented in Miller’s The Crucible, ranging from the heroic depiction of John Proctor to the oppositional presentations of Abigail and Elizabeth. William Shakespeare is a famously suggestive author in terms of highlighting issues regarding gender ideology. Although in some works, such as Othello, he reflects and arguably supports the stereotyping of men and women, he is also seen to challenge such representations. A Midsummer Night’s Dream dramatizes tensions between genders, from a young woman quarrelling with her father for the right to choose her own husband, to Theseus marrying Hippolyta whom he conquered through violence and even a bitter battle between Oberon and Titania which affects the order of the natural world. A Midsummer Night’s Dream...
Words: 2021 - Pages: 9
...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...
Words: 1481 - Pages: 6
...Why did Shakespeare include uneducated commoners into a serious play on love? To this day many still doubt why Shakespeare added the mechanicals to the play—especially to perform Pyramus and Thisbe, a serious play. However, the prolific Shakespeare had a ingenious purpose for the addition of the mechanicals. First, the mechanicals add a comedic value to the entire play. Also, with the addition of the mechanicals, the play engages a wide spectrum of audience from nobility to low-class labourers. Finally, the mechanicals help to support the theme of the humankind’s foolishness. Thus. the mechanicals prove that sometimes the most underappreciated characters contribute a lot to the play A Midsummer Night’s Dream. One of the most important purposes...
Words: 931 - Pages: 4
...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...
Words: 633 - Pages: 3
...In the Renaissance era romantic comedy, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, William Shakespeare uses the motif of sleep to reveal the importance of love, even though love often seems insane. People everywhere, every day, endure the struggle and heartbreak of love. Love tends to seem crazy and unreasonable to most people, no matter how young or old, whether it serves as the first time or the tenth. Often, in the play, A Midsummer...
Words: 665 - Pages: 3
...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
...remember'd not to be, Die single, and thine image dies with thee . Sonnet V Those hours, that with gentle work did frame The lovely gaze where every eye doth dwell, Will play the tyrants to the very same And that unfair which fairly doth excel: For never-resting time leads summer on To hideous winter and confounds him there; Sap cheque'd with frost and lusty leaves quite gone, Beauty o'ersnow'd and bareness every where: Then, were not summer's distillation left, A liquid prisoner pent in walls of glass, Beauty's effect with beauty were bereft, Nor it nor no remembrance what it was: But flowers distill'd though they with winter meet, Leese but their show; their substance still lives swee SONNET1FROM fairest creatures we desire increase, That thereby beauty's rose might never die, But as the riper should by time decease, His tender heir might bear his memory: But thou, contracted to thine own bright eyes, Feed'st thy light'st flame with self-substantial fuel, Making a famine where abundance lies, Thyself thy foe, to thy sweet self too cruel. Thou that art now the world's fresh ornament And only herald to the gaudy spring Within thine own bud buriest thy content And, tender churl, makest waste in niggarding. Pity the world, or else this glutton be, To eat the world's due, by the...
Words: 2171 - Pages: 9
...Love can transform one's life. Weather its valuable or atrocious. When we often fall in infatuation we are blind to the world around us. In the play, A Midsummer Night’s Dream by William Shakespeare four couples fell in love. But not necessarily all unwise. All of the main characters are in or desire to be in a romantic relationship. Lysander and Hermia are the two lovers that can not be together. Demetrius and Helena are acquaintances but, Demetrius can not stand Helena. He is in love with Hermia, who does not feel the same. The story turned around right about when Lysander and Hermia decide to go away in the woods to Lysander's aunt's house. That is when there preposterous destiny began. In the play there is an fairy couple. The couple...
Words: 920 - Pages: 4
...Power Over Effective Progress Numerous problems in the world today result from selfishness. Self-centered people who cannot see past their big egos and their thirst for power cause conflict. In the Elizabethan, romantic comedy, Midsummer Night’s Dream, William Shakespeare reveals the theme that many problems in the world result from the actions of self-centered people because selfishness does not yield effective progress. Selfish people want things their way or no way. They always think they know best, when in actuality, they think about themselves and no one else. They represent the type of person unwilling to compromise and hear other people's opinions and oppositions, and go about in a closed minded way. Despite the different types of...
Words: 434 - Pages: 2
...Early European Theater • The writings of this period were primarily hymns, sermons and similar theologically oriented works. • Latin became a literary medium. • Major preserves of learning are the monasteries. • 8th century Europe returned to greater stability under the Carolingian kings. ➢ Charles Martel – defeated the Moslems at Tours in 732 AD, through his innovative use of armored horsemen as the principal military force, initiating the development of knighthood. ➢ Charlemagne – extended his realm into the Slavic territories and converting non- Christians on the way. Charlemagne was crowned by the Pope and pronounced him as the successor to Constantine. The scenario was the first attempt to establish the Holy Roman Empire. • Charlemagne’s death caused Europe to break into small units isolated from each other and from the world. • Moslem controlled the Mediterranean and the Vikings, still pagans, conquered the northern seas. Early Middle Ages • Life was relatively simple. • Feudalistic patterns were fully established. ➢ Manor (large estate)- headed by a noble man, assumed absolute authority over the peasants who worked his land collectively. ➢ Vassals – supplies the lords a specified number of knights upon demand and the lords in return were bound to protect their vassals. The Theater (500- 900 AD) • The theater revived during the early Middle Ages. • After the Western Roman...
Words: 7202 - Pages: 29
...ENGL 210 Shakespeare Notes LECTURER SAMBOKO, B. M. There are many outstanding people in history: - our heroes… our role models…. Politicians: Napoleon, Adolf Hitler, Winston Churchill, Abraham Lincoln, John F Kennedy, Margaret Thatcher, Mahatma Gandhi, Kenneth Kaunda Community Service: Mother Teresa, George Muller, David Livingstone Religious: Apostle Paul, the other apostles, Ellen G White, Anderson, The pope, Martin Luther, Sports: Neymar, Messi, Ronaldo, Benzema - Michael Jordan, Pele, Maradona Music: Lady Gaga, jZ, Tupak, Michael Jackson, Jim Reeves, Jimmy Hendricks, Literary Circles: Before Shakespeare the great names in literature were: o Homer – Ancient times - well known for his great epics o Dante – Middle Ages – wrote brilliantly on circumstances of human existence o Aristotle – the great philosopher ENTER SHAKESPEARE – THE LITERARY GIANT Spelling of Shakespeare: Spelling not yet standardized, thus name spelled in different ways • Shakespeare, Shakspere, Shackspere, Shaxper, Shagspere, Shaxberd, etc. Shakespeare: The most well known playwright of Elizabethan times is Shakespeare. But there were also other writers who in their time were just as, or even more famous than him. WHAT MAKES SHAKESPEARE STAND OUT? – The volume of his works Plays firmly attributed to Shakespeare ■ 14 COMEDIES – funny play – with amusing events – ended in marriage / or happily o Midsummer Night’s Dream, Merchant...
Words: 8454 - Pages: 34
...While the novel Bless Me, Ultima by Rudolfo Anaya, the novella The House on Mango Street by Sandra Cisneros, and the play A Midsummer Night’s Dream by playwright William Shakespeare seem extremely contrasting in every form and manner, the observation merely scratches the surface, as all three share an obvious, yet hidden theme, furthering the idea that there can be strong and independent...
Words: 1910 - Pages: 8
...the metaphysical poets John milton Jonathan Swift mark Twain mary Shelley Nathaniel hawthorne Oscar Wilde percy Shelley ralph Waldo emerson robert Browning Samuel Taylor Coleridge Stephen Crane Walt Whitman William Blake William Shakespeare William Wordsworth Bloom’s Classic Critical Views W i l l ia m Sha k e Sp e a r e Edited and with an Introduction by Sterling professor of the humanities Yale University harold Bloom Bloom’s Classic Critical Views: William Shakespeare Copyright © 2010 Infobase Publishing Introduction © 2010 by Harold Bloom All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or utilized in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage or retrieval systems, without permission in writing from the publisher. For more information contact: Bloom’s Literary Criticism An imprint of Infobase Publishing 132 West 31st Street New York NY 10001 Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data William Shakespeare / edited and with an introduction by Harold Bloom : Neil Heims, volume editor. p. cm. — (Bloom’s classic critical views) Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 978-1-60413-723-1 (hardcover) ISBN 978-1-4381-3425-3 (e-book) 1. Shakespeare, William, 1564–1616—Criticism and interpretation. I. Bloom, Harold. II. Heims, Neil. PR2976.W5352 2010 822.3'3—dc22 2010010067 Bloom’s Literary Criticism books are available at special discounts when purchased in bulk...
Words: 239932 - Pages: 960
...A TEACHER’S GUIDE TO THE SIGNET CLASSIC EDITION OF WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE’S MACBETH LINDA NEAL UNDERWOOD S E R I E S E D I T O R S : W. GEIGER ELLIS, ED.D., ARTHEA J. S. REED, PH.D., UNIVERSITY OF GEORGIA, EMERITUS and UNIVERSITY OF NORTH CAROLINA, RETIRED A Teacher’s Guide to the Signet Classic Edition of William Shakespeare’s Macbeth 2 INTRODUCTION William Shakespeare developed many stories into excellent dramatizations for the Elizabethan stage. Shakespeare knew how to entertain and involve an audience with fast-paced plots, creative imagery, and multi-faceted characters. Macbeth is an action-packed, psychological thriller that has not lost its impact in nearly four hundred years. The politically ambitious character of Macbeth is as timely today as he was to Shakespeare's audience. Mary McCarthy says in her essay about Macbeth, "It is a troubling thought that Macbeth, of all Shakespeare's characters, should seem the most 'modern,' the only one you could transpose into contemporary battle dress or a sport shirt and slacks." (Signet Classic Macbeth) Audiences today quickly become interested in the plot of a blindly ambitious general with a strong-willed wife who must try to cope with the guilt engendered by their murder of an innocent king in order to further their power. The elements of superstition, ghosts, and witchcraft, though more readily a part of everyday life for the Renaissance audience, remain intriguing to modern teenagers. The action-packed...
Words: 8499 - Pages: 34
...comedy," you're right. Two Gentlemen of Verona is the great, great grandfather of buddy flicks like the 2009 comedy I Love You Man.) Written as early as 1590-91, Two Gentlemen appears to be William Shakespeare's first play. (As usual, some literary critics are divided over this issue, but we're going with the editors of The Norton Shakespeare and the editors of The Oxford Shakespeare on this one.) As Shakespeare's first theatrical effort, Two Gentlemenhas been referred to as a "limping forerunner" of Shakespeare's later works. Even famous literary scholar Harold Bloom says it's "the weakest of all Shakespeare's comedies." We, on the other hand, prefer to think of Two Gentlemen as Shakespeare's test kitchen, where a budding young playwright begins to work out the recipe for his "comedies" and begins to explore themes and conventions that he'll develop more fully in later works – particularly the themes of male friendship and heterosexual love, which come into conflict in plays like The Merchant of Veniceand also in Shakespeare's collection of Sonnets. Like all test kitchen creations, Two Gentlemen is far from perfect – there are multiple plot inconsistencies and many scenes feature only a couple of speakers at a time. On this latter point, Jean Howard notes that it's "as if Shakespeare had not yet mastered the skill of orchestrating a full complement of stage voices and bodies." The play is also notable for its controversial and somewhat bizarre ending. We don't want to spoil...
Words: 11043 - Pages: 45
