A Midsummer Nights Dream by William Shakespeare

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A Midsummer Nights Dream by William Shakespeare The point of this essay is to determine the style and use of humour in William Shakespeare's, 'A Midsummer Nights Dream.' Written around 1595, Shakespeare blended this story from a variety of sources and issues of the time. The play consists of 4 groups of characters: Theseus of Athens and his bride Hippolyta, queen of the Amazons; the fairy king and queen, Oberon and Titania; two pairs of young lovers who run to a nearby forest; and a company of Athenian working men headed by Nick Bottom, the weaver, who all enter the same forest as the lovers to rehearse a play they intend to perform for Theseus and the nobles. The humour of the play begins with a spell cast by Puck, Oberon's mischievous servant, which causes confusion of love between the lovers: Demetrius, Helena, Hermia and Lysander. But Puck also uses the potion on Titania, the beautiful and cultured Fairy Queen so that she falls in love with the oafish and clumsy Bottom who coincidentally takes on the physical appearance of a donkey. Shakespeare uses comedy in speech by making Bottom talk of donkeys and asses with realising he himself looks like a donkey, one of the few lines written include, "I see their knavery: this is to make an ass of me, to fright me if they couldâ€¦" Titania, who unbeknown of the spell used on her, cannot explain her undying love and desire for Bottom. She even compliments his awful singing, "I pray thee gentle mortal, sing again; mine ear is much enamoured of thy noteâ€¦" Titania introduces Bottom to all of her fairy subjects who often makes a fool of himself in front of these immortal, royal subjects. Titania continues to compliment him and shower him with gifts, which adds to the humour Shakespeare is implying. Eventually Oberon releases Titania from the spell and she realizes who she had loved. As for Bottom his normal head is replaced and he returns to the other workers to continue rehearsal.

Love, Lust and Infatuation in Midsummer Night’s Dream
1461 Words | 3 Pages
Love, lust and infatuation all beguile the senses of the characters in this dreamy and whimsical work of Shakespeare, and leads them to act in outlandish ways, which throughly amuses the reader. True love does prevail in the end for Hermia and Lysander, and the initial charm of infatuation ends up proving to have happy consequence for Helena and Demetrius as well. Even when at first the reader thinks that, in theory, the effects the potion will wear off and Lysander will once again reject Helena, Oberon places a blessings on all the couples that they should live happily ever after.
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William Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream
1585 Words | 4 Pages
In William Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream, there are endless images of water and the moon. Both images lend themselves to a feeling of femininity and calm. In classical mythology, the image of water is often linked with Aphrodite, goddess of passion and love. Born of the foam of the sea, Aphrodite was revered as an unfaithful wife to her husband Hephaestus (Grant 36). This may have a direct coloration to the unfaithful nature of the four lovers, Hermia, Helena, Lysander, and Demetrius, while in the woods. Perhaps more important, however, is Aphrodite’s link to the other Olympian maiden goddesses. As Aphrodite was attributed with love and beauty, Athena was the protector of war and arts, and finally, Artemis was the goddess of the woods and wild things (Hamilton 31). Artemis was brother of Apollo, god of the sun, and therefore she was the goddess of the moon. Through out literature it seems imagery of the moon and water can be used nearly interchangeably because they both imply feminine powers; water is representative of life and motion and the moon is representative of Artemis directly. Shakespeare seems to have been quite aware of the duties and powers of this ancient goddess.
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William Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream
3968 Words | 8 Pages
William Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream In the following essay I am aiming to show how Lysander's claim that 'the course of true love never did run smooth' is supported by other events in the play. "A Midsummer Night's Dream" was written by William Shakespeare. No one knows the exact date it was written but we know it was between 1589 and 1595. He combines romance with comedy to produce this popular story.
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A Midsummer Night's Dream
757 Words | 2 Pages
In A Midsummer Night's Dream, one of the masterpieces of William Shakespeare, Shakespeare explores various aspects of love and friendship. With the help of the main characters such as Lysander, Demetrious Helena and Hermia, he endeavors that the path of love is full of obstacles, however, if one is committed and faithful, he/she can defy those obstacles leading him/her to success. As Lysander says “The course of true love never did run smooth”, the love stories presented in the play undergo difficult situations but eventually the genuine love is recognized by the triumph of the true loves.
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A Midsummer Nights Dream by William Shakespeare
1039 Words | 3 Pages
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Twelfth Night by William Shakespeare
1103 Words | 3 Pages
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Othello by William Shakespeare
1750 Words | 4 Pages
black general is the hero. This would have been at a time when much of
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Twelfth Night by William Shakespeare
1058 Words | 3 Pages
In William Shakespeare’s play “Twelfth Night” the alleged Puritan Malvolio is the unpopular rigidity, hypocritical and gullible steward made to look a fool by those he has humiliated (Sir Toby, Sir Andrew, Maria, Fabian and Feste) which appeals to the audience. Malvolio is more the victim of his own psychic propensities than he is Maria’s gull, as his own beliefs appear to engineer his downfall. In Suzann Collins trilogy the “Hunger Games” the down to earth “pure” President Snow obtains those exact qualities of Malvolio. He appears to be on the people’s side but we soon learn that he overwhelms himself with power and takes himself down.
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William Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream
1280 Words | 3 Pages
Throughout history literature has changed into many different forms and styles, it has also stayed the same in many different ways, literary techniques and elements are key to a good piece of writing, a perfect example that shows us just this is in, A Midsummer Nights Dream, where we will further explore the different literary elements that were used most notably the plot. The plot of a story lays out the foundation and the background for the entire play to come, we'll compare and contrast this element and look at the different sub elements which are produced. We will define similarities and difference in these elements form both the play o the film. Taking a look at things such as climax, play incidents, and the conflict will all give us a better understanding of how it affects the similarities and difference of the film versus the play.
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Midsummer's night dream
846 Words | 2 Pages
Love is superficial. In "A Midsummer Night's Dream" multiple love triangles exist that switch between the plots. Historical and gender roles are a key point in this play. One key point explains the troublesome choices one can go through while in love. While another key point directed toward on cultural norms and perception of love. In the Ancient world of Athens males dominated their culture ultimately deciding the lives of many woman and men.
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The Relationship Dynamics Of A Midsummer Night's Dream
1353 Words | 3 Pages
However, the ideal relationships are not immune to experiencing unharmonious periods. Despite this, the ideal couples eventually found harmony which allowed them to experience a joyous ending. Lysander and Hermia have a harmonious relationship in that they display similar desires and mindsets. In the beginning, after declaring their love for one another Lysander and Hermia devise a plan to run away and elope (A Midsummer Night’s Dream 1.1.156-178). Even when they are not of the same mindset Hermia and Lysander find an amicable solution. After becoming lost in the forest, Lysander’s desire is for them to sleep together, Hermia refuses for fear of the disgrace that would be placed upon her if for some reason they did not become married. Even though Lysander is a reluctant he respects her wishes (A Midsummer Night’s Dream 2.1.47-67). On the other hand, the relationship between Oberon and Titania in spite of being plagued by dysfunction comes to a harmonious agreement. At the beginning Titania and Oberon are quarreling over the control of an Indian changeling boy (A Midsummer Night’s Dream 2.1.18-31). While under the influence of an enchantment that Oberon had placed on her Titania relinquishes the control of the changeling boy to Oberon (A Midsummer Night’s Dream 4.1.56-60). After the enchantment is removed from her Titania no longer has feelings of defiance toward Oberon (A Midsummer Night’s
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The Use of magic in A Midsummers Night Dream
371 Words | 1 Pages
The contrasted humor is clearly shown as Titania weaves flowers into the hair of Bottom’s donkey-like head. Titania is a beautiful and delicate creature, while Bottom is completely grotesque. Magic creates an unreal image of Bottom, which in turn creates a comical contrast between Bottom and Titania. As part of the already comical sub-plot, Bottom’s altering through magic adds even more humor to the overall play. Next, the misuse of magic causes conflict among the four Athenian lovers.
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Twelfth Night by William Shakespeare
1154 Words | 3 Pages
In the comedy Twelfth Night written by William Shakespeare many of the characters experience emotional pain. The pain that a character name Olivia experiences is the death of her brother, causing her to mourn. Malvolio who is Olivia's steward is involved with emotional pain caused by humiliation, which occurs more than once in this play. Lastly, a great deal of characters battle with the feeling of unrequited love. Even though Shakespeare wrote this as a comedy, there was still a mass amount of emotional pain throughout.
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Twelfth Night by William Shakespeare
724 Words | 2 Pages
When Shakespeare wrote the story, Twelfth Night, what did his title mean? This play is often referred to as a "festival" comedy, which means a comedy that is specially designed to take place on a festival or holiday. In this case of the "twelfth night," the feast of epiphany, or the last day of the Christmastide events, was his way of letting you figure out when this took place. The phrase "what you will," is another way of saying, "as you wish," or to give the play's title any name you wish, as long as you understand it. It connects to the themes of this class because we, as people, can interpret anything we want into something that "fits" us better. If we weren't able to do that, then the world would be far too confusing to understand. As far as putting it into the Heritage lesson, I think the school board wanted us to think about the choices we have and don't always "just take" what you have. You can always change things to make it easier for you, that is the beauty of everything, shaping life and all of its possessions around your personality!
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Twelfth Night, by William Shakespeare
1153 Words | 3 Pages
In Twelfth Night, Shakespeare portrays several characters in a controversial way. Some witty characters are portrayed as foolish, and some foolish characters are portrayed as witty. In the beginning of the play, Sir Andrew and Malvolio are presented as smart people; however, as the play progresses, the audience is exposed to their foolish sides. On the other hand, Sir Toby and Feste are portrayed as fools, but as the plot develops the audience acknowledges their wisdom. Malvolio and Sir Andrew’s foolish sides are exposed because of their gullible nature, while Feste and Sir Toby’s wisdom is revealed through their insightful remarks and brilliant prank ideas.
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A Midsummer Nights Dream by William Shakespeare

Love, Lust and Infatuation in Midsummer Night’s Dream

William Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream

William Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream