In A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Shakespeare makes heavy use of hyperbole, the twisting of reality into something greater than what it actually is, in both the dialogue and the ridiculous, larger-than-life nature of the situations that occur to provide a basis for the conflict between reality and illusion, blurring the line that separates the two concepts.
Before the symbolism of the woods and the land of fairies, the main sources of the conflict between reality and unreality, is intact, there are small hints slowly leading to that direction in the opening scene of Act I, scene i. When Egeus approaches Theseus to aid him with his daughter’s infatuation with Lysander instead of Demetrius, he claims that Lysander has “bewitch'd the bosom of my child” (Shakespeare I.i.28) and “stolen the impression of her fantasy,” (Shakespeare I.i.33) and in essence complains that Lysander has stolen Hermia’s rationality and sense of reality.
As patently ridiculous and impossible as the claim is, it provides a steady basis for the blurring of the distinction between the real and surreal: a man convinced of his daughter’s lack of a grip on reality complains in a hyperbolic manner that another man has stolen her capabilities to think clearly, by making her fall in love with him and his “feigning voice.” (Shakespeare I.i.32) Most audiences, after reading or watching the play would know very well that Lysander is not capable of doing such things, and his actions afterward prove that he is just an innocent young man trying to pursue his true love. However, the rather grotesque and unrealistic picture painted of him during this hyperbolic scene becomes much less otherworldly when compared to some of the things later on in the play, which exploit the smal...
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...ical dialogue of the characters, it was also present in the larger-than life, comically ridiculous and unrealistic situations the characters found themselves in. Even the play's name brings it up directly, and provides a real-life analogy, as dreams themselves are often lifelike and vivid, yet still patently inane. Shakespeare's goal was to turn reader expectations of what should happen in these sorts of scenarios on their head to provide a unique play; while he achieved that goal admirably, the play itself is still of a great enough quality in part due to his masterful craftsmanship with hyperbole and exaggeration that A Midsummer Night's Dream continues to be read happily by modern audiences.
Works Cited
Shakespeare, William. "Midsummer Night's Dream." The Complete Works of William Shakespeare. Web. 02 Nov. 2011. .
In Shakespeare’s Midsummer’s Night Dream he entices the reader using character development, imagery, and symbolism. These tools help make it a wonderful play for teens, teaching them what a well-written comedy looks like. As well as taking them into a story they won’t soon forget.
Every action made in A Midsummer Night’s Dream revolves around the idea of love. It is a concept which few people can understand because of the extremity a person can go through to go after their love. “Lovers and madmen have such seething brains, such shaping fantasies that apprehend more than cool reason ever comprehends.” Lovers see the world in a way which everyday people cannot comprehend. The idea of love leads to them making irrational choices which may seem
In the first part of the play Egeus has asked the Duke of Athens, Theseus, to rule in favor of his parental rights to have his daughter Hermia marry the suitor he has chosen, Demetrius, or for her to be punished. Lysander, who is desperately in love with Hermia, pleads with Egeus and Theseus for the maiden’s hand, but Theseus’, who obviously believes that women do not have a choice in the matter of their own marriage, sides with Egeus, and tells Hermia she must either consent to marrying Demetrius, be killed, or enter a nunnery. In order to escape from the tragic dilemma facing Hermia, Lysander devises a plan for him and his love to meet the next evening and run-off to Lysander’s aunt’s home and be wed, and Hermia agrees to the plan. It is at this point in the story that the plot becomes intriguing, as the reader becomes somewhat emotionally “attached’’ to the young lovers and sympathetic of their plight. However, when the couple enters the forest, en route to Lysander’s aunt’s, it is other mischievous characters that take the story into a whole new realm of humorous entertainment...
Shakespeare, William. “A Midsummer Night’s Dream”. The Pelican Shakespeare. New York: Penguin Books Inc. 2000.
The first scene of A Midsummer Night’s Dream introduces a tangled web of lovers. Hermia presents herself for judgement as she refuses to marry Lysander, the man of whom her father approves, as she is infatuated instead with Demetrius. Meanwhile her friend Helena is besotted by Demetrius, but he loves Hermia. The scene plays out like a soap opera with dramatic relationships galore, but Shakespeare establishes greater depth with the help of allusions. The most significant references in this scene appear when Hermia and Lysander speak privately for the first time. In their brief conversation, Hermia alludes to Cupid, Venus, and Dido. The first two are gods of love, and Dido is a queen who burned herself on a pyre after being abandoned by her lover. Shakespeare uses each of these mentions of mythology to make the point that the affair between Hermia and Lysander is no passing fancy. However, when Helena enters and converses with the star-crossed lovers she makes no mention of mythology as she discusses her unrequited love for Demetrius and resulting jealousy of Hermia. The absence of allusions in Helena’s speech accentuates the divide between herself and her friend. Barbara A. Mowat speaks eloquently on this concept in the Folger Library edition introduction. As Ms. M...
Shakespeare’s literature exemplifies creativeness and powerful word use to create bodies of work with strong attributes that grab the reader’s attention. Midsummer’s night dream is an example of some of Shakespeare’s best work. The thesis of this essay is Hermia’s father, Esues wants his daughter to marry someone that he approves of and more importantly he wants someone for her that is respected by the rest of society to admire. This play has love, drama and characters that follow their hearts. Hermia is told she is not allowed to love or marry Lysander by her father. Her father Esues wants her to marry Demetrius. The setting of the play is taken in Athens. Athens is a place of order and royalty and a place where people are supposed to marry
In conclusion, in A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Shakespeare effectively uses the motifs of the seasons, the moon, and dreams to show that love, irrationality, and disobedience directly cause chaos. By calling to mind the seasons in unnatural order, describing the moon behaving strangely, and discussing the dualistic, irrational nature of dreams, Shakespeare effectively evokes a sense of chaos and disorder. Linking each of these motifs to the themes of love, irrationality, and disobedience allows Shakespeare to illustrate the disarray that is bound to result from any romance.
Throughout A Midsummer Night’s Dream by William Shakespeare, there are multiple analyses that one can follow in order to reach a conclusion about the overall meaning of the play. These conclusions are reached through analyzing the play’s setting, characterization, and tone. However, when one watches the production A Midsummer Night’s Dream directed by Michael Hoffman, a completely different approach is taken on these aspects, leading to a vastly different analysis of the work. Though there are many similarities between the original written play A Midsummer Night’s Dream by William Shakespeare and the on-screen production of the aforementioned play which was directed by Michael Hoffman, there are differences in setting and
Shakespeare, William. A Midsummer Night’s Dream. Ed. Barbara A. Mowat and Paul Werstine. New York: Washington Square Press, 2004.
Shakespeare, William, and Russ McDonald. A Midsummer Night's Dream. New York, NY: Penguin, 2000. Print.
Shakespeare, William. A Midsummer Night's Dream. The Norton Shakespeare: Greenblatt, Stephen, editor. New York: W W Norton & Company, 1997.
Magic affects both the plot and the environment of William Shakespeare’s play “A Midsummer Night’s Dream,” as it influences the thoughts and actions of the characters through most of the play. Through its power, magic confuses the characters and creates conflicts between them, but it also solves the conflicts. The character’s use and misuse of magic lead to some of the ridiculous moment of the play.
Considered to be the greatest playwright to ever have lived, William Shakespeare’s works continue to fascinate and entrance audiences around the world. Imbued with imagery, his comedy A Midsummer Night’s Dream is perhaps one of his more fantastic but none the less intricate plays. Presiding over the proceedings, the moon is the uniting feature of the play. With its multi-layered symbolism it is the thread that connects the different characters and weaves the tale together.
Burke, Kenneth. “Why A Midsummer Night's Dream?”. Shakespeare Quarterly 57. 3 (2006): 297-308. Web. 25 Apr 2014.
Shakespeare, William. A Midsummer Night's Dream. Comp. Folger Shakespeare Library. New York, NY: Simon & Schuster Paperbacks, 2009. Print.