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the use of magic in a midsummer nights dream
william shakespeare's life and career
the use of magic in a midsummer nights dream
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One of the most widely notable and legendary storytellers of all time, William Shakespeare hailed from Avon , England in the 1500's. Shakepeare's collection of works consists of a long list of plays, sonnets, poems and novels from several genres that continue to be studied and read over the past several centuries. Amongst the uses of conflict, weapons and tragedy to captivate audiences, another commonly used tactic Shakespeare weaved through many of his works, was the use of mythological creatures and allusions of such, to capture his admirers interest.
By bridging real world vs. fantasy, Shakespeare created timeless and myterious realms and stories full of depth that have been celebrated and mimicked for years. His use of fairies, witches, ghosts and magic help to build the imagery and world each story creates. Shakespeare catered to the beliefs during the Elizabethan Era by using these mythical characters to draw the reader deeper into his stories.
In A Midsummer Night's Dream Shakespeare used several fairies to differeniate between the dream world and the real world. The kin...
William Shakespeare has a habit of creating complicated plots, and A Midsummer Night’s Dream is no exception. Three distinct worlds are presented within the play, and the story’s theme is most prevalent when they collide or mirror one another. Shakespeare’s allusions very intentionally cast light on these themes as he uses them to develop characters, settings, and comedy. The point of that development is the effective delivery of the theme that love renders us equals.
In the play “A Midsummer Night’s Dream”, by William Shakespeare the contrast between both setting and character are well explained throughout the play. This play is mostly about four young Athenians whose lives become a total disaster because of the fairies in the forest, strange situations in the city of Athens, Greece and mixtures of love potions. The main setting of “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” is in Athens, Greece. In Athens, the Duke Theseus plans his marriage with Hippolyta. In contrast, the forest is where all the drama happens between all the characters. The four main characters of this play are Hermia, Helena, Demetrius and Lysander.
There are several events in the play which at one point or the other take a tragic turn which constantly undercut back into the play by speeches. What is set out in the play is a festive mood where people were engaged in activities of ‘Maying’ where people get together to sing and dance in the woods, activities that led to the maids’ belief that the pursuit if true love can be scored only through divination dreams (Barber 18). The fairy’s existence is conceptualized from the act of fusing pageantry together with popular games in a menacing way bring out their actual image of a relaxed
His choice of setting leads his readers to a naturally more magical, mythical land (as Greece was the location of the belief in mythical happenings and beings, such as in the religion of the land’s people). This made the occurrences of fairies, potions, anecdotes, etc. much more inherent. However, in the movie, Hoffman set the production in twentieth century Italy. The audience of the movie is much more baffled by the appearance of mythological creatures due to the setting. It is not innately magical, as in Shakespeare’s written play. The modern setting naturally incorporates the use of modern inventions, modern clothing, and modern behavior. These factors change the audience’s perspective and analyzation from the original play to the movie. For example, the use of bicycles made transportation easier and the running away seem less impossible. The modern clothing took away from the inherent magic, much like changing the setting originally affected this. The behavior of the characters that changed due to this setting change, however, disturbed the original emotions and analyzations one might make from reading the work as intended, through William Shakespeare’s original
Because of Shakespeare's unique portrayal of the fairy world of A Midsummer Night's Dream it is often criticized as being contrary to the popular folk beliefs of fairies at the time. The fairies in the Dream which are described as "Diminutive, pleasing and picturesque sprites" are thought to "present themselves as a new race of fairies, as different from the popular fairies of tradition as are those fairies from the fays of medieval romances" (Latham 180). It is this "diminutive" stature of the fairies that is brought up the most often by critics who b...
Born on approximately April 23, 1564 in Stratford-upon-Avon, England, William Shakespeare is considered by many to have been the greatest writer the English language has ever known. His literary legacy included 37 plays, 154 sonnets, and five major poems. Among his many plays is the notable, Twelfth Night, a romantic comedy, placed in a festive atmosphere in which three couples are brought together happily.
Miller, Ronald F. “A Midsummer Night's Dream: The fairies, Bottom, and the mystery of things”. Shakespeare Quarterly 26.3 (1975): 254-68. Web. 25 Apr 2014.
Fairies, mortals, magic, love, and hate all intertwine to make A Midsummer Night’s Dream by William Shakespeare a very enchanting tale, that takes the reader on a truly dream-like adventure. The action takes place in Athens, Greece in ancient times, but has the atmosphere of a land of fantasy and illusion which could be anywhere. The mischievousness and the emotions exhibited by characters in the play, along with their attempts to double-cross destiny, not only make the tale entertaining, but also help solidify one of the play’s major themes; that true love and it’s cleverly disguised counterparts can drive beings to do seemingly irrational things.
William Shakespeare’s writings are famous for containing timeless, universal themes. A particular theme that is explored frequently in his writings is the relationship between men and women. A Midsummer Night’s Dream contains a multitude of couplings, which are often attributed to the fairies in the play. Each of these pairings has positive and negative aspects, however, some relationships are more ideal than others. From A Midsummer Night’s Dream the optimal pairings are Lysander and Hermia, Demetrius and Helena, and Oberon and Titania; while the less desirable pairings are Theseus and Hippolyta, Hermia and Demetrius, Lysander and Helena, and Titania and Bottom. Throughout A Midsummer
A Midsummer Night’s Dream portrays magic through many places in the text. Magic is a key component to the plot of the story. Magic can make a problem disappear, or it can intensify the problem. There are many reasons magic is powerful, but one of the main ones is because not everyone understands it. Magic in one way or another affects everyone in A Midsummer Night’s Dream, but the perspective with which each character views magic is different. The power of magic is something that is hard to understand, even those who use magic often cannot fully understand magic because in many ways it is irrational and inexplicable.
William Shakespeare born in 1564 is famously known as one of the most influential writers of all time; he conjured up many breathtaking plays during his lifetime. One of Shakespeare most successful plays was the tragedy Macbeth. Public and critical acclaim quickly followed and Shakespeare eventually became the most popular play writer of all time. In this famous play Shakespeare has portrayed Macbeth as respectable noble man however he is motivated to go down the path of dishonesty and crime.
Firstly, Shakespeare uses particular rhythms to establish the three worlds, such as the fast, alternating rhythm of the fairies, which conveys their
William Shakespeare often compares imagination and reality in his plays. He explores this comparison through the role and purpose of the forests in Midsummer Night's Dream and As You Like It. Midsummer Night's Dream focuses on imagination and escape, while As You like It focuses on reality and self discovery.
“William Shakespeare." Encyclopedia of World Biography. 2nd ed. Vol. 14. Detroit: Gale, 2004. 142-145. Gale Virtual Reference Library. Web. 5 Nov. 2013.
A very old Shakespeare’s play “A Midsummers Night Dream” believed to be written in 1590 and 1596 was a classical idea of fantasy. It portrays the journey of four young lovers and their interactions with fairies. They story takes place in a mythical city called Athens with an enchanted forest, where a fairy king misguides the star-crossed lovers and plays tricks on his fairy queen by transforming a poor actor into a half-donkey. This work focuses on human interactions with falling in love.