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Deep questions on William Shakespeare a midsummer night's dream
Humor in Shakespeare plays
Meaning of the play, A midsummers night dream
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The absurdity of the queen of the fairy prince, Titania, falling madly in love with the character, Nick Bottom, who has the head of an ass is enough to entertain readers of all ages (Clatanoff 7). Nick Bottoms, is also a peculiar name for a character by the exceptional, dramatic English Poet, William Shakespeare. Curiosity led my interest and made me fascinated in this character when I heard his name in Act I Scene 2 of, A Midsummer’s Night Dream. Strangely enough, the name matched an outlandish character for such a story. In this paper, I will aspect a look of who Bottom’s character actually was, a strange turn of events of the character and how his ending came in the production. Initially, the character surfaced in Act I Scene 2 of the
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.
Although love is evident throughout A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Bottom embraces it in a different form. Instead of loving another character, Bottom loves himself. He is constantly interrupting the other mechanicals, he recites lines that do not relate to the current conversation whatsoever, and insists he can play every role in the play. It is clear that Bottom loves to hear himself speak. After he awakes from his encounter with Titania, he goes on to state that he wants Peter Quince to write a prologue about his “deep” vision, with the title “Bottom’s Dream” (4.1.186). Bottom is so in love with himself that he wants an entire section of the play—in which he is already the lead of—dedicated to himself. Bottom’s arrogance relates to A Midsummer Night Dream’s themes of mayhem and disorder because after Puck transforms Bottom’s head into that of an ass, his appearance strikes fear into his cast members and interrupts their play rehearsal. The players run away from Bottom, with Quince shouting of being haunted (3.1.46-47); but it is apparent that even after Puck alters him, Bottom’s arrogance is still present. When Snout asks him how he changed, Bottom responds with: “What do you see? You see an ass head of your own, do you?” (3.1.56). Even when Bottom is the one who is clearly have problems, he puts the blame on Snout, claiming that he is fine and Snout is the one with problems. Bottom believes himself to be perfect, and therefore if anything goes wrong in his life, it must be someone else’s fault. Ironically, Puck changes him into an animal that reflects both his headstrong and clueless personality. Lastly, Bottom’s ego also relates to the theme of foolishness, because it blinds him from how dreadful and unprofessional his acting skills truly are. For example, during their official performance, Bottom purposely breaks character to respond to something an audience member said (5.1.177). Bottom assumes
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
...nces like to have a clear hero of their stories. The combination of the director’s artistic vision, cinematic choices, and Kline’s performance singles out Bottom as the main-character. The film’s time is not spent mostly on Bottom’s story; actually, the Athenian lovers take up the most actual screen time. Bottom represents the bridge between the real world of the merchants and lovers and the fantastical fairy kingdom. He comes from the lowest class of society and rises to be something the queen of the fairies loves and values. In a world in which no one breaks from the Chain of Being, Bottom is able to venture into a world grander than his own for a short time. When he returns, he holds the nobility he gained from his experience within, transcending all classes to become the perfect hero for our modern conception of the play, hilariously valiant and imperfect.
...age. Instead of laughing at Bottom, the film generates a feeling of sorrow for his character. When the wine is poured on him when the craftsmen first meet, Bottom takes an obvious emotional blow, so one can see how he would artificially inflate himself with the false perception of being a wonderful actor. When chosen to perform for Thesseus’s wedding, the players are very nervous and turn to Bottom for comfort. They look up to and respect Bottom for his confidence and acting ability, but Bottom later makes a fool of himself in the play by over dramatizing the part of Pyramus, especially when he performs the death of Pyramus. Michael Hoffman’s adaptation of A Midsummer Night’s Dream brings a classical play to a modern audience and makes it an exciting and humorous experience. This is accomplished most notably with the direction he gives to the two characters discussed. The animated humor of Bottom and the slightly more subtle badgering of other characters brought forth by Puck creates a certain amount of attachment to the movie by the viewer. The cinematic version of Shakespeare’s play is well adapted to a modern audience, especially through the characters of Puck and Nick Bottom.
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.
Love is ironic because the course of true love never runs smooth. It is an edict in destiny that lovers are fated to have trouble, and be mis-matched by class, age, or height. Sometimes lovers have to choose by another’s eyes, or fall in love due to spells gone wrong. That said, according to the “wise ass” Bottom in that “hack” William Shakespeare's “play” a Midsummer Night's Dream, love and reason share little company. Bottom and Titania are the epitome of Love and Reason sharing little company because Titania is under a spell, causing her to fall in love with a wise ass that does not speak correctly. Bottom is an actor who wants to play every part in plays. Titania is the fairy queen, and is what is thought of as the typical fairy. Fairypical?
Oprah Winfrey once said, “The best thing about dreams is that fleeting moment, when you are between asleep and awake, when you don't know the difference between reality and fantasy, when for just that one moment you feel with your entire soul that the dream is reality, and it really happened.” But, what actually is a dream and what do dreams really have to do with one’s everyday life? In essence, a dream is a series of mental images and emotions occurring during slumber. Dreams can also deal with one’s personal aspirations, goals, ambitions, and even one’s emotions, such as love and hardship. However, dreams can also give rise to uneasy and terrible emotions; these dreams are essentially known as nightmares. In today’s society, the concept of dreaming and dreams, in general, has been featured in a variety of different mediums, such as literature, film and even music. While the mediums of film and music are both prime examples of this concept, the medium of literature, on the other hand, contains a much more diverse set of examples pertaining to dreams and dreaming. One key example is William Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream. While the portrayal of dreams, in general, plays a prominent role in Shakespeare’s play, the exploration of many aspects of nature, allows readers to believe that dreams are merely connected to somewhat unconventional occurrences.
Nick Bottom in Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream. Roget’s thesaurus defines the word “ass” as “one deficient in judgment and good sense”. fools”. Then the snares were snares. In William Shakespeare’s
...haracteristics, but in the incongruity of this "mortal grossness", the grotesque, earthy and plain-speaking Bottom, and the beautiful, airy, eloquent and possibly dangerous fairy queen. The "bank whereon the wild thyme blows" and the beautiful fairy song "Philomel with lullaby", as well as the dainty morsels offered by Titania's servants - it is difficult to imagine a more alien creature to all this, than Bottom. We laugh at his ineptitude, at the incongruity of the situation, at the blatant illustration of the gulf between "reason and love"; we are disturbed by the indignity Titania undergoes, alarmed by the danger Bottom may be in, but reassured by his taking it in his stride.
The entire cast of A Midsummer Night Dream was full of many, many fun and interesting characters. They kept the play alive and intriguing as they each had very separate personalities. Each person was alive and left a very vivid impression in our brains after reading through the play. It is very hard just to choose one particular favorite character as they all are amazing. In A Midsummer Night’s Dream, my personal favorite character would have to be Hermia because she is loving, virtuous, and patient.
Has anyone ever done or said something they were unsure of without being confident? Well that may be true for many, but Nick Bottom is not one of those people.
To emphasize, in Act III, the reader is presented with the play’s most extraordinary contrast, the relationship between Titania and Bottom. “What wakes me from my flow’ry bed?” (III.i.131). Titania is awoken by the so-called melodic singing of Bottom. In the present scene, both characters are under some particular sort of spell. Titania’s eyes were anointed with the nectar of the love flower, thus causing her to fall in love with the next living thing she encounters. In the meantime, Puck pulled a prank on Bottom, turning his head into that of an ass. Both characters of the play are interpreted as complete opposites. Titania, characterized as the beautiful, graceful fairy queen; Bottom is portrayed as overdramatic, self centered, and as of now, not keen on the eyes. However, the love nectar never fails and seems to bring the two into a state of lust. The contrast between the two is overwhelming. An important scene in the pl...
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.
The title of the play A Midsummer Night's Dream can have many interpretations. I will give you my thoughts on the relationship of the title to the different situations that take place in the play. These interpretations give insight and overall meaning to the thematic nature of Shakespeare's work. Although I am only going to describe three interpretations of the title, there are many other meanings to the title.