Essay on "Shakespearean Comedy, a Midsummer Night's Dream"

Essay 4 pages (1405 words) Sources: 3

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Shakespearean comedy, a midsummer Night's Dream, which is discussed the elements of love and courtship omedy, a Midsummer Night's Dream which you discuss the element of t

A Midsummer Night's Dream

William Shakespeare's "A Midsummer Night's Dream" is one of the writer's best known comedies and it is principally remarkable for the series of elements it covers, as it deals with aspects ranging from courtship to fantasy. Conventional matters such as love and marriage are typically presented from a different perspective by Shakespeare, as he emphasizes concepts that would seem incredible to most of his readers with the probable purpose of showing people that they should not employ traditional thinking in dealing with them. Simple love and society's rules are overturning when Puck, the nature spirit, intervenes and influences most characters in the play to put across unordinary behavior. Shakespeare practically breaks away from tradition in an attempt to have readers understand that they should concentrate on accepting new ideas, regardless of how extreme they appear to be.

The play begins by acquainting the audiences with Theseus and Hippolyta and with their upcoming wedding ceremony. The plot later develops as Egeus enters the scene and presents the royal couple with his condition, demanding that Theseus should impose an ancient Athenian law concerning a father's influence over his daughter. Oberon and Titania, the king and queen of fairies, bring fantasy into the play as the former sends Puck, a court jester, to remedy matters and to have Demetrius fall in love with Helena. Conditions become critical as Puck mistakes Demetrius for Lysander, only to recover when Oberon intervenes and makes it possible for the royal couple to see Lysander love Hermia while Demetrius expresses his love toward Helena. Shakespeare further contributes to relieving tension by presenting the unintentionally amusing group of lower-class actors with Nick Bottom in charge of them. At the end of the play, Puck speaks to the audience, telling people that they cannot be certain regarding whether what they had just experienced was real or whether it was a dream.

One of the play's characteristic features is the fact that romance is in most cases involving the characters detrimental for them, as they encounter severe problems as a result of wanting to express their love toward others. Even with the fact that the fantasy aspect of the play makes some of the affairs irrational, the writer demonstrates that love can be more powerful than conventional values and that both humans and fairies can fall victim to it. A contemporary public is likely to consider that Shakespeare's times made it difficult for the writer to put across an account regarding women as being equal to men. From the very first moments of scene one it becomes obvious that the individuals in the play consider Hippolyta to be rather insignificant, despite of her position and of the fact that she is about to become Theseus' wife. As the play advances, the woman proves to have a lesser contribution to the overall chain of events and rarely intervenes in situations where Theseus is actively engaged. The relationship between Oberon and Titania can also be associated with Shakespearean gender roles, considering how the former manages to trick the latter into falling in love with Nick Bottom.

The audience is gradually brought to a stage where they understand the occurrences in the play and where they regard its characters with an air of superiority. Its comedic nature is virtually responsible for making it possible for audiences to comprehend everything that happens and to eventually join the Duke and the Duchess as they watch "A Midsummer Night's Dream." The events in the play are all meant to celebrate the union between the two individuals, further contributing to the concept that Shakespeare incorporated some of his characteristic features into "A Midsummer Night's Day." The playwright does not just want his audiences to be entertained by amusing happenings, as he supports love using insight, making it more difficult for viewers to differentiate between comedy and drama.

Love is taken to a whole new level in this play, primarily because of the fact that Shakespeare uses imagination as one of the main elements to sustain love through… READ MORE

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