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The analysis of Midsummer Night's Dream
character analysis in midsummer night's dream
male and female relationships in shakespeares time
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Will Weninger ENGL 350 Crazy, Stupid Love One of the of the most influential characters that we see in William Shakespeare’s A Midsummer’s Night Dream is that of Nick Bottom, a weaver who provides comic relief. We first meet Bottom when he is referred to as one of “The Mechanicals” and that he is putting on the play Pyramus and Thisbe for the entertainment at Theseus’s wedding. While the group is rehearsing for their play, King Oberon, to get back at his wife, has his assistant Puck transform Bottom’s head into that of an ass. And of course he makes sure that his wife Titania falls in love with Bottom. During this short period of love between the two characters, we see how Titania adores bottom and does numerous things for him, like let …show more content…
The relationship between Bottom and Titania summarizes that, and how would it by not having a divine fairy queen having sexual relations with a mortal, one with the head of an ass. I think that by having characters falling in and out of love with each other so quickly, and by then having the relationship of Bottom and Titania, Shakespeare is suggesting that love is something that gets in our way and makes our lives full of craziness. The play is full of relationships, and every single one of them is faced with a problem throughout the course of the play. If we look at all of the other characters in the play, it is easy to infer that Bottom and Titania indeed have sex, and why would Shakespeare not want the most outrageous relationship in the play to not do the same? So by looking at how love is the central theme in the story, I think that it is only fitting that the goofiest relationship that takes place were indeed to have …show more content…
I think that this is something that applied to the audience and made him and his writing so appealing. And of course the union of Bottom and Titania surly something that gave his audience many laughs and was just another way in which Shakespeare portrayed his characters and their crazy relationships. I think that since this question is debated heavily today, it is important to remember that it is likely that an audience around the time the play was released was more accustomed to sexual references than we are
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
A Midsummer Night’s Dream, by William Shakespeare, is a classic play that has been retold in many ways. The most recent version of this romantic comedy was done by Michael Hoffman in 1999. This portrayal follows very closely to the original play. Very few lines are taken out, and the characters stay very true to the assumed original idea. The one main difference in the original play and this movie is the depiction of the character Nick Bottom the weaver. The original play shows Bottom as the “…overconfident weaver…hilariously overt…has extraordinary belief in his own ability…totally unaware of his ridiculousness…” (Sparknotes.com). These types of characteristics would normally make readers see Bottom as a cocky, egotistical, center of attention, “ass”. In the play, this is the case. However, in the 1999 movie version, with Kevin Kline as Bottom, the audience gets a different idea of Bottom without changing his basic character traits. Hoffman achieved changing the overall perception of the character of Bottom from to a “…warm fuzzy man, a dreamer for whom we can root”, and pathetic lover, while still keeping the “ass” quality, by only changing a few small, very subtle things (Jones, 127).
There have been strict gender roles set in place for men and women to follow, throughout history. During Shakespearean times, The females were viewed as this weak, emotionally and physically. Women were expected to always listen and obey their husbands, father or male when demanded. Women were never in positions to make the rules. Men on the other hand, were expected to be the head of their households, strong, and wise. In “A Midsummer Night's Dream” written by Shakespeare, you may notice a lot of “gender roles” being played. Oberon and Titania characters are the only couple in the play who have been married for a while in the play. That makes them an important role in “A Midsummer Night's Dream”.The other couples are just starting out
...kens from her silent slumber, she falls in love with Nick Bottom, a man whose head was transformed into a donkey. Love and nature also play a huge part in the bizarre events that surround dreams and the concept of dreaming. While each of the four lovers dream of being with a particular significant other, bizarre circumstances, brought upon by Puck allow for chaos and obvious confusion. But, probably one of the most bizarre situations within this production is the lines uttered by Puck at the completion of the production. These lines really relate to the concept of dreams because they make the audience question the outlandish events that had previously occurred or indeed, whether they had even occurred at all.
Shakespeare wrote his acclaimed comedy A Midsummer Night’s Dream more than a thousand years after Apuleius’ Roman novel, The Golden Ass. Although separated by thousands of years and different in terms of plot and setting, these works share the common theme of a confused and vulnerable man finding direction by relying on a supernatural female. One of A Midsummer Night’s Dream’s many subplots is the story of Bottom, a comical figure determined to be taken seriously in his production of a Pyramus and Thisbe. As Bottom becomes caught up in a quarrel between the king and queen of the fairies, the commanders of the enchanted forest where Bottom and his players practice, the “shrewd and knavish sprite” Puck transforms his head into an ass’ s and leads him to be enthralled in a one night stand with the queen, Titania. (2.1.33) Apuleius’s protagonist Lucius endures a similar transformation, after his mistress’s slave girl accidentally bewitches him into a donkey, leaving him even without the ability to speak. Although Lucius’ transformation lasts longer and is more severe, he and Bottom both undergo similar experiences resulting from their animal forms. Lucius’ suffering ultimately leads him to salvation through devotion the cult of Isis, and Bottom’s affair with Titania grants him clarity and a glimpse into similar divine beauty. Ultimately, both asinine characters are saved through their surrender to the goddesses.
The character of Bottom in Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream is frequently foolish, but he is not a fool. His exuberance and energy are allied to practicality and resourcefulness, with an alarming lack of self-consciousness. He, at any rate, is not at all tongue-tied before the duke, as Theseus has known others to be. We do laugh at Bottom in many situations, but should note that these are situations in which any man might seem ridiculous: amateur theatricals are almost a byword for unintended comedy, whether in planning (1.2) rehearsal (3.1) or performance (5.1); any artisan afflicted with an ass's head and appetites, and beloved of the fairy queen would have difficulty retaining his dignity.
Love plays a very significant role in this Shakespearian comedy, as it is the driving force of the play: Hermia and Lysander’s forbidden love and their choice to flee Athens is what sets the plot into motion. Love is also what drives many of the characters, and through readers’ perspectives, their actions may seem strange, even comical to us: from Helena pursuing Demetrius and risking her reputation, to fairy queen Titania falling in love with Bottom. However, all these things are done out of love. In conclusion, A Midsummer Night’s Dream displays the blindness of love and how it greatly contradicts with reason.
Shakespeare and his works questioned and presented the Elizabethan society, the stage used as a tool to represent larger ideas. Gender in the play is largely linked with morality, sin, redemption, fall and passionate pleasure. In King Lear there is an abuse of power, especially in regards to woman. The devouring feminine, and a fall from grace by the patriarchy ensued through incestuous behaviour, adultery and unnatural relationships leads to a fluidity in gender and generational roles. The violation of the natural order awakens divine retribution, leading to the collapse of the kingdom and chastisement eventually resulting in the rebirth of the patriarchy. In King Lear gender issues resolve from a power struggle, a deviation by the paternal
...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.
Society needs order because it is the keystone that keeps modern civilization from collapsing in on itself. Once removed, society succumbs to its most basic state: emotions. Pure, raw emotions fill the void where logic once dictated and the world falls into chaos. It is this very situation where Shakespeare drew his inspiration for his play, A Midsummer’s Night Dream. In a world with four lovers, hoodwinked by the lord of the fairies and his loyal servant Robin, disorder ensnares the human race and chaos ensues. Through the use of prosody, Shakespeare was able to juxtapose the Athenian nobles, the working class, and the fairy world to create a sense of disarray that demonstrated the human need for order.
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...
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.
There is more of this behavior going on than there is love in this play. Although, this deceptive type of behavior begins to manifest because of the love stories, it still becomes a major theme throughout the play. The reader is pulled into the love stories early on as they show up early and are quite entertaining to read as we see the characters poking fun and the game of leading on with each other. At one point or another every character of this story is either the victim of deception or is trying to deceive someone. This in it’s self is another comedic side of this story, I think Shakespeare was wanting to play with how deception can hurt people whether it is malicious or in good
The second interpretation could be of the dream Bottom thought he had when Titania, the queen of the fairies, had fallen in love with him when he looked like an ass. He wasn't sure whether it was a dream or real because "the eye of man hath not heard, the ear of man hath not seen, man's hand is not able to taste, his tongue to conceive, nor his heart to report what [his] dream was" (page 135). The thematic nature of this is that there is no real explanation for love. Even Bottom himself said, "Reason and love keep little company together nowadays" (page 79).
...fide in each other very deep secrets. With Viola and the Sea Captain, they formed a strong bond because of what they went through together, which is very relatable for the reader. Viola’s true desire to find her brother becomes apparent when she is willing to disguise herself as a man in attempts to find him. The Captain also shares some of her desire by willing to keep her plan a secret. Shakespeare did a great job in speaking about the topic of love in such a compelling, intense, yet comical way. He gives each reader something they can relate to and expresses that everyone experiences love in a different way.