Midsummer Nights Dream

578 Words3 Pages
Compare the themes of Athens and the woods in Shakespeare’s play A Midsummer Night’s Dream. In Shakespeare’s A Midsummers night’s dream there are two clear different themes which are shown throughout the play. One theme is Athens and this is when the play is set in Athens and the other is in the woods when the play is set in the woods. The two different places in the play both have key scenes that set the main plots of the play. Firstly we are introduced to the characters of Theseus, Egeus and Hippolyta. The audience see that Theseus is an important character and is in a position of authority in the plot and can also see that Theseus is obeyed by the people in Athens and they have to treat him with respect. This is shown when Egeus says “Happy be Theseus, our renowned Duke” Shakespeare has used the noun duke to signify how important the character of Theseus is. The fact that there is a duke in the play and living in Athens shows the audience that in Athens, the lives of the people are very formal and the people of Athens have to be respectful and obedient. Secondly when the play is set in the scene of Athens, Shakespeare has set the play in the day and shows this through the seriousness of the play when the play moves back to Athens rather than the woods. Athens is a place where the state and patriarchal authority is present and the power of the men over women is imposed in a savage way. This situation is reflected in Egeus authority over his daughter Hermia, who wants to marry Lysander but his father opposes. However when the play moves to the theme of the woods the audience sees a change in the play, this goes from the serious life of Athens to the mythical life of the woods, in which the audience are introduced to the fairies which shows the contrast between the life that the characters live in in Athens and the life that they live in the woods. This is
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