A Midsummer’s Night Dream: Comedy or Corrupt? Although most believe A Midsummer’s Night Dream by William Shakespeare is a light, romantic comedy, many well renowned experts such as Jan Katt argue the play encompasses the tragedy of Pyramus and Thisbe and should therefore be considered sinister and violent. In your eyes, is A Midsummer’s Night Dream a violent, erotic play or a lighthearted comedy? Without a doubt, the play is a sweet, light, comedy, intended to entertain the reader as evident in the mistaken identities, the character development of Bottom along the various forms of comedy. All these elements contrast the violent, sinister play many perceive it as.
By setting this foundation, Shakespeare goes on to argue the value of genres that show imagination and irrationality and their ability to tell more truth than reality and rationality. Using the night, Shakespeare proves that in the worlds of dreams, there is more light, more truth, than day. By presenting a false and wavering love Shakespeare illuminates to the audience just to what extent the larger questions, truths, and ideas can be answered within the world of imagination in contrast to the world of reality. Shakespeare opens the play opens with a problem of love inequality. We see the lovers Lysander, Hermia, and Demetrius, who have a love triangle problem such that the two males are in love with the same woman.
b) Shakespeare uses a mixture of prose and blank verse in this scene. What purpose does it serve? a) In Act 3 Scene 1, it is seen that Titania’s infatuation of Bottom is deep-set. However, it is artificial and not of true love, since it was a result of Puck’s trick on them. Titania does not truly feel this way; she only does under the spell of Puck’s trick.
The Fool is one of the most alluring characters in Shakespeare’s King Lear. He is a choric commentator whose lines reveal thematic motifs within the play, as well as a character that strategically uses humorous language as comic relief to Lear, but does not diminish the intensity of Lear’s misery. As he alleviates the intensity through humor, he equivocates because he says metaphors that speak the truth like the three witches in Macbeth, but the opposite. The Fool’s role is essential because he is aligned with Cordelia. Like Cordelia, the Fool is honest, but his comical language masks his honesty.
He is a very elaborate and colourful character. He plays one of the main parts in the play, as many of the ‘mix ups’ with love potions and other disasters were all down to Puck. He is portrayed as a spirit, an imp and sometimes referred to as ‘Hobgoblin’ by one of Titania’s fairies. These descriptions made by other fairies, show that Puck may have meant to be seen as rather bizarre looking. As Oberon’s assistant he gets the chance to play cruel but harmless tricks on people, for example; when he transformed Bottom’s head into an ass, purely for the sake of enjoyment.
It is usually done for the purpose of entertainment. Throughout the whole play, Shakespeare creates comic effects to amuse his audience. In this essay, I will discuss the use of pun, comic characters, sub-plot, misunderstood conversations and dramatic irony. Many characters in Twelfth Night love playing with words. Wordplay can create comic effect and give a sense of chaos.
Another way in which the Shakespearean fool entertains the audience is through dramatic irony. This is when the audience knows of something but the characters on stage don’t. An example of this is what the fairies in Midsummer Nights Dream do. They manage to trick the characters on stage without them having a clue. They make fools out of the main characters.
Iago Although Iago is clearly the antagonist throughout the play, Shakespeare cleverly also utilizes the character as a confidante. His soliloquies to the audience lay out his intent and planning of the plot to the audience; to seek revenge on Othello. In addition to helping the audience understand Iago’s twisted thoughts, I believe that Shakespeare’s intent in writing in these brilliant soliloquies was to make the audience feel that they were part of the play and involved in the plot. We learn early on the relationship between Iago and Roderigo. Roderigo discloses his trust for Iago in the opening lines of the play.
William Shakespeare’s Hamlet (1599-1601) has successfully continued to engage audiences through its dramatic treatments of soliloquies and asides. It has retained value as being worth critical study in both an Elizabethan and modern context – this may be said due to its mirroring of human nature in society, thereby depicting the thematic concepts of struggle and disillusionment. Shakespeare’s use of dramatic and language techniques, consisting of much great symbolism and metaphorical language, illustrates the dramatic irony and action of textual integrity in Hamlet. Thus these salient notions are achieved through Hamlet’s speech directed towards a society that reflects both an Elizabethan and modern contemporary context, whereby audiences reflect upon the depiction of humanity’s struggle in a disillusioned reality. In Hamlet’s third soliloquy, there are echoes of struggle and disillusionment which are illustrated as important concepts in dealing with Shakespearean language throughout the play of HAMLET.
I know I can definitely empathise with him. Ah yes, so did I. That element of the tragedy is also displayed in the film as John Othello expresses that the person he trusts the most is Ben Jago. There is a dramatic irony in that scene as the audience knows that Othello can’t trust Jago and this is represented through the use of dramatic music. Andrew Davies purposely used that technique to mirror Shakespeare’s thematic technique to create similar effect.