... neatly fit into any of the three folio categories. IV THE COMEDIES Shakespeare's comedies celebrate human social life even as they expose human folly. By means that are sometimes humiliating, even painful, characters learn greater wisdom and emerge with a clearer view of reality. Some of his early comedies can be regarded as light farces in that their humor depends ... disguised themselves as men when they flee the court for the forest, but other characters not disguised are self-deceived. In the forest, however, true identities are re-established. A number of love matches mark the concl...

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... ' side of Puck when he is trying to fix something he disrupted, hence the name Goodfellow. When compared to Oberon, King of the Fairies and Titania, Queen of the Fairies and the remaining fairies of the play, Puck does not seem to fit in as well. While Oberon and Titania belong to the forest and the world of dainty fairies, a small village setting seems more appropriate for Puck. He ... is the type of fairy that likes to be around mortals and cause them trouble ... fate and destiny were the cause of all the joy, sadness and badluck. When William Shakespeare created "Puck' it seems as th...

• Word Count: 487
• Approx Pages: 2
• Grade Level: High School

... widen my view about the difficulties faced by each lover. From there we can detect different types of couples [warrior couple, immortal couple (fairies), mortal Athenian couples] with different kinds of characteristics that sometimes may make them look like a bunch of fools! (Excluding Theseus & Hippolyta). Since Midsummer Night's Dream is a light hearted romantic play, the ending ends happily with ... reconciliation and marriage. THESUES & HIPPOLYTA In this play, I find that the significant of the statement, "The course true love never did run smooth" is not vivid enough if I were to a...

• Word Count: 1095
• Approx Pages: 4
• Grade Level: High School

... seem to require the light of day rather than a setting in the darkest of all places at the darkest of all hours, but Shakespeare brilliantly combines this motif with the related symbols of the play to demonstrate the power of night and its correlation with love and vision. The reliance on different kinds of perception other than the sense of sight, as well as the power of the magic in the night forest, makes possible ... a happy ending for all four lovers by the end of the play. What begins in night as magic solidifies into reality with daylight. The darkness of night bequeaths peace an...

• Word Count: 1261
• Approx Pages: 5
• Grade Level: High School

... seem to require the light of day rather than a setting in the darkest of all places at the darkest of all hours, but Shakespeare brilliantly combines this motif with the related symbols of the play to demonstrate the power of night and its correlation with love and vision. The reliance on different kinds of perception other than the sense of sight, as well as the power of the magic in the night forest, makes possible ... a happy ending for all four lovers by the end of the play. What begins in night as magic solidifies into reality with daylight. The darkness of night bequeaths peace an...

• Word Count: 1268
• Approx Pages: 5
• Grade Level: High School

... . Unlike many of Shakespeare's plays, As You Like It seems to contain few references to the world outside the theatre; unlike the political history Shakespeare reworked in his "history plays," or the commentaries on kingship and power that pervade his tragedies, Shakespeare's comedy plays generally seem to be light-hearted works, meant to entertain and amuse, but not to provoke thought about anything more politically sensitive ... men and boys, so that Rosalind and Celia (as well as Phoebe and Audrey) would really have been played by youths in women's clothing; this puts the theme of cro...

• Word Count: 1477
• Approx Pages: 6
• Grade Level: High School

... the nighttime forest. By disrupting and transforming vision, the woods forces introspection and improvisation that help the four lovers on their way to self-understanding. The darkness of the night setting seems particularly important in a play where the language of love relies so heavily on sight imagery. Sight, eyes, looking-all are part of a vocabulary of love that would seem to require the light of day rather than a setting in the ... that real love has little to do with the eyes: "Love looks not with the eyes, but with the mind, / And therefore is winged Cupid blind" (1.1 ll. 234-5)...

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• Grade Level: High School

... " Last it unfolds in a "forest" near the Athens. But the entire play takes place in the Athens. Around the time of Ancient Greece. I think this setting is appropriate because it coincides with the time frame and the forest gives them privacy, away from prying eyes. The forest would be an extremely scenic effect because in "A Midsummer Night's Dream" the forest creates a dark, wild, mysterious atmosphere in which the magical elements of Shakespeare ... because if Lysander never existed in the play then maybe Hermia might fall in love with the man her father approves of which is Demetrius,...

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• Approx Pages: 5
• Grade Level: High School

... no man exits that is not born of woman and Birnam forest would never rise from its roots, therefore, he is unstoppable. Who can impress the forest, bid the tree Unfix his earth bound-root? Sweet bodements! Good! Rebellious dead, rise till the wood Of Birnam rise, and our high-plac"d Macbeth Shall live the lease of nature, pay his breath To time and mortal custom ... . (4.1.95-100) After receiving the four apparitions, Macbeth is fearless. Without this dilemma, Macbeth decides ... finally killed, it is a very symbolic moment when his head is cut off. All the venom and evil in the play ar...

• Word Count: 1597
• Approx Pages: 6
• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: High School

... ' side of Puck when he is trying to fix something he disrupted, hence the name Goodfellow When compared to Oberon, King of the Fairies and Titania, Queen of the Fairies and the remaining fairies of the play, Puck does not seem to fit in as well. While Oberon and Titania belong to the forest and the world of dainty fairies, a small village setting seems more appropriate for Puck. He ... is the type of fairy that likes to be around mortals and cause them trouble ... and destiny were the cause of all the joy, sadness and bad luck. When William Shakespeare created 'Puck' it seems as though ...

• Word Count: 470
• Approx Pages: 2
• Grade Level: High School

... of his father approaches him and tells him of his uncle's doings. The course of the story begins to consequently unfold with Hamlet having the knowledge of this incident and seeking revenge on his uncle. In light of his newfound knowledge, Hamlet becomes extremely contemplative and even appears crazy to the characters. At a point in the story with everyone concluding Hamlet as insane, his uncle and Polonius, ... before his encounter with Ophelia, he contemplates suicide and questions the purpose of living in a society that creates so much turmoil in human lives. In a powerful and though...

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... land. Twelfth Night, for example, takes place in Illyria, a semi-historical, semi-mystical place. Similarly, the forest in A Midsummer Night's Dream where the lovers retreat to, is a magical place, removed from the conventions of reality. In these enchanting locations, anything can happen and usually does. Having the plot unfold in these settings result in a light-hearted and comical story, which is better to present in a high school class than a tale of death ... and madness. Such a setting provides a heightened reality, not just for the characters in the play, but for the ... ...

• Word Count: 1601
• Approx Pages: 6
• Grade Level: High School