Because these factors are highly personal it is difficult to illustrate to what extent they influence an production, but one might consider what the relationship is between the play and the cultural framework. Performances of Shakespeare's plays are not isolated, unrelated occurrences. ... With the representation of magical creatures, there must be some upward limit to what people may be asked to believe. ... The fairies interact with each other, but also with other characters in the play. ... Therefore they could be seen as equal in existence to the humans in the play. ...

• Word Count: 9832
• Approx Pages: 39
• Grade Level: High School

When Shakespeare's company performed Act V, for instance, the noble men and women in the first audience of the play would be watching other noble men and women (Hippolyta, Theseus, Helena, Demetrius, Hermia, and Lysander) doing on stage exactly what they themselves were doing in real life: watching a play meant to entertain them at a wedding. ... Perhaps the play's notion of a "marriage- between Hippolyta and Theseus was meant to refer to the "League of Amity- signed between Elizabeth of England and the King of France at the time that the play was written. ... He is asked by ...

• Word Count: 10864
• Approx Pages: 43
• Grade Level: High School