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A Midsummers Night Dream Discussion

 

            "A Midsummer's Night Dream" By William Shakespeare.
             Recently I have been studying a Play by William Shakespeare called "A Midsummer's Night Dream". The genre of the book is a comedy. Samuel Pepys said, after watching the play being performed in 1662, " It is the most insipid, ridiculous play that I ever saw in my life- I could disagree with Samuel Pepys.
             A Midsummer Night's Dream is a festive comedy. The play takes place in June and this is a bewitched time. In the spring the custom is to celebrate the return of fertility to the earth. During this time the young people spend the night in the woods to celebrate. The play begins in the city, moves out to the country and then back to the city. Being in the country makes things better because there is tranquility, freedom and people can become uncivilized versus when they are in the city and have to follow customs and laws and behave rationally. Comedies contain blocking figures and in this play it is Egeus. If he was not in the way, Hermia could marry Lysander. Since he is causing problems in his daughter's life by trying to make her marry Demetrius, this begins the journey into the woods. Egeus threatened Hermia with death if she were to marry Lysander so she thinks the only way they can be together is to run away. One strange element is why Egeus was so set on Hermia marrying Demetrius. Lysander came from as good a family as Demetrius. Both were well possessed with property and money so Egeus's power is made to seem senseless. The play moves into the woods which is haunted by fairies who are there to bless the wedding of Theseus and Hippolyta. The quarreling between Oberon and Titania over the changeling boy leads to the king wanting to embarrass Titania with the love juice by making her fall in love with a monster. The first person she sees is Bottom and she falls violently in love with him. Oberon is making a spectacle of Titania and Bottom.


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