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One of the guests at this noble wedding, according to the theory, was Queen Elizabeth I of England - and the play is full of references to her. Both Hippolyta and Titania embody certain aspects of Elizabeth's royal mystique. Hippolyta, as the beautiful "Amazon Queen,"" recalls Elizabeth's reputation for military prowess, as well as her proud refusal to take a husband. 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. Elizabeth also has much in common with Titania, Queen of Fairies. Shakespeare represents Titania as a great patroness of music, dancing, and the arts, as Elizabeth famously attempted to be. Moreover, the very notion of a "Fairy Queen- refers unmistakably to another famous work of the period, Edmund Spenser's epic, the Faerie Queene, intended as an elaborate celebration of Elizabeth and her court. .
Shakespeare's clearest allusion to the royal member of his first audience, however, comes in Act II, Scene 1, when Oberon describes to Puck the fateful flower, "love-in-idleness,"" that will produce the magic juice. According to the Fairy King, one night in the woods Cupid, "all armed,"" took aim at a "fair vestal, throned by the west."" His arrow missed, and pierced the flower instead, while "th'imperial vot'ress passed on, In maiden meditation, fancy-free."" This is hardly a mere bit of poetic fancy, but instead seems an elaborate compliment to the Virgin Queen, Elizabeth ("vestal- means "virgin-). Not only would Elizabeth avoid Cupid's arrow her entire life (she died proudly unmarried and without children), but she also managed to escape a plotted assassination in 1594. When Shakespeare was writing this play, then, a passage such as this once would not only praise Elizabeth for her famous virginity, but would also celebrate her recent miraculous escape from real physical harm.
A Midsummer Night's Dream William Shakespeare's play A Midsummer Night's Dream is a classic love story about two young would-be couples, and an aspiring actor named Bottom who end up being caught in the middle of a lovers quarrel between Oberon, the king of the fairies and Titania, his Queen. ... Just like how Michael Hoffman's A Midsummer Night's Dream is based on a dream world, so are these little magical creatures named fairies. ... Peter Hall and Michael Hoffman are both very prestigious filmmakers and both of their versions tend to depict a very distinct image...
A Midsummer Nights Dream In Shakespeare's "A Midsummer Night's Dream" the mortal teenage characters fall in love foolishly, and the character Bottom states, "O what fools these mortals be". ... Then let us teach or trial patience, Because it is a customary cross, As due to love, as thoughts and dreams and sighs, Wishes and tears, poor fancy's followers." ... William Shakespeare's A Midsummers Night's Dream shows how childishly foolish lovers can be....
William Shakespeare's play A Midsummer Night's Dream is a play primarily on the difficulty of love. ... As the title alludes to, dreams are an important theme in A Midsummer Night's Dream; dreams are an important theme in the play. Hippolyta first words in the play show how essential dreams will be; "Four days will quickly steep themselves into night, Four nights will quickly dream away the time... Shakespeare loves the inter-workings of dreams, how they occur, and even the sense of lost time in dreams. ... In the play A Midsummer Night's Dream Shakespeare creates of wo...
"A Midsummer Night's Dream" by William Shakespeare "A Midsummer Night's Dream" is just one of Shakespeare's many masterpieces. ... There are many different themes in "A Midsummer Nights Dream", and I will describe all of them to you. ... Conclusion So, in conclusion, "A Midsummer Nights Dream" has many qualities to it. ... I think "A Midsummer Nights Dream" is a popular play because of the qualities within it, and Shakespeare was defiantly ahead of his time when he wrote this for the stage....
The complex circle of love in A Midsummer Nights Dream', that Shakespeare portrays, contains both a crude and chaotic love, such as with Bottom and Titania, and a symbolic love, such as with Lysander and Hermia representing chastity. ... On the contrary Hippolyta feels the four days leading up to their wedding day is racing by, "Four will quickly steep themselves in night; four nights will quickly dream away the time."" ... In A Midsummer Night's Dream, love is a token thing dispersed by a sprite. ...
In A Midsummer Night's Dream there are 5 acts, even though it is not really necessary to have the last act due to the fact that a good amount of the action ends at the final scene of act 4. ... Almost one-half of the play, A Midsummer Night's Dream, was the play, Thisbe & Pyramus. ...
"A Midsummer Night's Dream" Shakespeare's play "A Midsummer night's dream", presents us with a complex and twisting plot, which is fairytale like and magical. ... Another occurring theme throughout the play is dream versus reality. ... So we are quickly led out of Athens and into the "dream world" into the woods. ... Though there is little character development of Puck in "A Midsummer Night's Dream" and no true protagonist, critics generally point to as the most important character in the play. ... "A midsummer night's dream" is a v...
SHAKESPEARE"S A MIDSUMMER NIGHT"S DREAM "THE COURSE OF TRUE LOVE NEVER DID RUN SMOOTH" The course of true love in Shakespeare's "A Midsummer Night's Dream" never did run smooth. From not being able to marry the love of your choice Egeus is determined that his daughter, Hermia, will m...
Critique of A Midsummer Night's Dream I went to see Nevada Ballet Theatre's rendition of A Midsummer Night's Dream on Friday October 4, 2002 at UNLV's Judy Bayley Theatre. ... A Midsummer Night's Dream focuses around the tangled web of four lovers who are the subjects of Duke Theseus' court, and who get accidentally mixed up in the magical world of elves and fairies. ... Overall I really enjoyed watching A Midsummer Night's Dream. ...