Act I Scene 1 Theseus and Hippolyta look ahead to their wedding day, in four days' time. Hermia plans to defy her father and elope with Lysander, but Helena reveals their plan to Lysander's rival, Demetrius. The scene takes place in Athens. The characters are : Duke Theseus Hippolyta, Queen of the Amazons. Egeus and his daughter Hermia Two suitors : Lysander and Demetrius Hermia is in love with Lysander. Egeus wants her to marry Demetrius or die. Helena loves […]
Narratives The Short-Story and the Novel Relatives in Cider With Rosie by Laurie Lee Lord Jim by Joseph Conrad Lord Jim by Joseph Conrad : "A free and wandering tale" Lord Jim : How is Conrad's first-hand experience of seamanship perceptible throughout the Patna episode ? Macbeth by Shakespeare Introduction to Macbeth Political questions in Macbeth The dramatic quality in Macbeth A Midsummer Night's Dream by Shakespeare Introduction to A Midsummer Night's Dream Background of A Midsummer Night's Dream Structure […]
Introduction Shakespeare has used many genres to convey his stories, especially comedies, tragedies and historical plays. A Midsummer Night's Dream is a comedy. A comedy is a kind of drama which is intended primarily to entertain the audience and which usually ends unhappily for the characters. There are: romantic comedies: revolving around love (As you like it). satiric comedies: see French playwright Molière. I - A Midsummer Night's Dream and the convention of comedy Shakespeare was influenced by the concept […]
I - Characters and structure Multiplicity of lines. A Midsummer Night's Dream is remarkable for the many levels of its text. The play is different from Romeo and Juliet or the Taming of the Shrew (which have one main plot) because of the various levels of plots and characters. There are 4 levels: Theseus and Hippolyta, the young lovers, the mechanicals, and the fairies. There are connections between: Theseus & Hippolyta and the young lovers: made by Theseus, member of […]
Place of the play in Shakespeare's work A Midsummer Night's Dream is one of the most famous and successful Shakespeare's plays. The play is part of the early work of Shakespeare (1554-1616), it was written and performed in 1595-1596, just after The Taming of the Shrew and The Two Gentlemen of Verona. There is a connection between Pyramus & Thisbe and Romeo & Juliet: one character kills himself because he thought his love is dead (tragedy of misunderstanding). It proves […]
Introduction The characters are set in a given space and time. Shakespeare draws his material from a large body of social background, historical facts and myth: let us see the Greek background, the May festivities, and the fairies and spirits. I - Greek background The play is set in early Greece, in Athens. It is unexpected as so much of the play seems so typically England. Shakespeare was writing at the time where antiquity was the cultural reference, although the […]
