Paper Summary:

This paper explains that, for his 1999 film, "William Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream", Michael Hoffman rewrote the original Shakespeare play, put it into a more modern context and emphasized artistic visual expression over Shakespeare's expression through the poetry of language. The author points out that Hoffman modernized the gender roles by creating a dialogue for Bottom's wife, thus increasing her importance; wherein, in the original play, her role consisted of a stare. The paper relates that, to appeal to modern cultural standards, the movie has been made more aesthetically pleasing by the fantasy theatrics of the costumes and makeup.

From the Paper:

"The first and most evident difference between the 1999 film adaptation and the original play by Shakespeare is the setting. Shakespeare's work is set in Greece, while Hoffman's is set in the turn of the 20th century Tuscany. It was also filmed in Tuscany. "Hoffman moves the action forward in time and sets it in late 19th-Century Tuscany" writes Welsh, but it is questioned whether this "new setting makes sense". Thus Hoffman's version has an immediate difference between that of Shakespeare's which took place in the traditional classical setting."

Sample of Sources Used:

• "A Midsummer Night's Dream (1999)." IMDB. 21 Apr. 2007 <http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0140379/>.
• Burnett, Mart T. "Shakespeare, the Movie, II: Popularizing the Plays on Film, TV, Video, and DVD." Shakespeare Quarterly 58 (2007): 130. 21 Apr. 2007 <http://proquest.umi.com/pqdweb?did=1257012901&sid=1&Fmt=3&clientId=77110&RQT=309&VName=PQD>.
• French, Emma J. "Veneration and Irreverence: Hollywood Marketing of Filmed Shakespeare Adaptations in the 1990s." University of Southampton (United Kingdom) (2003). 21 Apr. 2007 <http://proquest.umi.com/pqdweb?did=784345961&sid=2&Fmt=2&clientId=311&RQT=309&VName=PQD>.
• French, Juli. "Elizabeth I and the Iconagraphy In." Elizabeth I and The. 21 Apr. 2007 <http://www.marshall.edu/engsr/SR1997.html#Swift%20hart%20and%20soft%20heart:>.
• Jones, Nicholas. "Bottom's Wife: Gender and Voice in Hoffman's Dream." Literature/Film Quarterly 32 (2004): 126. <http://proquest.umi.com/pqdweb?did=653729331&sid=1&Fmt=4&clientId=77110&RQT=309&VName=PQD>.

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