This paper is a creative original presentation of Lysander and Demetrius offering arguments to Egeus, for the purpose of marrying Hermia as based on "Midnight Summer's Dream".
675 words (approx. 2.7 pages), 2 sources, 2005, $ 26.95
Abstract This paper is a creative writing presented as a court proceeding, in which Egeus is Judge, Hermia and Theseus are attorneys. The author plays Lysander and Demetrius as being prosecuted by the opposite side. The paper utilizes various other members of the cast of characters of William Shakespeare's "Midnight Summer's Dream" as the jury."
From the Paper "A movement is seen from beyond the partially open door in the front of the courtroom. A bailiff steps out. Bailiff: All rise for the Hon. Judge Egeus, presiding. The jury stands, including Puck, Oberon, Tatiania, and Hippolyta. Puck does a little jig. Oberon smacks him on the back of the head. Puck pulls a face and stops dancing, but continues to shift from foot to foot. Egeus steps up behind the bench and takes his seat. Bailiff: You may be seated. Egeus (addressing Lysander and Demetrius): You have been called before this court to give testimony in the case of "Lysander v. Demetrius," for the purpose of wooing Hermia. How do you plead? Demetrius (glares at Lysander): Guilty of love, your honor. Lysander (shoots Demetrius a look): Guilty of adoration your honor. "
Abstract This paper looks at Shakespeare's play "A Midsummer Night's Dream," as an example of how Cupid's arrow can make people defy convention and reason. Through an examination of the characters and their roles, the author supports the thesis that love causes a person to become irrational and can often cause them to lose touch with reality.
From the Paper "The fighting continues between the four. Helena gets more and more upset, particularly at Hermia, who was once her dearest, closest friend, and whom she now suspects is being cruel to her. Hermia herself is very confused, at both the fact that Lysander no longer wants anything to do with her, and the fact that Helena seems to not trust her. Once the argument ceases and the four go off into the forest, so Demetrius and Lysander can duke it out over Helena, Puck catches up to set things "right". Oberon's wish is that the original lovers Lysander and Hermia are reunited, and that Demetrius will stay in love with Helena, and she will believe his love to be true."
Abstract The paper discusses why Act two Scene one of Shakespeare's "A Midsummer Night's Dream" is a very important scene. In it all the major and minor themes of the play as a whole can be found, through a detailed analysis of the characters, their speech and the imagery the scene contains. Among other things, jealousy, the supernatural/natural world and love in all its different forms are explored in this essay. The paper contains a thorough analysis of the characters, imagery and ideas all contained within the scene, which can be applied to to the rest of the play as a whole.
From the Paper "Cupid's "fiery shaft" renders the idea/theme of love as a fiery, passionate and heated affliction, that literally pierces the heart in a shower of flames. This idea foretells the lovesick hysteria that is soon to enfold the young Athenians, and can especially be seen in Helen as she traipses after the desperate Demetrius. The "shaft" itself is contrasted with the description of the moon, which is "chaste" and "watery", a hazy image in comparison to Cupid's blazing arrow. The sing-song alliteration mirrors the maiden's carefree state, in which she carries on unscathed by Cupid's plan. The notion of love as an infliction (albeit a desirable infliction) is stressed once more by Oberon's description of the "love-in-idleness" as "a little western flower" which has been turned "purple with love's wound"."
Tags:demetrius, helena, hermia, love, nature, oberon, titania, world
Abstract This paper discusses the importance of imagery and patterns in William Shakespeare's "Midsummer Night's Dream". The writer shows examples from the play to illustrate how imagery is presented such as the fact that the story is set in Athens, a mystical place filled with opportunity for imagery.
From the Paper "One of the first patterns to emerge from the play is the pattern of control. It is not uncommon in plays from this era to view control issues, however, this play works to create a pattern of the need to control causing strife for the characters in the play. The refusal to marry Demetrius and instead she wishes to marry Lysander, tells the reader that she and her father will have a battle of wills and control."
Abstract Self-knowledge - the ability to understand rather than misunderstand an action, emotion, or situation - is one of the social values embedded in the works of William Shakespeare. This paper examines several examples of plays where the theme of self-knowledge was present, including "The Merchant of Venice", "Twelfth Night" and "A Midsummer Night's Dream".
From the Paper "As to whether these reminders of "social values" are an integral part of the works, or not, is rather irrelevant for the purpose of this thesis. For our concerns the fact that they exist at all is sufficient. Throughout the plays various messages are presented dealing with ethics, love, honour, and ambition, among others. Often, more than one message may be presented in a single work through different levels of emphasis and various subplots?. One major idea expressed almost as a constant in the great majority of Shakespeare's works is the idea of "self-knowledge,? or more accurately the often lack thereof."
Abstract This is a film review of Michael Hoffman's 1999 portrayal of William Shakespeare's play, "A Midsummer Night's Dream". This essay isolates the weaknesses in Hoffman's art, arguing that Hoffman takes so many liberties in filming his adaptation, that the final product is void of anything Shakespearean, save the original language. The paper also highlights several moments of cinematic genius and mentions the excellent acting by Kevin Kline.
From the Paper "Kevin Kline's Nick Bottom is the film's sole redeeming character. Klines shines as Bottom, combining joy and apprehension throughout his oscillating plots. Delivering one of his better performances, Kline plays Nick Bottom as a tragic-comic champion-a despondent drudge with big stage aspirations. The play-within-a play subplot works well with Hoffman's rough mechanicals. When Bottom is transformed into an ass, the object of Queen Titania's affection, it is poignant to note how his moment of grandeur renders him completely oblivious to his physical state. Bottom alone gives flight to the central idea that love is both maddening and redeeming, and the comedy seems to soar whenever Kline appears."
Abstract This paper analyzes the main female characters in "Romeo and Juliet" and "A Midsummer-Night's Dream" and then discusses their similar and dissimilar qualities. In discussing their similarities, the paper notes that both Hermia of "A Midsummer-Night's Dream" and Juliet of "Romeo and Juliet" are strong and courageous females, and both will do anything for love. Among their differences, the paper cites their differences in age. The paper also points out that the major difference in the two plays, the outcome, has to do with the plot of the play and not the differences in the characters of Juliet and Hermia.
From the Paper "Hermia and Juliet share a major similarity in that they are both female characters devoted to love and willing to do anything to be with their lover. They are also both strong and courageous characters, though Hermia is more mature, while Juliet is younger and more naive. The major difference though, is the outcome for the two characters, with Juliet's love leading to her tragic death, and Hermia's leading to a happy ending. This difference is related not to the qualities of each character, but to their roles in the play, and to the type of play each character is part of. These similarities and differences will now be considered in more detail."
Abstract This paper provides evidence from the Shakespearean plays, "A Midsummer Night's Dream" and "The Taming of the Shrew", that there was considerable opposition to women who wanted to express themselves or have their own way in Renaissance times. In "The Taming of the Shrew", it is Katherine who was the deviant, but eventually conformed to the norms of society by obeying her husband. This was because everyone wanted her to do so, including the women around her. Similar to this situation was Hermia?s, where she was ordered to marry a man against her wishes. Women around her and generally everyone else wanted her to obey her father's wishes. However, she revolted and eloped with her lover. From these examples in the play, this paper shows that the voices of women during the Renaissance were greatly opposed. However, it notes that, in the case of Hermia, it can be seen that women finally manage to emerge victorious.
From the Paper "The manner in which some women were in fact reinforcements to misogynistic attitudes is reflected in the Shakespearean texts, "The Taming of the Shrew" and "A Midsummer Night's Dream", as both these texts demonstrate the way that women in the Renaissance reinforced their social positions by repeatedly adhering to what was expected of them. It is clear enough that this attitude on the part of women had caused men to feel elevated and powerful (Belsey 1985, pp 12-15). Men realized that they could get women to act in accordance with what they expected of them, and they reinforced or justified these expectations through religious indoctrination. Particularly, the Christian bible was used in order to get women to conform to what men wanted."
Abstract This paper discusses the play, "A Midsummer Night's Dream" by William Shakespeare. The paper examines how the play employs the same parallels that exist in reality within the make-believe world of the enchanted forest. The paper explains how the placement of a play within a play superimposes life's small episodes within the larger framework of reality. While the play is a comedy about life, the paper contends that it also alludes to the absurdity of resolving conflict.
From the Paper "The two sets of lovers that enter the forest leave the reality of Athens for the magic of the fairyland. Unbeknownst to them, it is the magic of the fairies that sorts out their tangled relationships while they sleep. In the real world of Athens, the harsh reality is that Hermia must either wed the man her father wishes her to, live the life of a cloistered celibate, or be put to death. The acquiescence of Theseus and his persuasion of Hermia's father to permit the wedding between Hermia and Lysander, allow the returning lovers and Demetrius and Helena to remain partners. The four lovers are changed from an uncertain future in Athens to a life together after spending the night in the forest. This is a fairy-tale story from many viewpoints. It is the fairies that have worked their magic on the couples making the outcome viable. The pairing that results is the best for all involved. Although it appears Demetrius remains under the spell of the love juice even after they return to the city, the other individuals are now guided by their own passions, and any misguided love has been redirected to the appropriate partner."
Abstract There is a virtual myriad of essays and criticisms concerning the women characters in William Shakespeare's plays. This paper focuses mainly on the role of two of these women - Desdemona from "Othello" and Cleopatra from "Antony and Cleopatra". It also briefly discusses other characters such as Calpurnia and Portia. The paper concludes that of all his female characters, Shakespeare's Cleopatra is certainly at the top of the list in qualities of intelligence, power, seductiveness, aggression and assertiveness.
From the Paper "Desdemona in "Othello," appears on the surface as a typical weak female who is totally submissive to her husband, however she is not truly typically meek. She is actually quite broad minded and assertive, and seems to have no problem in standing up to Othello's jealousy or using her feminine wiles to persuade her husband to forgive Cassio. When Othello strikes her, shouting, "Devil," Desdemona responds to him, saying, "I have not deserved this" (Othello pp)."
Abstract This paper provides a summary of "A Midsummer Night's Dream" and in particular, focuses on the theme of love within the play. It discusses how although the play and its plot deal with love, it is not really what we can call a love story and how indeed, the characters do not describe their love in long and emotional soliloquy. It contends that love, and the troubles it brings throughout the play, is just an excuse to introduce comical elements into the story. Initially, it is because of Theseus' and Hippolyta's wedding, and thus love, that the troupe of artisans/actors is present into the play, bringing with it the most comical character: Bottom.
From the Paper "However, each character has a different attitude toward love, and the use of a love potion does not help the matter. Indeed, at the beginning of the play, the situation is already unusual, since there is an imbalance: Hermia is loved by two men, Lysander and Demetrius, while Helena, who loves Demetrius, is not loved by anyone. But as the play moves on, there is a shift from Hermia to Helena, who is then loved by both men because of the love potion. Eventually, everything is restored and the lovers form two balanced couples: Hermia and Lysander, and Helena and Demetrius."
Abstract This paper discusses how, from the opening act of "A Midsummer Night's Dream", it's clear that Shakespeare is setting up a framework for unbalance and potential chaos, a theme which is the thrust of the play beneath all its magical trappings. The paper examines how the first act is spent showcasing the way that everything has been thrown out of synch and how it is clear that things will need to reach homeostasis before the play can come to a resolution. The paper then analyzes how this orderliness seems to be only attainable through figures of authority and how the initial chaos is caused by disrupting monarchical authority, and only draws to a suitable close at the will of the respective rulers, Theseus and Oberon.
From the Paper "The play's resolution is only possible through the will of the respective kings. The lovers, now appropriately matched--through the heavy-handed intervention of the fairies--return to Athens, but would have returned to exactly the same circumstances under which they had left if Theseus did not decide to grant Lysander and Hermia's wish to wed; it is the somewhat arbitrary judgment of the duke of Athens which resolves these matters of the heart, not the enduring power of love, and certainly not the depth of human reasoning. Love notwithstanding, the only thing that brought the lot of them to any sort of peace was the manipulation and good graces of higher authority."
