Abstract This paper explains that, for his 1999 film, "WilliamShakespeare's A MidsummerNight'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."
Abstract The purpose of this paper is to understand what Shakespeare meant by the title "A MidsummerNight's Dream" following the clues in key speeches. It also looks at the theme of the title, midsummer madness and supernatural elements.
From the Paper "The themes embodied in Shakespeare's comedy A Midsummer Night's Dream recall the line that questions whether all that we see or seem is merely a dream within a dream. Unlike his other plays the title of Shakespeare's fantastic..."
Abstract An analysis of the idea of desire in the play MidsummerNightsDream, and how the characters of Shakespeare's play portray this in the text. By analyzing how love and relationships play into this theme, we can see relate how madness plays a part in their demise.
Abstract This paper discusses Shakespeare's play; "A MidsummerNight's Dream" and analyzes how it satisfies the functions of literature, raising a heightened sensitivity of the complexities of life. The paper also discusses plot devices.
From the Paper "A Midsummer Night's Dream: One of the functions of literature is to force the reader to question the things he has taken for granted; another is to heighten his sensitivity to the complexities of life and individuals. Shakespeare's "A Midsummer Night's Dream" fulfills both functions masterfully. Shakespeare's play creates an intricate juxtaposition of plot and characters that reduces even the careful reader to a state of confusion."
Tags: A MidsummerNight's Dream, Shakespeare, literature
Abstract This paper compares and contrasts two WilliamShakespeare plays: "Antony and Cleopatra" and "Romeo and Juliet." It provides biographical details of Shakespeare's life. It also looks at the common themes of political and romantic issues in the two plays, the lyrical poetry of both plays and the different appeal of both plays.
Tags:WilliamShakespeare, plays, Antony and Cleopatra, Romeo and Juliet
Abstract This paper discusses "MidsummerNight's Dream" as the author believes Shakespeare intended the play to be - as a delightful, fun frolic, and contrasts it to Moshinsky's film version which emphasizes the darker elements of the script and loses much of the comic elements of the story.
From the Paper "This sentence would be a perfect introduction to Elijah Moshinsky's film adaptation of Shakespeare's "Midsummer Night's Dream", since it is not delightful, but instead stresses the tragic elements of the play. Shakespeare's language, rich of colourful images, creates a flower-scent and magical atmosphere. ?The descriptions breathe a sweetness like odours thrown from beds of flowers.? Though Moshinsky adapts Shakespeare's original text, the language loses nevertheless a part of its imaginative power. He focuses rather on the tragic elements of the play and renders it thus more serious and less bland."
"?We do not come, as minding to content you, our true intent is. All for your delight, we are not here. That you should here repent you, the actors are at hand; and, by their show you shall know all, that you are like to know (p.57).?
This sentence would be a perfect introduction to Elijah Moshinsky's film adaptation of Shakespeare's "Midsummer Night's Dream", since it is not delightful, but instead stresses the tragic elements of the play.
Shakespeare's language, rich of colourful images, creates a flower-scent and magical atmosphere. ?The descriptions breathe a sweetness like odours thrown from beds of flowers.? Though Moshinsky adapts Shakespeare's original text, the language loses nevertheless a part of its imaginative power. He focuses rather on the tragic elements of the play and renders it thus more serious and less bland."
Abstract This paper analyzes the characters of Hippolyta and Theseus in Shakespeare's "A MidsummerNight's Dream" as they pertain to the play's main themes and Shakespeare's social commentary.
From the Paper "William Shakespeare's comedy "A Midsummer Night's Dream" is a whimsical study of the difficulties and struggles that accompany love and courtship. Virtually all of the play's characters are affected by the complications brought about by romance as they..."
Abstract This paper discusses the various changes in "A MidsummerNight's Dream" including the differences between the spirit and the real world, the fortunes of love and real people becoming actors.
From the Paper "Few authors have understood the fundamental role of change in both nature and human life as the great William Shakespeare who in years of life left a body of literature unrivalled in human history for its beauty, wisdom .."
Abstract This paper presents an analysis of WilliamShakespeare's comedy, "A MidsummerNight's Dream", that rejects critical analysis that views the play as evidence of male dominance over women in the era depicted.
From the Paper "A Midsummer Night's Dream is a play that revolves around love sex and marriage. The plot revolves around two sets of lovers Hermia and Lysander and Helena and Demetrius whose complicated romantic relations are made more complex by their arrival in the fairyland woods. Here the King and Queen of the Fairies Oberon and Titania rule and are involved in a battle themselves over the custody of a young changeling boy in Titania's care. A majority of critics contend that the play reflects certain characteristics ..."
Tags: love, patriarchy, relationships, gender, fairies, trickery, sexual desire, dominance, life struggle, Shakespeare, Elizabethan era
Abstract The paper first cites the strengths of the film; namely, the romantic score and the appropriate choreography. It then goes on to list the weaknesses of the film; namely, the controversy regarding the quality of acting and direction. Finally, the paper presents an opinion on the worth of the film as a representation of Shakespeare's play.
From the Paper "The movie had everything going for it. Director Max Reinhardt had staged the play in England, and in the Hollywood Bowl in Los Angeles. He was familiar with the magical qualities of the play, and wanted to bring its message to American filmgoers. ?This message, as he saw it, was that fantasy can always provide us a refuge from "stark reality"" (Magill). He used the lush and romantic music of Felix Mendelssohn, and choreography to bring out the magic of the fairies in the forest."
Tags: cinema film-version movie Mickey Rooney James Cagney, Olivia de Havilland
Abstract This paper discusses the whirling relationships between the four lovers in Shakespeare's comedy "MidsummerNight's Dream". It illustrates the theme of rash love's delusions versus mature, realistic love. The author explores the impact of midsummer madness on behavior.
From the Paper "In Shakespeare's, "Midsummer's Night Dream" the pivotal word is dream-in the sense of illusion and irrational behavior. The enchanting comedy seems like a romp of intoxicated imagination in which deluded lovers end up in ..."
Abstract This paper examines the Shakespearean character "Puck" in the play ? A MidsummerNight's Dream.? It describes him as the head fairy and protagonist in the play and the reason this play is so magical. The paper describes the use of language in order to set apart the fairies from the "mortals".
From the Paper "'Spirits and fairies cannot be represented, they cannot even be painted, -- they can only be believed'" (Bloom 87). This could be the opening line of Shakespeare's ?A Midsummer Night's Dream,? for as we watch the play unfold, we are taken out of the world of today, and into a magical world full of romance, magic, and farce, and Puck is a major player in the story that unfolds."
This essay covers a vast amount of information on WilliamShakespeare and his plays. This paper explores the ways that Shakespeare's drama has evolved and transformed over time.
Abstract This essay is about WilliamShakespeare and the ways in which his art has changed and evolved with time. This essay covers many of Shakespeare's plays and many modern film adaptations of his plays. The paper discusses much of the history behind Shakespeare's works and the many sources from which his drama was derived. The essay also deals with Shakespeare's language and the aspects of his invented language that have become a part of our everyday vocabulary. It covers the many characters, plots and genres of Shakespeare's works. The main theme of the paper is centered around the ways modern history has invented a Shakespeare of its very own.
From the Paper "Who is Shakespeare? What is Shakespeare? Nearly four hundred years following his death, the Shakespearean debate trudges on. In his lifetime, William Shakespeare wrote a phenomenal cannon of dramatic literature. He managed to create an astounding thirty-seven plays in scarcely the span of twenty-five years. Individually, these plays constitute some of the best art ever written. Collectively, these works secure Shakespeare as the principle literary draftsman of the Elizabethan Age. In his dedication to William Shakespeare in 1623, Ben Johnson wrote: ?He was not of an age, but for all time.? To this day, Shakespeare's creative genius has yet to be exceeded. No writer in any language can rival the eminence and immortal perpetuity that Shakespeare has relished. And no man, in any creative enterprise, has ever impelled a cultural influence as ample or as profound. Shakespeare's language and extensive lexicon of coined phrases are more ubiquitous in trite conversation today than the myriad of cliched aphorisms present in the King James Bible. His hundreds of characters-the very mirrors of human nature-are equally as recognizable. From small amusements like Bottom the Weaver, to such unparalleled manifestations as Falstaff, Shakespeare has enriched civilization by mimicking it."
Abstract This paper looks at the similarities and differences between "A MidsummerNight's Dream" and 'Romeo and Juliet". The author compares the themes and characters in the two plays.
From the Paper "Certain parallels can be drawn between William Shakespeare's plays, "A Midsummer Night's Dream", and "Romeo and Juliet". These parallels concern themes and Shakespearean character types. Both plays have a distinct pair of 'lovers', Hermia and Lysander, and Romeo and Juliet, respectively. Both plays could have also easily been tragedy or comedy with a few simple changes. A tragic play is a play in which one or more characters is has a flaw, which leads to his/her downfall. A comedic play has at least one humorous character, and a successful or happy ending."
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 WilliamShakespeare'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. "
