Irony In A Midsummer Night's Dream

This contrasts to the unrhymed iambic pentameter of the Athenians. Because the meters are in fact inverses of each other, it shows how, although both worlds are similar on the surface, they are very different at the core. Both the Athenians and the fairies were struggling with complexities of love. Demetrius with Helena, Lysander with Hermia, and Oberon with Titania all fought the impending chaos that so often accompanied love. The only difference between the squabbling couples was their nature. In the case of Demetrius, Helena, Lysander and Hermia, they were nothing more than mortals. However, the fairies were considered magical beings of great power. Their presence was intimidating and their command was to be respected. By giving end rhyme to the fairies, Shakespeare set them apart intellectually from the lovers and they became more dignified and lyrical in their nature. Because Shakespeare blurred the lines of dominance between the lovers and the fairies through similar meter while maintaining the stereotypical fairy personality of the time, he induced a sense of chaos. Social order began to crumble and emotional breakdowns started soon after.

Hermia and Lysander behave irrationally throughout the whole play because they’re head over heels for each other; however, their love is oppressed by both her father Egeus and the strict Athenian law. In Act 1, Scene 1 when Egeus is at court with Hermia he uses a demanding and dominating tone to state, ‘as she is mine i may dispose of her’ This causes them to act spontaneously and irrationally and as a consequence, they run away from Athens to get married. This entertains the audience by adding more conflict and complication to the story. After they elope to the forest, magic becomes the force that turns love to a dramatic and conflict filled experience that is also entertaining. Lysander acts in irrational ways when he is put under the spell of ‘Love in Idleness’ where he states how madly he loves on Helena, and how much he hates Hermia. ‘Hang off, thou cat, thou burr! Vile thing, let loose, / or I will shake thee from me like a serpent.’ Derogatory language and repetition is used to emphasise his hate toward Hermia and orders her to leave him alone. For example, in Act 3, Scene 2, Lysander has fallen in love with Helena and tells Hermia how he hates her. ‘Out, loathed medicine! O hated potion, hence!’ Conflict between characters create comedy in the play which entertains the audience because of the dramatic irony. Lysander’s insults in the statement are repetition as it is the same meaning but in different words. This language technique emphasises that Lysander wants Hermia to leave him alone.

In many of Shakespeare’s literary works one can find multiple themes that reflect or question our reality. He accomplishes this by using figurative language such as metaphors and similes. Shakespeare’s Midsummer Night’s Dream encompasses many themes and apply them to certain characters or through communication between multiple characters. Helena portrays themes of love, betrayal, jealousy, and gender norms in Midsummer Night’s Dream presenting them through her speech and behavior. She depicts the challenges of a woman and also the flaws of human nature. In Act 2 scene 1 and Act 3 scene 2 Helena uses a metaphor twice which emulates these themes presenting us a broader understanding of her representation within the play and the play as a whole. Following are lines from Helena.

I loved this production of “Into the Woods”, it was a unique look at the fairy tale world that everyone knows and loves. This new and fresh look is what keeps you entertained and interested once you are automatically connected to the famous characters. However for these known characters, this was not a fairy tale it was reality, where everything can fall apart and people not always live “Happily Ever

The fairy character dubbed Robin Goodfellow, a Puck, declares his mischievousness and playfulness throughout the play A Midsummer Night’s Dream through the contents of his speech. Robin loves being this little sprite that taunts and pranks the people near by, which can be seen when he speaks to a fairy from Queen Titania’s court (2.1.42-58), when he speaks to an oblivious Bottom (3.1.94-99), and when he speaks to himself/the audience (5.1.357-376). Robin is a true representation of a Shakespearean comedy character by showing who he actually is during the entirety of the play. Robin’s speech defines his true qualities and does little to hide the fact that he is a teasing and devious sprite. Through his use of rhyme, alliteration, and disruption

A horrible disaster caused by a magic flower, people confused with love around every corner, and a man with the head of a donkey all occurring in one night. Needless to say, mistakes were made in William Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night’s Dream. This whimsical story follows a large cast of characters who are almost all struggling with love one way or another. Throughout the night, order slowly begins to collapse. Most of this disorder comes from Oberon, the king of fairies, who doesn’t understand the importance of love.

The theme of marriage runs throughout the play from the beginning to the end. First, the play begins with Theseus and Hippolyta discussing their wedding, which will come in a few days. For instance, while Theseus

In Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night’s Dream, the mythological characters, including fairies, play a key role in the development of the plot. The king and queen of the fairies, Oberon and Titania, get into a dispute since Oberon wants the changeling boy but Titania will not give him up. Oberon plans to get revenge on Titania so he sends a fairy, Robin Goodfellow, to fetch a flower with magical properties which makes a person fall in love. Mythology plays a key role in developing themes throughout the story. Mythological themes are shown throughout the play are disorder, magic, and dreams.

The rise of tension between characters is another characteristic of comedic plays. After Oberon sees the way that Helena has been treated by Demetrius, he orders Puck to apply the juice to the eyes of Demetrius. Puck accidentally applies the juice to Lysander’s eye, which causes him to fall in love with Helena. After the mistake had been caught, Oberon sends Puck to watch Helena and Oberon applies the juice to Demetrius’ eyes. This causes both men to fall for Helena and now the battle is for Helena and not Hermia. Helena is convinced that this is a joke or prank because neither of the two men loved her before. Now because of Puck’s mistakes the four decide to find a

What literary criticism lens is most effective in creating meaning and entertainment throughout Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream? The play, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, has several characters involved in a love triangle. Many scenes in the story involves power being used or taken away and use of money. Throughout the play, readers and viewers experiences Hermia’s power is being taken away by her father, Eugues,which is her kindred, not letting her marry the man she truly loves,Lysander. Later throughout the story, Robin, character from the story contains a enthrall love juice that has power and makes another character from the story, Titania, fall in love with a donkey.The marxist literary criticism lens is the most effective in creating meaning and entertaining readers and viewers in Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream.

Mandy Conway Mrs. Guynes English 12 16 March 2000 A Critical Analysis of "A Midsummer Night's Dream" William Shakespeare, born in 1594, is one of the greatest writers in literature. He dies in 1616 after completing many sonnets and plays. One of which is "A Midsummer Night's Dream." They say that this play is the most purely romantic of Shakespeare's comedies. The themes of the play are dreams and reality, love and magic. This extraordinary play is a play-with-in-a-play, which master writers only write successfully. Shakespeare proves here to be a master writer. Critics find it a task to explain the intricateness of the play, audiences find it very pleasing to read and watch. "A Midsummer Night's Dream" is a

Romantic love, illusion of love, and friendship love, by explaining these different love stories in A Midsummer Night’s Dream, is both intriguing and magical, but yet comical. Enemies, friends, and lovers all come together to overcome battles to get to the happy ending where love, confusion, misunderstandings, and forgiveness conquers all.

The play is undoubtedly drowned in lunar imagery. Set in the Greek city of Athens, the play follows intersecting plots in the woodlands which are under the rule of the fairies. The play, even from the opening, references the moon. For Theseus, the Duke of Athens whose first lines reference the moon, it is a symbol of time. There are 'four happy days' (1.1.2) until the 'new moon' (1.1.3) which will mark the night of their wedding. Theseus is keen to wed Hippolyta, the Amazonian warrior and to consummate their marriage, therefore the moon becomes 'a step dame or a dowager' (1.1.5) who 'lingers his desires' (1.1.4). The moon, just as a stepmother would prevent him from his inheritance, prevents him from his marital bed. Therefore, we see that Theseus regards Hippolyta as property which is rightfully his. This is amplified by his

Although the original story is a tragic one, due to the last moments that the main characters have, the theatre group alters that characteristic by naming their play “The most lamentable comedy and most cruel death of Pyramus and Thisbe.” (A Midsummer Night's Dream 8) The story of Pyramus and Thisbe is, by no means, a story that make people laugh, nevertheless, the group of craftsmen turn it into a comedy that unpurposely share a great deal of details with Hermia and Lysander’s

In A Midsummer Night’s Dream the themes of love constrained by society and of death are hinted in Act I, Scene I, in a dialogue between Egeus, Hermia’s father, and Theseus, duke of Athens, “she [Hermia] will not here before your grace consent to marry with Demetrius, I beg the ancient privilege of Athens: as she is mine I may dispose of her; which shall be either to this gentleman or to her death” (I.I.38-45). These themes are mirrored and parodied in the mechanicals play, “The most Lamentable Comedy and most Cruel Death of Pyramus and Thisby” (I.II.11-12),