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William Shakespeare 's A Midsummer Night 's Dream

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William Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream weaves stories of social ranks in the commedia dell’arte and some of its easily recognized stock characters. Shakespeare uses commedia dell’arte characters in A Midsummer Night’s Dream to capture our imagination and amuse us. Commedia dell’arte includes three classes of characters in its performances. These characters are the vecchi, innamorati, and the zanni (McCarter.org). The vecchi are usually the nobility or masters. The vecchi in A Midsummer Night’s Dream are represented by the Athenian upper class: Duke Theseus, Hippolyta, and Egeus. In the play, the innamorati are portrayed by Hermia, Lysander, Demetrius, and Helena. Innamorati are primarily in love with themselves and being in love with their beloved. The zanni in Shakespeare’s play consist of the fairies and the mechanicals: Bottom, Quince, Flute, Straveling, Snout, and Snug. The mechanicals provide common humor in the play, such as comic vision of Bottom’s head turned into the head of an ass, to the mechanicals’ performing for the vecchi at the beginning of Act V, which is laughable because their performance is so atrocious. Bottom is a hilarious example of an actor that believes he is talented. Nick Bottom is a notable character that evokes laughter and he personifies Il Dottore of commedia dell’ arte (Shane-arts.com). Bottom deludes himself and thinks that he is a talented performer, however he is the victim of much of the mischief in the comedy. Bottom

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