“That is part of the beauty of all literature. You discover that your longings are universal longings, that you're not lonely and isolated from anyone. You belong.” F. Scott Fitzgerald
Wednesday, June 1, 2016
Imagery in A Midsummer Night's Dream
Choose one motif or pattern of imagery in the play and write a paragraph explaining how it contributes to dramatic effect in creating atmosphere or character (or something else!). Due by Thursday, June 9th. Feel free to comment on other posts!
In A Midsummer Night’s Dream, the moon is omnipresent, whether to explore a theme or to develop a character. Shakespeare refers to it many times throughout the play in order to convey different ideas. First of all, the moon is associated with time. At the beginning of the play, Theseus complains about “how slow/This old moon wanes”. This imagery is used to convey Theseus’ impatience. On the contrary, Hippolyta feels that time is flying to fast; already showing an uneasiness between her and Theseus. Moreover, in classical mythology, the moon is often called Diana who is a virgin goddess, which means the moon is associated with chastity. A good example of this comes when Theseus warns Hermia about becoming a nun and “Chanting faint hymns to the cold fruitless moon" (1.1.72-73). However, the moon is also linked to sexual desire. Shakespeare reminds us several times that the action occurring in the woods occurs "in the moonlight." Furthermore, the moon has different phases: it waxes and wanes. It can thus be seen as a fickle and inconstant entity. It reflects the lovers' tendency to fall in and out of love like madmen. Indeed, Theseus, who can’t believe the lovers’ story, makes a reference to "[t]he lunatic " (5.1.7-8): this term evokes the moon. On the whole, the moon remains an abstract entity which has the power to influence the characters. Yet, the mechanicals turn it into a concrete and ridiculous theater prop. Peter Quince worries about whether or not the moon will shine during the performance, because Pyramus and Thisbe are supposed to "meet by moonlight" (3.1.45). The moon thus becomes a character embodied by Starveling, which adds to the comical effect of the play.
One of the most recurring patterns of language in this play is bestial imagery, as it contributes to conveying the eerie atmosphere of the woods, and to developing certain characters as well as the theme of metamorphosis. We see this in II-2, when Titania orders her fairies to dispel all the animals that might disturb her sleep, summoning them to make « war with reremice for their leathern wings » (l 4). The rumbling consonances in [r] and [w], combined with the sensory appeal of the rugged wings, make the allusion to this nocturnal creature all the more evocative, thus propelling the audience in the mysterious kingdom of the woods. Furthermore, bestial imagery can also reflect the lovers’ evolution when they are freed from the yoke of civility. In II-1, while Demetrius threaten Helena to « leave [her] to the mercy of wild beasts », she shows some foresight as she retorts that « The wildest hath no such a heart as [him] » (l 228-9). Indeed, as the play unfolds, the characters seem to alleviate the self-censorship that the norms of Athens had thrown upon them, letting emerge their primitive nature and the dark impulses that they had repressed. This is confirmed in III-2, when Lysander violently shuns Hermia, calling her « thou cat, thou burr! Vile thing ». His emphatic punctuation and the repetition of « thou » convey a very aggressive tone, sharply contrasting with his vows of love a few scenes earlier. This capricious version of love, going from utter devotion to revulsion, highlights another aspect that is developed through bestial imagery : the theme of metamorphosis. Right after Bottom’s transformation, Puck plans to mislead him and to « neigh, and bark, and grunt, and roar, and burn, / Like horse, hound, hog, bear, fire at every turn » (III-1 l 92-93). The overwhelming consonances in [r], [b] and [h] create a hectic impression and reminds one of the raucous cry of wild animals, thus reflecting the transformation that has just witnessed the audience, and signaling the chaotic turn the the play is taking.
Music and dance are present throughout the play and allow Shakespeare to create a dreamlike aspect and an atmosphere of mirth and merriment. A striking example of this comes when the fairies lull Titania and sing the lullaby in act II scene 2. The musicality and the alliteration in [l] create a peaceful and calm atmosphere whereas the fairies speak about dangerous animals such as “spiders” and “snakes”. These contrasts show the power of music to repulse danger and to protect someone. Moreover, it is associated to magic since the fairy world is a magical world. Music plays a major role and seems omnipresent in their life. The absence of music is presented as an alteration of the world, an instability. We see this when Titania says to Oberon that because of their conflict, “No night is now with hymn or carol blessed” (II.1.102). This lack of music reflects the disastrous consequences of their quarrel and thus presents music as an indicator of the “well-being” of the mortal and the fairy world. Music can ease violence and even the “confusion/ Of hounds” can become “musical”(IV.1.107). Hippolyta employs very effective oxymorons to show it in line 115 “So musical a discord, such sweet thunder.” The violent words “discord” and “thunder” are here contrasted by the adjectives related to musicality and it thus demonstrates the influence of sounds. In addition to that, music and dance are often associated with joy and merriments, for example at the end of the play with the Bergomask dance. It reflects the end of the confusion and the outcome of the plot and mainly develops the comical aspect of the play as a comic relief. To conclude, Shakespeare uses music to create different atmospheres, from dreamlike to comic and presents music as a powerful way to convey ideas and emotions.
“Spiritual” imagery, or perhaps we could call it “otherwordly” imagery – that is to say, anything that makes reference to spirits or to the dead – is not a common pattern of imagery in A Midsummer Night’s Dream, but occurs at least twice and, when it does, is extremely striking. The first is in Puck’s speech to Oberon, in Act III, when he makes reference to “ghosts” and “damned spirits” that are returning to their graves as dawn approaches. It is also he who makes the second mention of these “sprite[s]”, at the end of the play, this time on the contrary to signal the start of night and the fairy time. These two rather specific uses of ghostly imagery point to three things. Firstly, it is often associated with night (which is mentioned explicitly both times and even emphasised by being twice placed at the rhyme). This is important both in the context of the passage of time – the echo in Act V reminding the audience of the cyclical nature of time but also suggesting, through repetition, the power that the fairies may have over it – and as far as the theme of contrast is concerned, for it reinforces the very specific, magical aspect of night in relation to mundane, reasonable daytime. This is perhaps due to the second element: through this worrying imagery, exemplified by disconcerting adjectives such as “wormy” and “black-browed”, Shakespeare creates a very strange, eerie atmosphere which pulls us brutally away from some of the lighter, more comical scenes of the play and adds a darker side to the work. This tension is only amplified by the imagery’s position at key moments of the play, especially at the very end in the fairies’ closing lines. And finally, the imagery also builds character. Puck is the only character (if my memory is correct) to use spiritual imagery so extensively, and this provides a contrast with the ordinarily joyous, mischievous fairy we are accustomed to. As it does for the play as a whole, this brings a new dimension to Puck’s character, and causes the audience to question whether he is really as innocent as he seems.
In A Midsummer Night's Dream, 'sick and health imagery' is a pattern. Its use can, for instance, develop relationships between characters. For example, in act 2 scene 1 when Titania and Oberon are fighting, Titania talks about many of the consequences of the couple's fight on the human world by using a vocabulary which is linked with sickness such as "Contagious fogs" and "rheumatic diseases". This gives the idea of an expandable disease contaminating everything which represents well the couple's relationship as their conflict made both human and corn ill. It shows how conflictual and unhealthy their relationship is. In this example, the imagery also contributes to create a heavy and threatening atmosphere which is representative of the tension between Titania and Oberon. Another example is in Act 2 scene 1 when Demetrius says to Helena "I am sick when I do look on thee" to which Helena answers "And I am sick when I look not on you". This shows their opposed feelings and presents the situation of Helena's unrequited love. Demetrius' annoyance at Helena is compared to a sickness which conveys an intense repulsion for her while Helena's love for him is what keeps her in good health which means that she is dependent on Demetrius. Moreover, in act 4 scene 1, Demetrius, talking about his love for Helena, states "But like a sickness did I loathe this food. / But, as in health come to my natural taste". This quotation also develops Demetrius and Helena's relationship as it echoes to the quotation above. This time, Demetrius compares his former hatred for Helena as a sickness and his love for her as health. This imagery shows a difference in the lovers' relationship and a development of Demetrius' character. However, it is also dramatically ironic as Demetrius says that his love for Helena came naturally while the audience knows it is due to the juice. Therefore, the pattern of sickness and health in imagery in A Midsummer Night's Dream mostly establishes and develops characters and their relationships, especially their conflict, thanks to its opposition and its threatening aspect, but it also helps with dramatic effects as it can have ironic and tragic effects.
One motif of A Midsummer Night's Dream is illness and the reason why it is striking is because it has paradoxical connotations.
First of all, sickness connotes discord like in Act II scene 1. In this scene, Titania says “Contagious fogs” (l.90) and “rheumatic diseases” (l.105) are the consequences of her dispute with Oberon. This means these diseases originate from Titania and Oberon's quibble and are spread thanks to nature: hence, the discord of the rulers of the Fairy world sickens the mortals through nefarious nature. Moreover, another example of discord is the dispute between Helena and Demetrius in Act II scene 1. Indeed, while Demetrius cruelly admits he is “sick when (he) do(es) look on (Helena)”, Helena admits the opposite: thus here again, illness is the fruit of discord and proof of dispute. Thus, illness is a motif of discord. On the other hand, illness also connotes concord through its comparison to love. Indeed, in Act III scene 2, Oberon observes Helena is “fancy-sick” “With sighs of love” (l.96-97). This suggests love is not only linked to sickness, it actually is a disease. This peculiar view of love is also found in Act IV scene 1 when Demetrius explains that “like a sickness did (he) loathe” Helena but now “as in health” truly loves her. Here, love is plainly compared to illness with the comparison to “sickness”. Hence, sickness is paradoxically also a motif of concord.
To conclude, through comparisons and diction sickness is a discreet motif in A Midsummer Night's Dream with different connotations: though it may refer to discord due to disputes at one point, it may also refer to concord created by love at another point. Hence, the motif of illness has two paradoxical connotations. Or are they actually complimentary?
In William Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream, one particularly evocative, thought-provoking and ubiquitous imagery seems to be that of the dream. Indeed, the play presents different levels of dreams which allows Shakespeare to present a particular view of the world he lives in and of his own job as playwright. The audience is first introduced to the world of dreams when Hippolyta reassures Theseus by claiming that ''Four nights will quickly dream away the time''. This particular and original choice of word sets the mood and lets the audience enter the world of dreams, which it enters while entering the play itself. A parallel is thus drawn since the very beginning between dreams and drama. This is verified by Puck's soliloquy in which he invites the audience to consider the play as mere ''visions'' which clearly shows how Shakespeare makes it a metaphor throughout his play that dreams are similar to drama, an art that shows false things to people who believe them as true, like an illusion. The first obvious dream we encounter in the play is that of Hermia who wakes up panicking and crying ''Ay me, for pity! what a dream was here!'' which shows that from her point of view, the dream is going on in real life as she wants Lysander ''To pluck this crawling serpent from [her] breast''. This exclamatory sentence might show how, just like an audience is tricked by the false reality it sees on stage and overreacts to it, she is tricked by her dream. Moreover, another dream is that of the lovers who, as Oberon predicted, recall the events ''as the fierce vexation of a dream'' which gives a special status of demiurge to Oberon same to that of the playwright. He is able to bewitch the characters and make things change through the magical power of his flower just like the playwright and the director are able to manipulate their audience into believing certain things to change their minds. Finally, another dream that is staged is that of Bottom, who ''ha[s] had a dream, past the wit of man to say what dream it was''. He particularly refers to his dream as a ''vision'' which suggests a higher level of consciousness as he was awake when his adventure with Titania happened. So this character is granted a special status as he is able to see through his dream and thus understand illusions and visions better than others. Would that be because he is himself an actor ? Paradoxically he is not aware of the subtleties of drama as he wants to explain it all to his own audience which might be a way for Shakespeare to reassess everyone's access to drama and point out how universal his art is. By showing how drama is linked to dreams, Shakespeare is basically saying that drama is everywhere and part of our world, reaffirming the idea of the ''theatrum mundi'' which was developed during the Baroque era.
In A Midsummer Night's Dream the imagery of 'shadows' occurs regularly creating a very intriguing pattern as the word seems to change of meaning from refering to 'something brief' to being a synonym for 'actors' as the play goes. First it is used in I.1. by Lysander : he declares that love can be « Swift as a shadow » (l. 144) and the vanishing of the feeling is further emphasized by the hushing sounds creating a sibilance. Through this simile the 'shadow' is associated with something brief, ephemeral, elusive. In this particular case, the shadow along with the accumulation of other similes show Lysander's desperation and back up his famous statement « The course of true Love never did run smooth ». But in III. 2. Puck uses the word 'shadows' in a much different context. He calls Oberon the « King of Shadows » (l. 347). This name associates 'Fairies' and 'Shadows' as Oberon has always been recognized as the King of the fairies. Here the image conveys the magical, eerie aspect of the fairies. But does Shakespeare really mean 'fairies' when he uses this word ? In V.1. Theseus declares that « The best in this kind are but shadows » (l. 205) when talking about the mechanicals' acting skills. Therefore 'shadows' takes yet again another, much more interesting meaning than before. In Theseus' words actors are shadows disappearing on stage to make room for their character and the illusion of another world. So when Puck in his final soliloquy in V.1. says « If we shadows have offended » (l. 401) one can wonder for whom is he apologizing. It could be for the fairies and their wicked tendency for mischief. But it is far more likely that for Shakespeare the word 'shadows' was a synonym for 'actors' all along. Oberon, in a way, is staging his own play full of adventures in the woods thanks to his magical powers and therefore is the « King of shadows » the ruler of actors. Puck is making amends for the play that the « shadows », in simpler words the actors, have attempted to create. 'Shadows' is thus much more strongly linked with the idea of an illusion, a dream and therefore something short-lived, ephemeral as Love in Lysander's words in Act 1. Puck's final speech breaks the illusion put up by the 'shadows' and unveils the true meaning of this imagery. The actors are to the characters they play when watched by an audience what a 'shadow' is to an object lighted by the sun : a vague, masked shape just behind.
I really like how our blogposts echo each other and I see that our interpretations seem to be close and complementary. Glad to see someone else shares this view of the play: a play exclusively about drama. It is awesome how nearly each element of the play can be linked to drama and metatheater!
In A Midsummer Night's Dream, flowers are a very important pattern of imagery. Shakespeare uses different types of flowers in order to convey a specific idea. These flowers are a link between the fairies and the mortals that emphasis the importance of nature. First of all, in Act 1 scene 1 Helena is speaking to Hermia and uses the imagery of the "hawthorn"(l. 185), a flower symbolizing the balance between two opposed things which truly represent their friendship. Indeed, Helena and Hermia are two very contradictory characters, not only in their physical appearance but also in their personalities. Even though their friendship will suffer during the play, it lasts until the end Moreover, in Act 2 scene 1, Oberon talks to Puck about a "western flower" (l.166) which is the potion that will be used on the lovers. This flower will play a very important role in the play since it determines the lovers fate. Finally, in Act 3 scene 2 l.3 Titania, in love with Bottom makes a reference to "musky-roses". The rose is a often use symbol for love and the addition of the adjective "musky" which is a very strong and heady fragrance gives a more superficial aspect to this imagery and represents the trivial love between Titania and Bottom. To conclude, the flowers and their meaning are an essential aspect of the play that helps the audience understand the events and the ideas addressed by Shakespeare. The flowers also highlight the importance of nature, a link between the two worlds.
Music and dance are very important in A Midsummer Night's Dream. Through this Shakespeare creates different atmospheres and develops characters. He also uses this to mark the beginning or the end of an event. Firstly, music and dance are used to create a festive and joyful atmosphere. For example, the dance between Oberon and Titania in act IV scene 1 when they reconciled adds a loving and festive atmosphere to the scene. The dance also strengthens the bond between the two lovers. Furthermore, another striking example of a joyful and festive atmosphere is in act V scene 1 when two of the mechanicals dance after their play. They end their play with a dance which extends their performance on stage and therefore shows that they are proud of themselves. Music and dance can also forge a magical atmosphere. A clear example of this is when Titania, Oberon and the fairies dance after the mortals left the scene in act V. Here the dance represents the end of Shakespeare's play and it creates a magical atmosphere thanks to Oberon's speech in which he blesses the lovers as if he's bewitching them. However, music can also mark the beginning of an event. We can see this in act V scene 1 before the beginning of the mechanicals' play. The flourish of trumpets are followed by Quince who does the prologue and after that the trumpets are followed by the mechanicals, the actors of their play. Finally, Shakespeare uses music and dance to create a threatening atmosphere. This is most apparent in the song of act II scene 1 when the fairies sing Titania to sleep. The fairies evoke wild animals who could harm the Fairy Queen which creates a threatening atmosphere but the fact that Titania falls asleep anyway characterizes her as fearless and courageous. To conclude, music and dance are used for different reasons. Thanks to this Shakespeare can either create a festive, joyful and magical atmosphere or a threatening one. This is also employed to mark the beginning or end of an event.
A recurring thing in the play is what can only be called "love juice", which is in fact the juice of "cupid's flower", more commonly known as a pansy. It first appears in act 2 scene 1 when Oberon orders Puck "fetch [Oberon] this herb", then again when Oberon puts the juice on Titania's eyes and Puck puts it on Lysander's eyes in act 2 scene 2. It appears yet again in act 3 scene 2 when Demetrius is enchanted by it. This potion doesn't only create most of the play's problems, it also shares Shakespeare's views on love. He displays love as a fickle feeling, showing that noble Athenians can fall in and out of love several times in less than 3 days, and even that a person as powerful as a fairy queen can literally fall in love with a jackass. He develops this idea more explicitly when Theseus speaks of madmen, lovers and poets in act 5 scene 1. Shakespeare also implies that love can often be artificial, and is part of some vengeful plan concocted by a lunatic. Basically, the "love juice" is used as a main element of the plot, but also as a means to share the playwright's ideas in the play, and is thus very present throughout "A Midsummer Night's Dream".
(sorry Mrs. Chavel, but I can't underline things on this)
In A Midsummer Night's Dream, Shakespeare refers to the moon as real symbol in order to develop a theme or the characters. First of all, the moon develops the theme of time in the play ; an example of that comes at the very beginning (Act I scene I) when Theseus duke of Athens complains about "how slow (the) moon wanes". In fact, the moon is represented as a very fickle, changing entity in order to reflect Theseus' impatience and desire. Moreover, the moon is also a mythological entity because it is often personified, it is associated to the Goddess Diana and so represents chastity. However, this image contrasts with the sexual desire related to the powerful men of the play such as Theseus and Oberon. Thus, the moon is used to create an inconstant atmosphere built on changes and contrasts. Finally, the moon is related to the themes of transformation and magic in the play as it is seen as a supernatural entity which even create a certain admiration relationships between the women and the moon. All of these associations with the moon shape the reader's response to the fact that this play can actually be seen as a dream or an illusion, a rich and dark play built on Baroque ideas such as change, movement, contrasts and cycles.
In "A Midsummer Night's Dream", there is a recurring pattern of imagery related to mythology, and more particularly to Ancient Roman Mythology. This use of mythology helps develop the theme of Love. Indeed, in the first Act, scene 1, line 169 to 174, Hermia swears that her love is true "by Cupid's strongest bow" and "By the simplicity of Venus' doves". Both of these represents a strong and true love, as Venus and Cupid are both gods of love and desire in Roman mythology. But then she talks about the "Carthage queen" and the Trojan war, both of which are bad omens for love, as it was the love of Paris and Helena which caused a war, and the Carthage queen was fooled by Aenas into believing he loved her. Thus, it foreshadows the betrayal of Lysander later on in the play. In Act 2, scene 1, when Oberon talks to Puck about the love potion, he first talks about the mermaid he heard singing. Mermaid, in mythology, are powerful being who lure men into the ocean to drown them. Thus, this isn't a good omen for the love promised by this love potion. Reinforced by "Cupid all armed", the love promised by this love potion seems dangerous and unreal. Shakespeare thus uses mythology as a mean to convey the theme of love as illusional and dangerous.
In A Midsummer's Night Dream the recurring pattern of illusion is particularly striking on different levels. First there is the obvious one the illusion of love that occurs on the lovers in act II scene 2 and act III scene 2 however it aims at a resolution of conflicts. Bottom and Titania on the other hand are struck by an illusion of love as a revenge in act III scene 1. The illusion of love is the most apparent not the simplest and it raises the question of the truthfulness of Demetrius' love to Hermia at the beginning or to Helena at the end. Then there is the illusion of power with the character of Egeus because he losses power over his daughter but also of the humans in a more general way as the fairies seems to control their actions and their world. Indeed we know that the discord between Titania and Oberon. Moreover the illusion of power of the humans imply an illusion of choice as they do not have control on what is happening to them ( for some of them). Finally, Puck unveils the illusion of reality, we could have thought that the play was real but it was all "vision" and "dream" as he explains in the last scene so indirectly Puck reveals the theatrical illusion that lies in every play.
In A Midsummer Night's Dream, the imagery of the eyes is ont of the important motifs. This imagery is associated with the idea of illusion and magic that is created by the spell of the flower. The spell has to be put in the eyes in order to operate, it changes one's vision. The lexical field of the vision is therefore very present: "see", "eye", "sight", "look". The imagery of the eyes linked with true love appears in Helena's soliloquy: "Love looks not with the eyes but with the mind/And therefore is winged Cupid painted blind". The fact that Cupid is blind, suggests that true love cannot be found with one look, contrary to what the spell does. Therefore, the spell doesn't make ou found true love, it only creates the illusion for your eyes. Helena also uses the imagery of the eyes when comparing herself with Hermia: "How came her eyes so bright?" because it can also be an attribute of beauty that can be linked to a superficial love. The eyes is an omnipresent motif in the play and can be liked to many interpretations on true love and superficial love.
Nature and animal imagery, despite being discreet, are to be found in many parts of A Midsummer Night's Dream. They are strongly linked to the forest and highly contribute to the representation of the fairy world in the play ( for example Bottom metamorphoses himself as a arse as he enters the fairy world),and consequently contributing to the general atmosphere of Shakespeare's play. They give a surrounding, a background to the characters. But, this is only what can be noticed at first glance, indeed, after a second reading of the play, nature, and animals especially, give the reader a very different aspect of the tone. For example, in act 2 scene 2, the fairies sing a lullaby in which they mention "spotted snakes with double tongue", an animal with an evil connotation in biblical terms. They also speak of other animals that inhabit the wood such as "Newts and blindworms" but also "thorny hedgehogs" . In this work characters repeatedly hint at animals such as bears or wolves, animals seen as beasts, almost as monsters. The sort of adjectives Shakespeare uses to qualify these animals for example "Thorny" for the hedgehog or "double tongued" for the snake emphasize their menacing aspect, further accentuating Puck's and the other fairies mischievous facet. Through the imagery of animals Shakespeare shows a very dark and much creepier aspect to the play, emphasizing its nightmare vibe over the dream that it is supposed to be.
In A Midsummer Night’s Dream, the contrast between the use of colours and the dark is a very important pattern of imagery, as it allows the creation of an opposition between characters and atmospheres. Firstly, we can notice that this is used in order to convey a strong opposition between the characters of Hermia and Helena. Even though Helena has blond hair and should thus be described as ‘fair’, it is often Hermia who is described as ‘fair Hermia’. When Hermia calls Helena ‘fair’ because of her hair colour, she gets jealous knowing that this adjective is only used to describe her hair, whereas when it is used for Hermia, it is to describe her beauty and show love. Thus, Helena tells Hermia that ‘Demetrius loves [her] fair’. From the first act, a strong contrast is established between light and dark colours, linking ‘fair’ colours with love and happiness while also creating an opposition between the characters of Hermia and Helena. The use of colours can also emphasise the different atmospheres perceived. We can take the example of a conversation between Oberon and Puck in the second scene of the third act. Oberon is talking about the complicated situation of the lovers, and uses many terms referring to the colour black, which consequently refer to death as well. He talks about ‘fog as black as Acheron’, ‘exile from light’, and makes many references to the night. However, after he orders Puck to give a cure to Lysander, he explains how everything will be fixed, and thus used a lot of colours, giving the audience an impression of happiness and a good situation. He references to specific colours such as fiery-red’, ‘yellow gold’, or even ‘salt green’. Thus, the opposition between colours and a lack of colour can be used to convey an opposition between characters, but between atmospheres as well.
One important motif in A Midsummer Night's Dream is the eyes and the idea of seeing, which allows Shakespeare to develop specific character but also to explore the theme of appearance and illusion, omnipresent in the play. In act I scene I, Helena's jealousy towards Hermia appears when she says that "[her]eye" should catch "[Hermia's] eye", thus the use of this word demonstrates Helena's need to look just like Hermia so that Demetrius could be attracted by her, and this emphasizes the theme of appearance which is a real issue for Helena's character. Helena's jealousy for Hermia's appearance is also shown in act II scene 2, when she asks herself "What wicked and dissembling glass of mine/Made me compare with Hermia's sphery eyne". By comparing Hermia's eyes with hers, Helena is showing her lack of self-confidence and suffering of not being as pretty as Hermia. The theme of illusion is also present in the play and is shown in act 4 scene 1 when Oberon says that now that he got what he wanted, meaning the Indian boy, he "will undo/This hateful imperfection of [Titania's] eyes". This reference to eyesight clearly conveys the idea that, under Oberon's spell, Titania was being betrayed by her eyes when seeing Bottom as an ass and was thus victim of an illusion, not perceiving something as it really looks like. To finish with, this motif of eyesight allows Shakespeare to explore the theme of love. This is shown at the beginning of the play, in act I scene 1 when Helena expresses the idea that "Love looks not with the eyes but with the mind,/And therefore is winged Cupid painted blind", which conveys the idea that love is blind and beauty is in the eye of the beholder. To conclude, the motif of the eyes is omnipresent in Shakespeare's play and contributes in developing Helena's relation with Hermia, the themes of appearance and illusion as well as the theme of love.
An interesting imagery quite present in the play is the imagery of the seasons. This imagery is often used to show the power of certain characters on the world surrounding them. One striking example is to be found in Titania’s speech in [2.1.110-115] when she tells Oberon “The spring, the summer, the chilling autumn, angry winter change / Their wonted liveries, and the mazèd world” where the seasonal imageries is here to demonstrate the effects of their quarrel on nature and the cycle of the seasons (“the seasons alter”) and thus the power they have. Another time the imagery of the seasons is used, it is by Lysander in [2.2.123] where he declares his love to Helena. He tells her that “Things growing are not ripped until their season” where the “things” stand for love and reason associated. The seasons are used as an imagery of time allowing love to grow. It also seems that some seasons are associated to certain types of sentiments, like summer and love when Titania declares her love to Bottom by saying “The summer still doth tend upon my state; /And I do love thee”. Winter and the snow seem also to have an ambivalent role as shown by Theseus using this imagery in the sentence “this is hot ice and wondrous strange snow”. Its ambivalence relied on the fact that snow is both used by Demetrius to praise Helena “That pure congealed white, high Taurus snow” and to debunk his love to Hermia which “melted as the snow”. Overall, it seems that the imageries of the seasons help stressing on certain themes like power or love but always in a changing way, showing the cyclical aspect of the seasons, as the power gets back to order and love for Demetrius changes his side.
In a “Midsummer Night’s Dream”, the flower is a recurrent object whose use is often symbolic. Generally associated with the fairy world, flowers are seen at the same time as delicate and powerful, and the disparities in their use draw many oppositions between characters. The most memorable instance of flower imagery is obviously Oberon’s use of the juice of a “little western flower”, called “love-in-idleness” (II.1.166-8), to meddle with other characters’ love throughout the play. Thus, Oberon sees a flower as a concrete materialisation of the power he has as fairy king, and the juice of this flower plays such a central role in the play that its powerful nature can difficultly be overlooked. However, Oberon and Titania also refer to flowers when describing Titania’s bower. In this case, they seem to serve a rather luxurious and decorative purpose, especially around Titania’s centres of attention: according to her king, she “crowns [the Indian boy] with flowers and makes him all her joy” (II.1.27), and she herself invites Bottom, disguised as an ass, to sleep “on pressèd flowers” (III.1.133). This delicate image of the flower is also developed by Titania as a symbol of chastity, saying in Act III Scene 1 that “every little flower [weeps], / lamenting some enforced chastity” (III.1.176-7). Therefore, the contrast between Oberon’s view of the powerful, love-causing flower and Titania’s portrayal of the delicate, chaste flower is extremely obvious and shows the discord between the king and queen. The opposition is even summarized in Oberon’s line “Dian’s bud o’er Cupid’s flower” (IV.1.70). However, as many features of language and imagery in the play, these opposing views on flowers degrade during the mechanicals’ play “Pyramus and Thisbe” and lose their previous function, Bottom associating them through a comical mistake with “odious savours sweet” (III.1.65), and also using for the first time in the play the verb to “deflower” (V.1.276), completely changing the previous meaning the word had. Therefore, although flowers play diverse roles in “A Midsummer Night’s Dream”, they always seem to be closely linked with the theme of love, yet opposing different views at the same time.
When considering imagery in Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream, I believe that that of the dog is not to be neglected. The image of the dog is particularly interesting in the lovers’ quarrels, developing the characters’ feelings and the shifts in power which their feelings control. In the first scene of act II, Helena uses the imagery first by claiming it would be an honor for her “to be usèd as [Demetrius’s] dog”, not only putting herself in a position of inferiority in front of Demetrius, but showing that she believes her worth is even beneath that of a dog. Here, the image is used to show just how big an effect love can have on a woman, for her to fall so low as to compare herself with an animal. The image is used again by Demetrius and Hermia in the second scene of act III, as Demetrius says he would “give [Lysander’s] carcass to [his] hounds”, to which Hermia replies, “Out, dog!”. Here again, the image of the dog is used by Hermia to express contempt, picking up on Demetrius’s reference to dogs to call him one, implying that his worth isn’t more than that of the dogs who feed on human carcasses, shifting the balance of power that was established in act II, possibly putting Hermia in a position of superiority. However, if the shifts of power can be taken seriously in some cases, as these scenes are quite comical in their exaggerations, the image of the dog could be interpreted as more ludicrous. Thus, Helena could say she wants “to be usèd as [Demetrius’s] dog” not in a desperate way but in a suggestive way, changing the speech’s meaning and perhaps not giving away any power at all, if Demetrius is made uncomfortable by it. Moreover, in act III, Hermia’s insult to Demetrius doesn’t seem quite so harsh, but more comical, and could make her look more ridiculous and powerless in front of Demetrius, amused at her outburst. At the end of the day, the dog imagery’s effects on the theme of power depends on the acting choices of the director and actors.
In A Midsummer Night’s Dream, the moon is omnipresent, whether to explore a theme or to develop a character. Shakespeare refers to it many times throughout the play in order to convey different ideas. First of all, the moon is associated with time. At the beginning of the play, Theseus complains about “how slow/This old moon wanes”. This imagery is used to convey Theseus’ impatience. On the contrary, Hippolyta feels that time is flying to fast; already showing an uneasiness between her and Theseus.
ReplyDeleteMoreover, in classical mythology, the moon is often called Diana who is a virgin goddess, which means the moon is associated with chastity. A good example of this comes when Theseus warns Hermia about becoming a nun and “Chanting faint hymns to the cold fruitless moon" (1.1.72-73).
However, the moon is also linked to sexual desire. Shakespeare reminds us several times that the action occurring in the woods occurs "in the moonlight." Furthermore, the moon has different phases: it waxes and wanes. It can thus be seen as a fickle and inconstant entity. It reflects the lovers' tendency to fall in and out of love like madmen. Indeed, Theseus, who can’t believe the lovers’ story, makes a reference to "[t]he lunatic " (5.1.7-8): this term evokes the moon.
On the whole, the moon remains an abstract entity which has the power to influence the characters. Yet, the mechanicals turn it into a concrete and ridiculous theater prop. Peter Quince worries about whether or not the moon will shine during the performance, because Pyramus and Thisbe are supposed to "meet by moonlight" (3.1.45). The moon thus becomes a character embodied by Starveling, which adds to the comical effect of the play.
One of the most recurring patterns of language in this play is bestial imagery, as it contributes to conveying the eerie atmosphere of the woods, and to developing certain characters as well as the theme of metamorphosis. We see this in II-2, when Titania orders her fairies to dispel all the animals that might disturb her sleep, summoning them to make « war with reremice for their leathern wings » (l 4). The rumbling consonances in [r] and [w], combined with the sensory appeal of the rugged wings, make the allusion to this nocturnal creature all the more evocative, thus propelling the audience in the mysterious kingdom of the woods. Furthermore, bestial imagery can also reflect the lovers’ evolution when they are freed from the yoke of civility. In II-1, while Demetrius threaten Helena to « leave [her] to the mercy of wild beasts », she shows some foresight as she retorts that « The wildest hath no such a heart as [him] » (l 228-9). Indeed, as the play unfolds, the characters seem to alleviate the self-censorship that the norms of Athens had thrown upon them, letting emerge their primitive nature and the dark impulses that they had repressed. This is confirmed in III-2, when Lysander violently shuns Hermia, calling her « thou cat, thou burr! Vile thing ». His emphatic punctuation and the repetition of « thou » convey a very aggressive tone, sharply contrasting with his vows of love a few scenes earlier. This capricious version of love, going from utter devotion to revulsion, highlights another aspect that is developed through bestial imagery : the theme of metamorphosis. Right after Bottom’s transformation, Puck plans to mislead him and to « neigh, and bark, and grunt, and roar, and burn, / Like horse, hound, hog, bear, fire at every turn » (III-1 l 92-93). The overwhelming consonances in [r], [b] and [h] create a hectic impression and reminds one of the raucous cry of wild animals, thus reflecting the transformation that has just witnessed the audience, and signaling the chaotic turn the the play is taking.
ReplyDeleteMusic and dance are present throughout the play and allow Shakespeare to create a dreamlike aspect and an atmosphere of mirth and merriment. A striking example of this comes when the fairies lull Titania and sing the lullaby in act II scene 2. The musicality and the alliteration in [l] create a peaceful and calm atmosphere whereas the fairies speak about dangerous animals such as “spiders” and “snakes”. These contrasts show the power of music to repulse danger and to protect someone. Moreover, it is associated to magic since the fairy world is a magical world. Music plays a major role and seems omnipresent in their life. The absence of music is presented as an alteration of the world, an instability. We see this when Titania says to Oberon that because of their conflict, “No night is now with hymn or carol blessed” (II.1.102). This lack of music reflects the disastrous consequences of their quarrel and thus presents music as an indicator of the “well-being” of the mortal and the fairy world. Music can ease violence and even the “confusion/ Of hounds” can become “musical”(IV.1.107). Hippolyta employs very effective oxymorons to show it in line 115 “So musical a discord, such sweet thunder.” The violent words “discord” and “thunder” are here contrasted by the adjectives related to musicality and it thus demonstrates the influence of sounds. In addition to that, music and dance are often associated with joy and merriments, for example at the end of the play with the Bergomask dance. It reflects the end of the confusion and the outcome of the plot and mainly develops the comical aspect of the play as a comic relief. To conclude, Shakespeare uses music to create different atmospheres, from dreamlike to comic and presents music as a powerful way to convey ideas and emotions.
ReplyDelete“Spiritual” imagery, or perhaps we could call it “otherwordly” imagery – that is to say, anything that makes reference to spirits or to the dead – is not a common pattern of imagery in A Midsummer Night’s Dream, but occurs at least twice and, when it does, is extremely striking. The first is in Puck’s speech to Oberon, in Act III, when he makes reference to “ghosts” and “damned spirits” that are returning to their graves as dawn approaches. It is also he who makes the second mention of these “sprite[s]”, at the end of the play, this time on the contrary to signal the start of night and the fairy time. These two rather specific uses of ghostly imagery point to three things. Firstly, it is often associated with night (which is mentioned explicitly both times and even emphasised by being twice placed at the rhyme). This is important both in the context of the passage of time – the echo in Act V reminding the audience of the cyclical nature of time but also suggesting, through repetition, the power that the fairies may have over it – and as far as the theme of contrast is concerned, for it reinforces the very specific, magical aspect of night in relation to mundane, reasonable daytime. This is perhaps due to the second element: through this worrying imagery, exemplified by disconcerting adjectives such as “wormy” and “black-browed”, Shakespeare creates a very strange, eerie atmosphere which pulls us brutally away from some of the lighter, more comical scenes of the play and adds a darker side to the work. This tension is only amplified by the imagery’s position at key moments of the play, especially at the very end in the fairies’ closing lines. And finally, the imagery also builds character. Puck is the only character (if my memory is correct) to use spiritual imagery so extensively, and this provides a contrast with the ordinarily joyous, mischievous fairy we are accustomed to. As it does for the play as a whole, this brings a new dimension to Puck’s character, and causes the audience to question whether he is really as innocent as he seems.
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ReplyDeleteIn A Midsummer Night's Dream, 'sick and health imagery' is a pattern. Its use can, for instance, develop relationships between characters. For example, in act 2 scene 1 when Titania and Oberon are fighting, Titania talks about many of the consequences of the couple's fight on the human world by using a vocabulary which is linked with sickness such as "Contagious fogs" and "rheumatic diseases". This gives the idea of an expandable disease contaminating everything which represents well the couple's relationship as their conflict made both human and corn ill. It shows how conflictual and unhealthy their relationship is. In this example, the imagery also contributes to create a heavy and threatening atmosphere which is representative of the tension between Titania and Oberon. Another example is in Act 2 scene 1 when Demetrius says to Helena "I am sick when I do look on thee" to which Helena answers "And I am sick when I look not on you". This shows their opposed feelings and presents the situation of Helena's unrequited love. Demetrius' annoyance at Helena is compared to a sickness which conveys an intense repulsion for her while Helena's love for him is what keeps her in good health which means that she is dependent on Demetrius. Moreover, in act 4 scene 1, Demetrius, talking about his love for Helena, states "But like a sickness did I loathe this food. / But, as in health come to my natural taste". This quotation also develops Demetrius and Helena's relationship as it echoes to the quotation above. This time, Demetrius compares his former hatred for Helena as a sickness and his love for her as health. This imagery shows a difference in the lovers' relationship and a development of Demetrius' character. However, it is also dramatically ironic as Demetrius says that his love for Helena came naturally while the audience knows it is due to the juice. Therefore, the pattern of sickness and health in imagery in A Midsummer Night's Dream mostly establishes and develops characters and their relationships, especially their conflict, thanks to its opposition and its threatening aspect, but it also helps with dramatic effects as it can have ironic and tragic effects.
ReplyDeleteOne motif of A Midsummer Night's Dream is illness and the reason why it is striking is because it has paradoxical connotations.
ReplyDeleteFirst of all, sickness connotes discord like in Act II scene 1. In this scene, Titania says “Contagious fogs” (l.90) and “rheumatic diseases” (l.105) are the consequences of her dispute with Oberon. This means these diseases originate from Titania and Oberon's quibble and are spread thanks to nature: hence, the discord of the rulers of the Fairy world sickens the mortals through nefarious nature. Moreover, another example of discord is the dispute between Helena and Demetrius in Act II scene 1. Indeed, while Demetrius cruelly admits he is “sick when (he) do(es) look on (Helena)”, Helena admits the opposite: thus here again, illness is the fruit of discord and proof of dispute. Thus, illness is a motif of discord.
On the other hand, illness also connotes concord through its comparison to love. Indeed, in Act III scene 2, Oberon observes Helena is “fancy-sick” “With sighs of love” (l.96-97). This suggests love is not only linked to sickness, it actually is a disease. This peculiar view of love is also found in Act IV scene 1 when Demetrius explains that “like a sickness did (he) loathe” Helena but now “as in health” truly loves her. Here, love is plainly compared to illness with the comparison to “sickness”. Hence, sickness is paradoxically also a motif of concord.
To conclude, through comparisons and diction sickness is a discreet motif in A Midsummer Night's Dream with different connotations: though it may refer to discord due to disputes at one point, it may also refer to concord created by love at another point. Hence, the motif of illness has two paradoxical connotations. Or are they actually complimentary?
In William Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream, one particularly evocative, thought-provoking and ubiquitous imagery seems to be that of the dream. Indeed, the play presents different levels of dreams which allows Shakespeare to present a particular view of the world he lives in and of his own job as playwright. The audience is first introduced to the world of dreams when Hippolyta reassures Theseus by claiming that ''Four nights will quickly dream away the time''. This particular and original choice of word sets the mood and lets the audience enter the world of dreams, which it enters while entering the play itself. A parallel is thus drawn since the very beginning between dreams and drama. This is verified by Puck's soliloquy in which he invites the audience to consider the play as mere ''visions'' which clearly shows how Shakespeare makes it a metaphor throughout his play that dreams are similar to drama, an art that shows false things to people who believe them as true, like an illusion. The first obvious dream we encounter in the play is that of Hermia who wakes up panicking and crying ''Ay me, for pity! what a dream was here!'' which shows that from her point of view, the dream is going on in real life as she wants Lysander ''To pluck this crawling serpent from [her] breast''. This exclamatory sentence might show how, just like an audience is tricked by the false reality it sees on stage and overreacts to it, she is tricked by her dream. Moreover, another dream is that of the lovers who, as Oberon predicted, recall the events ''as the fierce vexation of a dream'' which gives a special status of demiurge to Oberon same to that of the playwright. He is able to bewitch the characters and make things change through the magical power of his flower just like the playwright and the director are able to manipulate their audience into believing certain things to change their minds. Finally, another dream that is staged is that of Bottom, who ''ha[s] had a dream, past the wit of man to say what dream it was''. He particularly refers to his dream as a ''vision'' which suggests a higher level of consciousness as he was awake when his adventure with Titania happened. So this character is granted a special status as he is able to see through his dream and thus understand illusions and visions better than others. Would that be because he is himself an actor ? Paradoxically he is not aware of the subtleties of drama as he wants to explain it all to his own audience which might be a way for Shakespeare to reassess everyone's access to drama and point out how universal his art is. By showing how drama is linked to dreams, Shakespeare is basically saying that drama is everywhere and part of our world, reaffirming the idea of the ''theatrum mundi'' which was developed during the Baroque era.
ReplyDeleteIn A Midsummer Night's Dream the imagery of 'shadows' occurs regularly creating a very intriguing pattern as the word seems to change of meaning from refering to 'something brief' to being a synonym for 'actors' as the play goes. First it is used in I.1. by Lysander : he declares that love can be « Swift as a shadow » (l. 144) and the vanishing of the feeling is further emphasized by the hushing sounds creating a sibilance. Through this simile the 'shadow' is associated with something brief, ephemeral, elusive. In this particular case, the shadow along with the accumulation of other similes show Lysander's desperation and back up his famous statement « The course of true Love never did run smooth ». But in III. 2. Puck uses the word 'shadows' in a much different context. He calls Oberon the « King of Shadows » (l. 347). This name associates 'Fairies' and 'Shadows' as Oberon has always been recognized as the King of the fairies. Here the image conveys the magical, eerie aspect of the fairies. But does Shakespeare really mean 'fairies' when he uses this word ? In V.1. Theseus declares that « The best in this kind are but shadows » (l. 205) when talking about the mechanicals' acting skills. Therefore 'shadows' takes yet again another, much more interesting meaning than before. In Theseus' words actors are shadows disappearing on stage to make room for their character and the illusion of another world. So when Puck in his final soliloquy in V.1. says « If we shadows have offended » (l. 401) one can wonder for whom is he apologizing. It could be for the fairies and their wicked tendency for mischief. But it is far more likely that for Shakespeare the word 'shadows' was a synonym for 'actors' all along. Oberon, in a way, is staging his own play full of adventures in the woods thanks to his magical powers and therefore is the « King of shadows » the ruler of actors. Puck is making amends for the play that the « shadows », in simpler words the actors, have attempted to create. 'Shadows' is thus much more strongly linked with the idea of an illusion, a dream and therefore something short-lived, ephemeral as Love in Lysander's words in Act 1. Puck's final speech breaks the illusion put up by the 'shadows' and unveils the true meaning of this imagery. The actors are to the characters they play when watched by an audience what a 'shadow' is to an object lighted by the sun : a vague, masked shape just behind.
ReplyDeleteI really like how our blogposts echo each other and I see that our interpretations seem to be close and complementary. Glad to see someone else shares this view of the play: a play exclusively about drama. It is awesome how nearly each element of the play can be linked to drama and metatheater!
DeleteIn A Midsummer Night's Dream, flowers are a very important pattern of imagery. Shakespeare uses different types of flowers in order to convey a specific idea. These flowers are a link between the fairies and the mortals that emphasis the importance of nature.
ReplyDeleteFirst of all, in Act 1 scene 1 Helena is speaking to Hermia and uses the imagery of the "hawthorn"(l. 185), a flower symbolizing the balance between two opposed things which truly represent their friendship. Indeed, Helena and Hermia are two very contradictory characters, not only in their physical appearance but also in their personalities. Even though their friendship will suffer during the play, it lasts until the end
Moreover, in Act 2 scene 1, Oberon talks to Puck about a "western flower" (l.166) which is the potion that will be used on the lovers. This flower will play a very important role in the play since it determines the lovers fate.
Finally, in Act 3 scene 2 l.3 Titania, in love with Bottom makes a reference to "musky-roses". The rose is a often use symbol for love and the addition of the adjective "musky" which is a very strong and heady fragrance gives a more superficial aspect to this imagery and represents the trivial love between Titania and Bottom.
To conclude, the flowers and their meaning are an essential aspect of the play that helps the audience understand the events and the ideas addressed by Shakespeare. The flowers also highlight the importance of nature, a link between the two worlds.
Music and dance are very important in A Midsummer Night's Dream. Through this Shakespeare creates different atmospheres and develops characters. He also uses this to mark the beginning or the end of an event.
ReplyDeleteFirstly, music and dance are used to create a festive and joyful atmosphere. For example, the dance between Oberon and Titania in act IV scene 1 when they reconciled adds a loving and festive atmosphere to the scene. The dance also strengthens the bond between the two lovers. Furthermore, another striking example of a joyful and festive atmosphere is in act V scene 1 when two of the mechanicals dance after their play. They end their play with a dance which extends their performance on stage and therefore shows that they are proud of themselves.
Music and dance can also forge a magical atmosphere. A clear example of this is when Titania, Oberon and the fairies dance after the mortals left the scene in act V. Here the dance represents the end of Shakespeare's play and it creates a magical atmosphere thanks to Oberon's speech in which he blesses the lovers as if he's bewitching them.
However, music can also mark the beginning of an event. We can see this in act V scene 1 before the beginning of the mechanicals' play. The flourish of trumpets are followed by Quince who does the prologue and after that the trumpets are followed by the mechanicals, the actors of their play.
Finally, Shakespeare uses music and dance to create a threatening atmosphere. This is most apparent in the song of act II scene 1 when the fairies sing Titania to sleep. The fairies evoke wild animals who could harm the Fairy Queen which creates a threatening atmosphere but the fact that Titania falls asleep anyway characterizes her as fearless and courageous.
To conclude, music and dance are used for different reasons. Thanks to this Shakespeare can either create a festive, joyful and magical atmosphere or a threatening one. This is also employed to mark the beginning or end of an event.
A recurring thing in the play is what can only be called "love juice", which is in fact the juice of "cupid's flower", more commonly known as a pansy. It first appears in act 2 scene 1 when Oberon orders Puck "fetch [Oberon] this herb", then again when Oberon puts the juice on Titania's eyes and Puck puts it on Lysander's eyes in act 2 scene 2. It appears yet again in act 3 scene 2 when Demetrius is enchanted by it. This potion doesn't only create most of the play's problems, it also shares Shakespeare's views on love. He displays love as a fickle feeling, showing that noble Athenians can fall in and out of love several times in less than 3 days, and even that a person as powerful as a fairy queen can literally fall in love with a jackass. He develops this idea more explicitly when Theseus speaks of madmen, lovers and poets in act 5 scene 1. Shakespeare also implies that love can often be artificial, and is part of some vengeful plan concocted by a lunatic.
ReplyDeleteBasically, the "love juice" is used as a main element of the plot, but also as a means to share the playwright's ideas in the play, and is thus very present throughout "A Midsummer Night's Dream".
(sorry Mrs. Chavel, but I can't underline things on this)
In A Midsummer Night's Dream, Shakespeare refers to the moon as real symbol in order to develop a theme or the characters. First of all, the moon develops the theme of time in the play ; an example of that comes at the very beginning (Act I scene I) when Theseus duke of Athens complains about "how slow (the) moon wanes". In fact, the moon is represented as a very fickle, changing entity in order to reflect Theseus' impatience and desire. Moreover, the moon is also a mythological entity because it is often personified, it is associated to the Goddess Diana and so represents chastity. However, this image contrasts with the sexual desire related to the powerful men of the play such as Theseus and Oberon. Thus, the moon is used to create an inconstant atmosphere built on changes and contrasts. Finally, the moon is related to the themes of transformation and magic in the play as it is seen as a supernatural entity which even create a certain admiration relationships between the women and the moon. All of these associations with the moon shape the reader's response to the fact that this play can actually be seen as a dream or an illusion, a rich and dark play built on Baroque ideas such as change, movement, contrasts and cycles.
ReplyDeleteIn "A Midsummer Night's Dream", there is a recurring pattern of imagery related to mythology, and more particularly to Ancient Roman Mythology. This use of mythology helps develop the theme of Love.
ReplyDeleteIndeed, in the first Act, scene 1, line 169 to 174, Hermia swears that her love is true "by Cupid's strongest bow" and "By the simplicity of Venus' doves". Both of these represents a strong and true love, as Venus and Cupid are both gods of love and desire in Roman mythology. But then she talks about the "Carthage queen" and the Trojan war, both of which are bad omens for love, as it was the love of Paris and Helena which caused a war, and the Carthage queen was fooled by Aenas into believing he loved her. Thus, it foreshadows the betrayal of Lysander later on in the play.
In Act 2, scene 1, when Oberon talks to Puck about the love potion, he first talks about the mermaid he heard singing. Mermaid, in mythology, are powerful being who lure men into the ocean to drown them. Thus, this isn't a good omen for the love promised by this love potion. Reinforced by "Cupid all armed", the love promised by this love potion seems dangerous and unreal.
Shakespeare thus uses mythology as a mean to convey the theme of love as illusional and dangerous.
--- Juliette
In A Midsummer's Night Dream the recurring pattern of illusion is particularly striking on different levels. First there is the obvious one the illusion of love that occurs on the lovers in act II scene 2 and act III scene 2 however it aims at a resolution of conflicts. Bottom and Titania on the other hand are struck by an illusion of love as a revenge in act III scene 1. The illusion of love is the most apparent not the simplest and it raises the question of the truthfulness of Demetrius' love to Hermia at the beginning or to Helena at the end.
ReplyDeleteThen there is the illusion of power with the character of Egeus because he losses power over his daughter but also of the humans in a more general way as the fairies seems to control their actions and their world. Indeed we know that the discord between Titania and Oberon. Moreover the illusion of power of the humans imply an illusion of choice as they do not have control on what is happening to them ( for some of them).
Finally, Puck unveils the illusion of reality, we could have thought that the play was real but it was all "vision" and "dream" as he explains in the last scene so indirectly Puck reveals the theatrical illusion that lies in every play.
In A Midsummer Night's Dream, the imagery of the eyes is ont of the important motifs. This imagery is associated with the idea of illusion and magic that is created by the spell of the flower. The spell has to be put in the eyes in order to operate, it changes one's vision. The lexical field of the vision is therefore very present: "see", "eye", "sight", "look". The imagery of the eyes linked with true love appears in Helena's soliloquy: "Love looks not with the eyes but with the mind/And therefore is winged Cupid painted blind". The fact that Cupid is blind, suggests that true love cannot be found with one look, contrary to what the spell does. Therefore, the spell doesn't make ou found true love, it only creates the illusion for your eyes. Helena also uses the imagery of the eyes when comparing herself with Hermia: "How came her eyes so bright?" because it can also be an attribute of beauty that can be linked to a superficial love. The eyes is an omnipresent motif in the play and can be liked to many interpretations on true love and superficial love.
ReplyDeleteNature and animal imagery, despite being discreet, are to be found in many parts of A Midsummer Night's Dream. They are strongly linked to the forest and highly contribute to the representation of the fairy world in the play ( for example Bottom metamorphoses himself as a arse as he enters the fairy world),and consequently contributing to the general atmosphere of Shakespeare's play. They give a surrounding, a background to the characters. But, this is only what can be noticed at first glance, indeed, after a second reading of the play, nature, and animals especially, give the reader a very different aspect of the tone. For example, in act 2 scene 2, the fairies sing a lullaby in which they mention "spotted snakes with double tongue", an animal with an evil connotation in biblical terms. They also speak of other animals that inhabit the wood such as "Newts and blindworms" but also "thorny hedgehogs" . In this work characters repeatedly hint at animals such as bears or wolves, animals seen as beasts, almost as monsters. The sort of adjectives Shakespeare uses to qualify these animals for example "Thorny" for the hedgehog or "double tongued" for the snake emphasize their menacing aspect, further accentuating Puck's and the other fairies mischievous facet.
ReplyDeleteThrough the imagery of animals Shakespeare shows a very dark and much creepier aspect to the play, emphasizing its nightmare vibe over the dream that it is supposed to be.
In A Midsummer Night’s Dream, the contrast between the use of colours and the dark is a very important pattern of imagery, as it allows the creation of an opposition between characters and atmospheres.
ReplyDeleteFirstly, we can notice that this is used in order to convey a strong opposition between the characters of Hermia and Helena. Even though Helena has blond hair and should thus be described as ‘fair’, it is often Hermia who is described as ‘fair Hermia’. When Hermia calls Helena ‘fair’ because of her hair colour, she gets jealous knowing that this adjective is only used to describe her hair, whereas when it is used for Hermia, it is to describe her beauty and show love. Thus, Helena tells Hermia that ‘Demetrius loves [her] fair’. From the first act, a strong contrast is established between light and dark colours, linking ‘fair’ colours with love and happiness while also creating an opposition between the characters of Hermia and Helena.
The use of colours can also emphasise the different atmospheres perceived. We can take the example of a conversation between Oberon and Puck in the second scene of the third act. Oberon is talking about the complicated situation of the lovers, and uses many terms referring to the colour black, which consequently refer to death as well. He talks about ‘fog as black as Acheron’, ‘exile from light’, and makes many references to the night. However, after he orders Puck to give a cure to Lysander, he explains how everything will be fixed, and thus used a lot of colours, giving the audience an impression of happiness and a good situation. He references to specific colours such as fiery-red’, ‘yellow gold’, or even ‘salt green’. Thus, the opposition between colours and a lack of colour can be used to convey an opposition between characters, but between atmospheres as well.
One important motif in A Midsummer Night's Dream is the eyes and the idea of seeing, which allows Shakespeare to develop specific character but also to explore the theme of appearance and illusion, omnipresent in the play. In act I scene I, Helena's jealousy towards Hermia appears when she says that "[her]eye" should catch "[Hermia's] eye", thus the use of this word demonstrates Helena's need to look just like Hermia so that Demetrius could be attracted by her, and this emphasizes the theme of appearance which is a real issue for Helena's character. Helena's jealousy for Hermia's appearance is also shown in act II scene 2, when she asks herself "What wicked and dissembling glass of mine/Made me compare with Hermia's sphery eyne". By comparing Hermia's eyes with hers, Helena is showing her lack of self-confidence and suffering of not being as pretty as Hermia. The theme of illusion is also present in the play and is shown in act 4 scene 1 when Oberon says that now that he got what he wanted, meaning the Indian boy, he "will undo/This hateful imperfection of [Titania's] eyes". This reference to eyesight clearly conveys the idea that, under Oberon's spell, Titania was being betrayed by her eyes when seeing Bottom as an ass and was thus victim of an illusion, not perceiving something as it really looks like. To finish with, this motif of eyesight allows Shakespeare to explore the theme of love. This is shown at the beginning of the play, in act I scene 1 when Helena expresses the idea that "Love looks not with the eyes but with the mind,/And therefore is winged Cupid painted blind", which conveys the idea that love is blind and beauty is in the eye of the beholder. To conclude, the motif of the eyes is omnipresent in Shakespeare's play and contributes in developing Helena's relation with Hermia, the themes of appearance and illusion as well as the theme of love.
ReplyDeleteAn interesting imagery quite present in the play is the imagery of the seasons. This imagery is often used to show the power of certain characters on the world surrounding them. One striking example is to be found in Titania’s speech in [2.1.110-115] when she tells Oberon “The spring, the summer, the chilling autumn, angry winter change / Their wonted liveries, and the mazèd world” where the seasonal imageries is here to demonstrate the effects of their quarrel on nature and the cycle of the seasons (“the seasons alter”) and thus the power they have. Another time the imagery of the seasons is used, it is by Lysander in [2.2.123] where he declares his love to Helena. He tells her that “Things growing are not ripped until their season” where the “things” stand for love and reason associated. The seasons are used as an imagery of time allowing love to grow. It also seems that some seasons are associated to certain types of sentiments, like summer and love when Titania declares her love to Bottom by saying “The summer still doth tend upon my state; /And I do love thee”. Winter and the snow seem also to have an ambivalent role as shown by Theseus using this imagery in the sentence “this is hot ice and wondrous strange snow”. Its ambivalence relied on the fact that snow is both used by Demetrius to praise Helena “That pure congealed white, high Taurus snow” and to debunk his love to Hermia which “melted as the snow”. Overall, it seems that the imageries of the seasons help stressing on certain themes like power or love but always in a changing way, showing the cyclical aspect of the seasons, as the power gets back to order and love for Demetrius changes his side.
ReplyDeleteIn a “Midsummer Night’s Dream”, the flower is a recurrent object whose use is often symbolic. Generally associated with the fairy world, flowers are seen at the same time as delicate and powerful, and the disparities in their use draw many oppositions between characters. The most memorable instance of flower imagery is obviously Oberon’s use of the juice of a “little western flower”, called “love-in-idleness” (II.1.166-8), to meddle with other characters’ love throughout the play. Thus, Oberon sees a flower as a concrete materialisation of the power he has as fairy king, and the juice of this flower plays such a central role in the play that its powerful nature can difficultly be overlooked. However, Oberon and Titania also refer to flowers when describing Titania’s bower. In this case, they seem to serve a rather luxurious and decorative purpose, especially around Titania’s centres of attention: according to her king, she “crowns [the Indian boy] with flowers and makes him all her joy” (II.1.27), and she herself invites Bottom, disguised as an ass, to sleep “on pressèd flowers” (III.1.133). This delicate image of the flower is also developed by Titania as a symbol of chastity, saying in Act III Scene 1 that “every little flower [weeps], / lamenting some enforced chastity” (III.1.176-7). Therefore, the contrast between Oberon’s view of the powerful, love-causing flower and Titania’s portrayal of the delicate, chaste flower is extremely obvious and shows the discord between the king and queen. The opposition is even summarized in Oberon’s line “Dian’s bud o’er Cupid’s flower” (IV.1.70). However, as many features of language and imagery in the play, these opposing views on flowers degrade during the mechanicals’ play “Pyramus and Thisbe” and lose their previous function, Bottom associating them through a comical mistake with “odious savours sweet” (III.1.65), and also using for the first time in the play the verb to “deflower” (V.1.276), completely changing the previous meaning the word had. Therefore, although flowers play diverse roles in “A Midsummer Night’s Dream”, they always seem to be closely linked with the theme of love, yet opposing different views at the same time.
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ReplyDeleteWhen considering imagery in Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream, I believe that that of the dog is not to be neglected. The image of the dog is particularly interesting in the lovers’ quarrels, developing the characters’ feelings and the shifts in power which their feelings control. In the first scene of act II, Helena uses the imagery first by claiming it would be an honor for her “to be usèd as [Demetrius’s] dog”, not only putting herself in a position of inferiority in front of Demetrius, but showing that she believes her worth is even beneath that of a dog. Here, the image is used to show just how big an effect love can have on a woman, for her to fall so low as to compare herself with an animal. The image is used again by Demetrius and Hermia in the second scene of act III, as Demetrius says he would “give [Lysander’s] carcass to [his] hounds”, to which Hermia replies, “Out, dog!”. Here again, the image of the dog is used by Hermia to express contempt, picking up on Demetrius’s reference to dogs to call him one, implying that his worth isn’t more than that of the dogs who feed on human carcasses, shifting the balance of power that was established in act II, possibly putting Hermia in a position of superiority. However, if the shifts of power can be taken seriously in some cases, as these scenes are quite comical in their exaggerations, the image of the dog could be interpreted as more ludicrous. Thus, Helena could say she wants “to be usèd as [Demetrius’s] dog” not in a desperate way but in a suggestive way, changing the speech’s meaning and perhaps not giving away any power at all, if Demetrius is made uncomfortable by it. Moreover, in act III, Hermia’s insult to Demetrius doesn’t seem quite so harsh, but more comical, and could make her look more ridiculous and powerless in front of Demetrius, amused at her outburst. At the end of the day, the dog imagery’s effects on the theme of power depends on the acting choices of the director and actors.
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