Choose one of the following three prompts and respond to it in a thoughtful comment.
1. Imagine yourself as either a commoner or noble during the early 1600s. Which parts of the play would you have enjoyed the most, and which would you have not understood? Why?
2.Even though this play was first staged hundreds of years ago, do you find the lessons on love it holds still relevant today? Which lessons? Why?
3. At the end of the play, Puck says:
If we shadows have offended,
Think but this, and all is mended,
That you have but slumber'd here
While these visions did appear.
And this weak and idle theme,
No more yielding but a dream,
Gentles, do not reprehend:
if you pardon, we will mend:
And, as I am an honest Puck,
If we have unearned luck
Now to 'scape the serpent's tongue,
We will make amends ere long;
Else the Puck a liar call;
So, good night unto you all.
Give me your hands, if we be friends,
And Robin shall restore amends.
Would you have applauded or hissed at the end of this play? Explain.
I am going to answer number one. I imagine myself as a commoner in the 1600's instead of a noble. If I were in the play I would of enjoyed the most is the part when bottom is turned into a donkey and titania falls in love with him. How funny would it be to see a beautiful fairy be love with a donkey. As a commoner in the play the whole scene is strange, but humorous. Another part that I would of enjoyed is the part where Helena and Hermia get into a fight. I love parts with high intensity. Also these two ladies have very good comebacks to one another. I part that I would not understand if I were in the play as a commoner would be the part where Robin tries to put nectar on Demetrius eyes so he would love Helena, but instead he puts it on Lysander's eyes. And then after he realizes his mistake he puts the nectar on Demetrius eyes so he would love Helena. That is when the huge mess occurs! The part that I do not understand is how can Robin get confused with two different people. They look differently. I also would of not understood why Helena was so desperate towards Demetrius. Even though Demetrius told Helena that she was a spaniel.
ReplyDeleteI imagine myself as a commoner in the 1600's. I think I would of enjoyed almost all of the play except for when the mechanicals are speaking, I found every single one of them boring except for Bottom. I would of enjoyed Bottom and maybe even thought what he said was intelligent because as a commoner, I would of not known any better than his misused phrases and words. I think the nobles would of had a good time making fun of him because they were more educated and knew how much of an idiot he was when he spoke. I would of liked the fight between Helena and Hermia the most because almost any one can relate to something like that in their life. It is entertaining to see other people fight and get angry and throw insults at each other. It is very entertaining. I wouldn't of understood when the mechanicals were putting on the play for the nobles and royals. When Theseus and Hippolyta were talking about the many acts of entertainment, I would be lost and uninterested.
ReplyDeleteI am going to respond to number three about the end of the play when Puck apologizes for all the troubles they caused during the play. Puck is apologizing for the mistakes he made with the love potions and for all the crazy fighting between Oberon, Titania, Hippolyta, and Theseus. I would have cheered because at least he was apologizing and anyways everything he apologized for made the story funny. I also would have cheered because the play has a funny ending that is unexpected. Puck offers to make amends and to be friends which is funny because he feels embarrassed by the previous events. I also think it is funny that he tries to convince them that the whole play was just a dream. Obviously some of the royalty who saw this play were probably a little confused and they might have hissed at the end of it because they didn't understand most of it. But considering all that happened throughout the show i think the ending was very funny and a good way to wrap up the whole story.
ReplyDelete3) I probably would've applauded, because although I believe that the lesson and theme that Shakespeare tries to convey here about love is truth, he realizes that many will also spurn these outrageous thoughts (probably lovers themselves), and thus he apologizes at the end of the play for any of those people who are offended by his pejorative view of love. Therefore, I applaud not only for Shakespeare's lesson on love under quite a complex play, I applaud him for thinking of the different possibilities of the audience's reaction, and because he is humble enough to know that his play will not suit everyone nor please everyone. It's fitting that Puck is the one to apologize, as he is the one that caused the great misunderstanding in the first place, and offers to mend what he has done wrong, if the audience thinks it's wrong.
ReplyDeleteI imagen myself as a commoner in the 1600's.I think that I would like the scene when Titainia is using lots of sexual innuendo. It is rather crude humor and as a commoner of the time would have been laughing very obnoxiously. Also the nobles would not have understood it. Much like when teenagers go to a movie like hangover. The kids think it is the best thing since sliced bread but an older person may not find it funny at all. I do not think I would have understood the concept of the arranged marriage since commoners did not do that. Only the nobles would of had an arranged marriage and this might have been very confusing to me.
ReplyDelete2) I think that the lessons Shakespeare teaches about love are still relevant and accurate today. A key idea that Shakespeare conveys is that love is blind. By this he means that we do not control love, thats why the common saying is that we "fall into love". Falling is an action that resembles being out of control and at the whim of a higher power. If we could control love, the saying would sound more like "stepping into love". These ideas are still very real today and they happen all around us. That is why people fall in love with someone that is already with someone, if they could control it they would never choose that person. But love is out of their control and it just happens.
ReplyDelete2) I think that Shakespeare's lessons of love are still true today. Shakespeare's lesson that love is makes people do crazy things is still true today. Like how we see in Midsummer's Night Dream, people will do crazy things to get their love. People will do dirty deeds or bad things to please their love. In "Midsummer's Night Dream", we see Helena chase Demetrius through the forest, showing that even though she is tired and out of breath, she will do this crazy thing to take his heart. Shakespeare also conveys that love is blind, which is very much still true today because we see that people will do terrible things without even realizing what really happened. Love can make people do things that can change their life for the worse, and making them not see what they are doing wrong. Love is both crazy and blind!
ReplyDeleteThis is in response to number three. I would have applauded because Puck is trying to make peace after he made a mistake, something no other character that made a mistake had done. Puck’s mistakes were also mainly caused by vagueness from his master, Oberon. Oberon just said to apply the magic the Athenian man, he never specified which one, and thus how could Puck have known any better. I also think it is funny how Puck is trying to pass of everything that has so far happened as a dream. In addition, as an observer of the play, I would applaud because Puck is fulfilling the purpose of plays in general when he speaks. The overall point of a play is to entertain your observers, and without Puck, the play would have been dull for the most part. However, all of Puck’s actions make the play more exciting and entertaining, just what you would want to happen. Puck is appealing to all classes, be they commoners or nobles, because he causes humor that everybody would appreciate.
ReplyDeleteIf I were a commoner in the early 1600's and I went to see "A Midsummer Night's Dream," I would probably most enjoy parts of the play where the working class characters such as Bottom, Quince, or Flute were involved including when they were rehearsing their play and also when they preformed it. The reason that I think that I, as a commoner, would enjoy these parts of the play the most, is because I would be able to relate more to these characters, and understand their language on a more personal level then for some of the other characters in the story. Also, Shakespeare included some jokes into the dialogue of some of the commoner characters that only the lower class audience would understand. Shakespeare was very aware of his audience, and he wanted to make his plays enjoyable and amusing for every member of his audience and he was aware that everyone in his audience didn't have the same background or social class. Because of Shakespeare's acuteness of his audience, it was probably not uncommon for the commoners in the audience to enjoy the scenes with the commoners in, "Midsummer" more (this works the same way for the people in the audience of a higher class). As a person of a higher status/class, I would probably enjoy the scenes with the lovers (Helena, Hermia, Lysander, and Demetrius) a lot because those characters would have come from the same background as me.
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ReplyDeleteI do find the lessons on love that the play holds, relevant to today. I think that love doesn't work out but sometimes it does, and when it does people will do something they would normally not do. In this play, there are people who are deeply in love with each other, but others who don't feel that same why towards the other person. One of Shakespear's lessons is that people will do crazy things for each other. Hermia and Lysander run away to be able to be with each other. This is probably something a normal couple would not do if they weren't allowed to be togehter. And for the other scenario where someone will do something for the other person to love them back, Helena chases after Demetrius into the woods.
Even today, there are many people who would brake the rules or even the law in order to be will the one they love. I think this is what Shakespear is trying to show us. This is why I believe that he's lessons on love are still relevant to today.
1. If I were a commoner in the early 1600s I would enjoy the scenes that take place in the woods with the lovers and the magic creatures/people. As a commoner I would most likely have to work a job every day to earn my money and would like a type of escape from reality. When the lovers go into the woods they are no longer bound by the rules of Athenian law and can love and elope freely. Specifically, I would probably enjoy Bottom and Titania's scene the most. It's very funny and very fantastical. It also has sexual innuendo and humor that would appeal to me as a commoner. One thing I would not have understood was Helena's devoted love to Demetrius when he did not love her back. Her love is somewhat masochistic, for she says that the more Demetrius tells her he does not and cannot love her, the more she loves him. I don't understand why she wouldn't just try to move on. In my simple life as a commoner, I would have just thought she should look for others.
ReplyDelete3) I would have definitely applauded at the end of the play. Some parts are pretty funny, especially the part where they are putting on the play. In fact, I would have given it a standing ovation. The play is very well written and I would want Shakespeare to know that he is appreciated, because I don't know if the people liked him back then. However, I would like the performance less if the actors didn't do the play justice. For example, the movie that we watched a part of in class was really different than how I imagined it and they added a lot of things that weren't in the play. But this would probably not have happened in the old days, as Shakespeare would have chosen the actors himself.
ReplyDeleteIf I were a noble back in Shakespeare's time I definitely think I would find it funny, but certain jokes I wouldn't understand. Most of the scenes with the mechanicals would be very foreign to me. "Going to the woods to practice? Why?" I would say with such astonishment. I think I would find the love mix-up and Helena's situation laughable. I would also find the part where Bottom becomes a donkey very funny. One part that I probably wouldn't understand would be when Bottom and the other mechanicals are preparing the play for Theseus and they talk about it being bad and the possibility that they might be hung. The noble may not understand or believe that they might do this, blissful ignorance. I also think that as a noble I would enjoy the part about true love the most, because we would have arranged marriages and the idea of true love would seem like a dream, which is the whole point of the play.
ReplyDeleteTo answer question two, there are many lessons of love throughout MSND that still apply to modern day love. My first example is when Shakespeare makes the love in MSND confusing and mixed up between the characters. This apples very much to the world today. Love is still complicated and confusing. There are tons of movies and shows about people falling in love with the wrong person. There's a bunch of movies out that are like that. Such as, a girl falling in love with a guy, the guy is dating the prettiest girl in school, and the girl in love thinks she will never get him and goes unnoticed. Then, they get together in the end and everything is all happy. Well, that is like Helena being in love with Demetrius and Demetrius loving Hermia, but in the end Helena and Demetrius become a couple. Another lesson is that love is blind and magical. Shakespeare portrays this by separating the characters in love from society by putting them in the forest with magic and fairies. Extraordinary things happen in the forest "love world", like Bottom having a donkey head. Today, scientists can prove this "love world" to be true, because the brains of a Schizophrenic and a person in a new relationship look exactly the same. This shows us that even back then, Shakespeare and the time period knew that people in love did crazy things like run away, or not listen to authority, or disobey your parents. These lessons all still apply today.
ReplyDeleteResponding to number 3, I would have to say that depending on the role in society I was apart of at the time of the play would have a big impact on my answer. However, I would've applauded because it's always to see things end happily. I was also very modest that Puck apologized for the mistakes he caused during the love ensemble in the woods. Puck is implying the common people/the fairies by the very first line of the quote, "If we shadows have offended..." By this Puck means that if us "lower class-men" (the fairies) have interfered with anything pertaining to the Athenian couples, we are sorry and all is well now. To me it made the play more interesting that Puck messed up the "love triangle" in the middle of the play. It gave the play a good twist and still allowed it to be able to come back to a good ending. Even though we know he did it by accident, the way the end of the play presents it as Puck is apologizing for having the power to mess with people's love. But it was right by him to come out and acknowledge his mistake.
ReplyDelete2. Even though this play was first staged hundreds of years ago, do you find the lessons on love it holds still relevant today? Which lessons? Why?
ReplyDeleteEven though this play was first stage hundreds of years ago, I think that the lessons on love are still relevant today. I think this is because of the fact that human nature doesn't really change for the most part. The lesson of love being really complicated, but still beautiful is still very true today. I also believe that the lesson of love always changing and being unpredictable is also very relevant. This is because there are so many situations in which people love one another, and then their feelings randomly change. This is something that can't really be controlled and that is why I think that the lessons of love are still very true today. Just because Shakespeare wrote about these issues hundreds of years ago, doesn't mean that those lessons don't still apply to our life today. As a matter of fact, they very much describe what almost everyone goes through at least once in their life. One last lesson is that love doesn't always work out the way you want it to. This lesson is portrayed by Helena loving Demetrius, but him not loving her back. This also happens fairly often in current day. We see this a lot of times in movies because they know that almost everyone that is watching the movie can relate to that feeling. I think that is why Shakespeare must have chosen these lessons to put into his play. Overall, every lesson that was in "A Midsummer Night's Dream" is still very true today.
#2 Yes even though this play is old i definitely think that the lessons in love are still relevant today. I believe that many people are able to relate to this story even though it is old. I think one of these lessons is that you have to be careful with how you act to your friends because love can make you do crazy things. This is show in A Midsummers Night Dream when Hermia and Helena get into a feud over their lovers. I also think another lesson that people can use today is not to meddle in other people's love life. In the story Puck interferes with the lovers and causes a frenzy. I think A Midsummers Night Dream is so great because Shakespeare wrote about things that are relevant and helpful to people that are living hundred of years after him.
ReplyDelete1. Imagine yourself as either a commoner or noble during the early 1600s. Which parts of the play would you have enjoyed the most, and which would you have not understood? Why?
ReplyDeleteI spent good money on box seats for my entire family and then some, and Shakespeare had the gumption to write an undecipherable script. The actors darted around the stage spouting nonsense. Clearly, William does not believe in monogamy, or he would not have let the characters fall in and out of love so quickly. And, why would a flower be applied to the eyes of sleeping people? Does it have some unknown quality of healing? The most outlandish characters were those darn mechanicals! They were such insolent fools, especially that Bottom! The absolute absurdity of having a donkey's head is ridiculous and makes no sense. The people standing below me were practically writhing on the floor with laughter, but all of us decent folk had to pretend to chuckle as if we understood what was happening! Why is it so fashionable to see Shakespeare? My nephew's family are just poor shopkeepers, and they speak about Shakespeare's plays as if they were the greatest thing since the invention of the tea cozy! I may return again to see another play, but I can assure you it will not be by my own choice. However, I must admit that there was a certain rhythm to the speech that seemed to make sense. Even though I did not understand what was being said, I could ascertain the content by listening to the tone of the actors, and the audience's response. The most annoying was that Puck fellow. He cut off all his comments at odd moments.
2. Yes i do believe many of the lessons told in midsummers night dream are held today. People still do crazy things because of love and we all may fall in love with the wrong people. Even when we think we may have found the right person it may not always work out and it may be for a good reason. Our parents now days might not always agree with our marriage decisions and now like our bride or groom. Love can cause friendships to break but it also might cause friendships to mend. I believe Shakespear wrote this play knowing that these ideas would still be relevant today.
ReplyDelete1. If i were a nobleman in the time that this was made, i would have really enjoyed the parts in the forrest. Although i would have not understood some of the situations i think that there is some very funny parts like when Hermia and Helena are fighting with each other. I would have found this funny because i think that they are friends and them fighting is a really funny thing. I would not have understood the people who are putting on the play in the middle of the forrest because they do not play a major roll and are never really connected to any other parts of the play. Another part that i would have been kind of confused of is the start of the play in the city, because it is the only time the characters are in the city itself and the characters really change when they go into the forrest.
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