“A Midsummer Night’s Dream is a series of acts that keeps you on the edge of your seat. The various themes of love, feminism, and comedy are apparent throughout the text…”
-Avery
“A Midsummer Nights Dream has a slew of emotions and themes spread and interwoven in each and every character…”
My overall favorite part of Midsummer was Shakespeare’s use of dark humor. I’m a very sarcastic person, so the little hidden phrases that entail dark humor are what make the play really intriguing for me.
A scene that made me LOL was when Oberon told Puck he had drugged the wrong person and Puck was explaining that he thought he had the right person…but isn’t watching them argue funny? (“Believe me, king of shadows, I mistook. Did not you tell me I should know the man By the Athenian garment he hath on?….And so far am I glad it so did sort, As this jangling I esteem a sport” Act 3, Scene 2 lines 1388-1394). After, Oberon agrees that it’s funny but then goes back to being strict as far as having each person love their respective other again.
I believe that the addition of the dark humor helped to better my understanding of the play overall. Also seeing the dark humor acted out in the Globe Theater’s production made it a lot funnier than I already thought it was. I guess you could say I was ROFL.
-Avery
Costuming is absolutely integral to Shakespeare’s plays, as in the 1500s there were only really costuming and basic props to help promote scenes and imagery as lighting and sound hadn’t been in use and available at the time. Some directors and people like to keep the plays like this, as it closely resembles the originals. Yet others bring modernity to the play in order to appeal to new and younger audiences. Yet the main constant over time has been costuming.
From the way the Athenians dress, to the extraordinary and mystical dress of the fairies, each different production takes different routes, yet the debates on the donkey head or features has been at the front of directors minds for every production. In my opinion, I believe the play to be more comedic and funny with raw emotions, therefore leading me to be more inclined to a full donkey head mask, as it provides more of a visual to audiences. Modernly we could circumvent the problem of inflection and volume in speech with a mic and/or sound effects. While if the play took a more serious, yet funny, approach I could see the use of the ears and nose rather than a full mask in order to express facial expressions for Bottom. Yet with the physical movement, you could express bottoms emotions easily as well when the mask is on.
The idea of love is portrayed in two different ways according to the text. The old Athenians (Titania and Oberon) seem to be tired of each other and basically “stuck” with each other, whereas the new Athenians (Hermia, Demetrius, and Lysander) fight against each other so they aren’t stuck living miserable lives.
In a way the two have “prank wars” because Titania takes in the child fairy even though Oberon doesn’t want the child or wants the child to be their slave. Oberon gets back at Titania by drugging her which is his modern-day “prank” on Titania because he makes her fall in love with a donkey but later reverses it so that she loves (or “loves”) Oberon again.
The love as portrayed between the old Athenians seems very shallow. Because this is known by everyone (more specifically the reader), when Oberon drugs her so that Titania falls in love with him again, the love is obtained again but only by deception.
The love as seen between Hermia and Lysander seems very genuine as Lysander continuously fights for Egeus’s approval. This same scenario might’ve happened when Oberon and Titania were younger, but there’s an obvious difference in the types of love now as they’ve grown older. Oberon makes it apparent that he believes Hermia’s indecisiveness is immature and childish and he dismisses every remark Hermia says that defends Lysander.
-Avery
In the final act of the play, we get to experience the Shakespearian version of Inception in the 1590s. The mechanical’s play can be performed in many different ways. Traditionally its performed as a hot mess, with the mechanicals all over the place and Bottom trying to take it far too seriously. Yet there’s been productions where the mechanicals is all taking the play seriously, yet are so bad its funny.
I remember watching a traveling acting troupe in high school perform where the mechanicals’ play was performed as seriously as possible, yet they were doing so bad it was funny, like the movie The Room. Yet, the nature and personalities of the mechanicals shine through, such as Bottom interrupting to answer rhetorical questions Theseus states.
When thinking of the mechanicals play within a play, a director could go wrong very easily, by either pushing the humor too far or mismatching it with the overall vibes of the play. For example, if the play follows more of a somber and dark humor vibe, making the mechanicals all try to be funny could be off-putting and just turn out plain not funny.
The juice of the flower that Oberon uses on Titania is a representation of a modern-day date rape drug. Oberon uses it to alter Titania’s perception of love which we all know is really messed up because who wants to fall in love with a donkey against their own will? A question that came up for me when reading the script was does the spell from the juice rub off or ever go away? It was my understanding that the juice would need to be reapplied in order for the “drugged” person to fall in love with someone new.
Back to the idea of the flower being a date rape drug, people tend to do things or act certain ways against their own will as a result of being drugged. At the start of the story, it was an obvious love triangle between Lysander, Hermia, and Demetrius. When Lysander and Hermia were in the woods and Pucked drugged Lysander, he fell in love with Helena which was not the original plan that Oberon wanted. It is clearly known that Lysander voluntarily loved Hermia as he was fighting Egeus to get his approval on Hermia and Lysander’s love. It is only after when Lysander is drugged that he falls in love with Helena. This is an accurate representation of Lysander acting against his own will due to being under the influence (which was an involuntary act).
I believe Titania, Lysander, Hermia, Demetrius and Helena are all put under by Puck and drugged in order for them to fall in love with their respective others (Hermia and Lysander, Demetrius and Helena). This act prompts the question: was this final act moral or immoral on Puck’s behalf?
-Avery
The different interpretations of Robin (Puck) Goodfellow have shifted around over time and productions, leaving a strong repertoire for the mischievous fairy. I’ve noticed when watching different productions, actors and directors have approached puck in very different ways. In Emma Rice’s production of Midsummer at Shakespeare’s Globe Theater, Puck is played by actress Katy Owen. Rice and Owen provide Puck a full floor and audience to explore and interact with during the play, and they definitely use it. Whenever puck isn’t on stage making a speech or talking, they’re either in the background playing around or with the groundlings drinking someone’s latte.
While in other productions like the 1999 film adaption of Midsummer, with Stanley Tucci, Puck is still mischievous but more low-key. He still has the aspects of Owen’s Puck but it’s not to the same extent of the character, as Tucci portrays Puck as more of a mysterious yet playful spirit in the background watching. In my opinion, from Shakespeare’s text, Owen plays Puck more to my vision and understanding of the character. A childish, but powerful, fairy who mischievously acts out the bidding of their master, causing mischief and problems in their wake.
Lord, what fools these mortals be! 