Juxtaposition In A Midsummer Night's Dream
At the time of its publication, “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” represented a novel piece because of multiple reasons. It was …. not only for the fact that it managed to showcase four intertwined plots, but also because it represented Shakespeare’s first immersion into the realm of fantasy, as one of the only two settings of the play, the wood near Athens represents an enchanted land inhabited by spirits and fairies, where magic is on full display. Despite the magical realm playing a large part in the play, Shakespeare doesn’t forget to balance it with the common people-inhabited Athenian world. A juxtaposition is created between the two worlds, who differ in numerous aspects.
In Athens, the natural is the norm, made up of common activities such …show more content…
Calderwood addresses in A Midsummer Night’s Dream: Anamorphism and Theseus’ Dream the notion of anamorphosis, a visual technique that offers the viewer an additional interpretation of a certain artwork if approached from a different perspective. He claims that Shakespeare uses a similar kind of technique, converting a painting into a play that contains numerous subtleties that are not easily noticeable. One such example is relevant to the constitution of the Athenian
In the opening scene of A Midsummer Night’s Dream, something is hidden also, and hidden in full view … the invisibly visible artifice of patriarchy embodied in the Law, in the Name of the Father. For the one thing everyone in this scene accepts, even Hermia and Lysander, is the authority of the law, which no one except Egeus seems to like but which everyone acknowledges as given and unalterable. As such, in the Athenian world, the daughters are considered their father’s possessions. Helena is referred to as “Nedar’s daughter”, and Hermia is unwillingly betrothed to Demetrius, with the alternative being either death or becoming a nun for the remainder of her life. This aspect of Athenian life is what triggers Hermia and Lysander’s decision to run through the woods, as from that point onward the constraining laws do not affect them.
In Athens, the natural is the norm, made up of common activities such …show more content…
Calderwood addresses in A Midsummer Night’s Dream: Anamorphism and Theseus’ Dream the notion of anamorphosis, a visual technique that offers the viewer an additional interpretation of a certain artwork if approached from a different perspective. He claims that Shakespeare uses a similar kind of technique, converting a painting into a play that contains numerous subtleties that are not easily noticeable. One such example is relevant to the constitution of the Athenian
In the opening scene of A Midsummer Night’s Dream, something is hidden also, and hidden in full view … the invisibly visible artifice of patriarchy embodied in the Law, in the Name of the Father. For the one thing everyone in this scene accepts, even Hermia and Lysander, is the authority of the law, which no one except Egeus seems to like but which everyone acknowledges as given and unalterable. As such, in the Athenian world, the daughters are considered their father’s possessions. Helena is referred to as “Nedar’s daughter”, and Hermia is unwillingly betrothed to Demetrius, with the alternative being either death or becoming a nun for the remainder of her life. This aspect of Athenian life is what triggers Hermia and Lysander’s decision to run through the woods, as from that point onward the constraining laws do not affect them.