Preview

The Comparison of a Midsummer Night's Dream and the Taming of the Shrew, and the Work of William Shakespeare

Good Essays
Open Document
Open Document
813 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
The Comparison of a Midsummer Night's Dream and the Taming of the Shrew, and the Work of William Shakespeare
The Comparison of A Midsummer Night's Dream and The Taming of the Shrew, and the Work of William Shakespeare

Between the years of 1588 and 1613, Shakespeare wrote 38 plays. His dramatic work is commonly studied in four categories: comedies, histories, tragedies, and romances. Although we commonly single out William Shakespeare's work as extraordinary and deserving of special attention, at the time of the plays performances, they were typically released as popular entertainment. Where as Shakespeare's works are studied today as timeless masterpieces, the original audiences knew the plays were good, but did not recognize them as exhibiting the climax of the dramatic art form. Shakespeare's sensibility and story telling captured people's attention, and by the end of the nineteenth century his reputation was solidly established. (CliffsNotes.com)
Two comparable comedies: "A Midsummer Night's Dream" and "The Taming of the Shrew"
Two of Shakespeare's plays, one called, A Midsummer Night's Dream, and the other, The Taming of the Shrew, are two of his greatest comedies. The two plays are alike in some ways. For example how the play was written, the characters, and the kind of comedy are similar. (CliffsNotes.com) A Midsummer Night's Dream is a very creative play with many comedic aspects and many love triangles. Scholars estimated the play was written in 1595 or 1596 at approximately the same time as Romeo and Juliet and Richard II. While the play rejoices in the magical power of love to transform people's lives, it also reminds us of love's foolishness. It also tells of the violence often perpetrated in the name of lust. (sparknotes.com) The Taming of the Shrew, on the other hand, is marked by evidence as one of Shakespeare's earliest comedies. The theme of this play is the marriage as an economic institution and the effect of social roles on individual happiness. It is also considered a romantic comedy. (sparknotes.com) The two comedic plays can be

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Good Essays

    Shakespeare’s most popular play, A Midsummer Night’s dream, is a romantic comedy that features young lovers that fall deeply in and out of love in a brief period of time. This play is unique because it demonstrates tragedy and comedy at the same time. The comedy not only provides amusement and laughter but also helps ease tension between characters. In the play, A “Midsummer Night’s Dream”, William Shakespeare produces a comedy through foolish characters and mistaken identities.…

    • 569 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    In A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Shakespeare is telling the readers that, love needs no reason to exist; it defies logic and ignores all circumstances. This compelling message is very thoroughly communicated with the connection of the fantasy world and reality. The connection occurs in a forest, where each character of significance is, at one point, present. Here, the characters experience unforeseen events, as a result of the debatable use of magic, from those in power. However, despite the extreme unusualness and complications, the characters challenge the circumstances, and persist in loving the one they feel closest to. In this play, this situation is best represented by three significant relationships. The first exists between a lover and her hater, the next involves a young and rebellious couple, and the last concerns an ill-fated mechanical and the queen of the fairies.…

    • 491 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    After reading the Taming of the Shrew and watching Ten Things I Hate About You. I have realized that their are many similarities and differences between the play and the movie. I will be going into detail about these similarities and differences later in my paper. I will also be explaining a more in depth description of the major characters. Also if you have not read the Taming of the Shrew or watched Ten Thing I Hate About You, I would highly recommend it.…

    • 1114 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    “10 Things I Hate About You” as well as “The Taming of the Shrew” are very similar to each other and that the “10 Things I hate about you” is based off “The Taming of the Shrew”. One similarity that I can point out right away is that at the end everything was a happy ending and everyone got there “loved one”…

    • 932 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    “The Taming of the Shrew” by William Shakespeare, is a very notorious play that has been rewritten and turned into multiple Hollywood films. One very popular version of the famous play is the movie directed by Mr. Franco Zeffirelli. Although most think that this version is the most accurate representation of the original play, there are still many distinct differences.…

    • 623 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    "A Midsummer Night's Dream" by William Shakespeare frequently explores the complex types of love. Love is timeless subject. It will forever be the theme of much popular entertainment and the source of conflict for many men and women. No one understands the theme of love greater than Shakespeare and therefore I will look at how conflict is developed through love in "Midsummer Night's Dream"…

    • 556 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Many people believe that all stories are the same in at least one way, if not more. This can be proven by comparing George Bernard Shaw’s Pygmalion and William Shakespeare’s The Taming of the Shrew. In these two plays you can see the similarities and differences in: the two main female characters, the two main male characters, and the purposes of both plays.…

    • 744 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Shakespearean plays are often seen as sad or depressing. In "The Taming of the Shrew," Shakespeare takes a somewhat sad topic of a man marrying off his daughters and makes it quite humorous. "The Taming of the Shrew" is about a man named Baptista, who has two daughters, one who is very loud and vicious named Katerina, and another sweet, sincere daughter named Bianca. Baptista makes a rule in his house that Bianca may not get married until Kate does, therefore a man sets up Petruchio, a gentleman of Verona, to marry Kate because Kate offers a very high dowry of 20,000 crowns, and Petruchio loves money. In "The Taming of the Shrew," Shakespeare uses many definitions of comedy to produce humor such as a disguises, fluid…

    • 646 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    Examine the different ways in which Shakespeare presents issues connected with marriage and male and female relationships in the play, The Taming of the Shrew.…

    • 1040 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    Shakespeare was prolific. His earlier plays were mainly histories and comedies such as 'Henry VI ', 'Titus Andronicus ', 'A Midsummer Night 's Dream ', 'The Merchant of Venice ' and 'Richard II '. The tragedy, 'Romeo and Juliet ', was also published in this period. By the last years of Elizabeth I 's reign Shakespeare was well established as a famous poet and playwright and was called upon to perform several of his plays before the Queen at court. In 1598 the author Francis Meres described Shakespeare as England’s greatest writer in comedy and tragedy.…

    • 1014 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    An earlier play entitled, “A Midsummer Night’s Dream”, by William Shakespeare, is a comedy outlining the destinies of two bothered couples. Shakespeare tactically demonstrates the love of two Athens individuals, Lysander and Hermia. The conflict is, Hermia’s father is against the marriage of the two and insists upon marriage with a man named Demetrius. However, the already complicated situation becomes more complex when Hermia discovers that Helena, a deep-rooted friend, is in love with Demetrius. My initial interest of the play arose during the introduction of this conflict.…

    • 819 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Webster’s Online Dictionary defines the word romance as” a feeling of excitement and mystery associated with love.” However, individuals within a society have the opportunity to manipulate the definition of the word romance to one that is personally believed to be the correct answer. This definition is based upon past experiences/future expectations and hopes of the word. However, when given the opportunity to define the word comedy, society has the same interpretations of what is found humorous and what is not. This leaves an assumption that the word romance is a personal vendetta, whereas comedy is personal on a different level; audiences find different things humorous, however comical themes are generalized compared to personal romantic experiences. Both themes are evident in Shakespeare’s plays “Twelfth Night” and “A Midsummer Night’s Dream,” through comedic Sir Toby Belch, and side-kick, Sir Andrew Augucheek, as well as romantic hungry females, Helena and Hermia. Therefore, the question at hand is how Twelfth Night and A Midsummer Night’s Dream relate to one another in romantic and comedic genres.…

    • 894 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    English

    • 728 Words
    • 3 Pages

    The theme of love is crucial in ‘A Midsummer Night’s Dream’ as the plot revolves around love. Without love there would not be any lovers for the play to be based on. I feel that love in the play is personified and has two personalities, comforting and cruel- comforting within civilisation, but cruel within the woods where characters are insecure.…

    • 728 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The three movie adaptations of A Midsummer Night’s Dream, from 1935, 1968, and 1999, are all unique, despite showing the same scene, the introduction to the fairy world. The 1968 version, which was directed by Peter Hall, is not remastered, which makes the quality very poor. The 1935 version seems more like a ballet than a movie, and utilizes Felix Mendelssohn’s Overture and Incidental Music to A Midsummer Night’s Dream. However, the best adaptation is the one from 1999, for not only does it have better costumes, sets, and special effects, but it is also for a more modern audience, something the first two could not capture. That is partially due to this version being filmed more recently than the others, but mostly because the director, Michael Hoffman, changed and added to the original play. Also, the actors in this adaptation seemed to do more than speak the lines; they put in feeling and emotion, something that was lacking in the other versions. Because of this, the video clip in 1999 adaptation of A…

    • 721 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    William Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream is often seen as a meta-drama, meaning that it is essentially a play about plays. There are several productions within the work, which give the play depth and essentially, layers. These layers allow for Shakespeare to provide inferences about order, which further develops A Midsummer Night’s Dream as a meta-drama. The first play-within-a-play is the interaction between the lovers in the forest, which may seem to be a chaotic and confusing situation at times. The second such play is the exchange that takes place between the mechanicals, which are attempting to preform a play for the soon-to-be newlywed couple, Hippolyta and Theseus. The third drama is the altercation between Oberon and Titania, the fairy royalties. All of these “mini-plays” are enclosed by the life of Theseus and Hippolyta. By examining the manner in which these plays-within-a-play occur, it is clear to see that the reoccurring theme of order and disorder contributes the to way A Midsummer Night’s Dream reflects upon itself as a work of art. This is mainly because throughout the play, social and natural order is disrupted and must restored prior to the conclusion of the play. As each individual drama takes place, a sense of disorder occurs, which is ultimately resolved in the conclusion of the play. If one or more of these plays-within-a-play did not occur, the conclusion would not be as perfectly settled.…

    • 1731 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Powerful Essays