"A Midsummer Night's Dream" is a play which contains four stories meshed into one overall plot. First of all, King Theseus of Athens prepares to marry the amazon queen, Hippolyta. In addition to their wedding, Theseus requests that his merchants perform a play at the ceremony. Many scenes include these merchants, such as Peter Quince, Francis Flute, Robin Sterveling, Tom Snout, and Snug. They rehearse for their king while dealing with their occasionally spacey friend named Nick Bottom. As the play continues, readers learn of a second royal couple. Queen Titania, King Oberon, and Robin "Puck" Goodfellow are a trio of mischievous fairies. Meanwhile, four mismatched lovers stow away to the woods. Lysander and Hermia are in love, but Hermia's father disapproves of Lysander. Ironically, Hermia's sister, Helena, falls for Demetrius, the suitor chosen for Hermia. In a turn of events, Robin Goodfellow casts a spell that makes Lysander and Demetrius both fall in love with Helena. From that point, confusion ensues, which makes for a hilarious masterpiece by the Bard.
When I go on the Barnes and Noble website, the Shakespeare books are labeled teenage novels. At first, I found this label quite precarious. How many average teens read Shakespeare's plays in their spare time? "A Midsummer Night's Dream" shed some light on this peculiarity. Through our foursome's romantic predicament, Shakespeare illustrates how a teenager sees love. In an adolescent's eye, everyone seems to be enamored with the wrong person. My sister and I often laugh at the idea of a middle school relationship. Young love does seem like a fairy's magic spell. Like Puck, it is mischievous yet benevolent. Helena expresses strong feelings of jealousy just like any kid growing up. William Shakespeare was no teenager when he wrote "Midsummer". However, the ever-changing interests of Hermia, Helena, Demetrius, and Lysander remind me of what I see at school. Of course, the play ends with a hilarious production by the merchants of Athens.
No reader can go wrong when choosing "A Midsummer Night's Dream". I recommend it to readers of all levels of Shakespeare, especially teenagers. Nick Bottom's blunders always put a smile on my face while Helena's struggle with her self conscious nature touch my heart. Honestly, it takes getting used to the utter confusion of this play. I constantly confused Hermia and Helena throughout the first act. My advice would be to concentrate and really give this hilarious piece a chance. For some odd reason, this play made me picture no stage at all. I could vividly envision the characters and woods. Whether one is looking for a nice laugh or a deep theme, pick up "A Midsummer Night's Dream", and prepare to be taken away.
No comments:
Post a Comment