Essays on Plays

1445

The Interpretation of Puck's Character in a Midsummer Night's Dream

3 pages / 1207 words

Considered one of William Shakespeare’s greatest plays, A Midsummer Nights Dream reads like a fantastical, imaginative tale; however, its poetic lines contain a message of love, reality, and chance that are not usually present in works of such kind. All characters in the play are...

A Midsummer Night’s Dream Character William Shakespeare

1446

Puck's Motivation and Depiction in a Midsummer Night’s Dream

1 page / 630 words

What motivates Puck in A Midsummer Night’s Dream? Also known as Robin Goodfellow, the spirit Puck is based on legend contemporary to Shakespeare (OED). His origins are as curious as his character: the Oxford English Dictionary traces the origin of Puck to “the pouke… commonly...

A Midsummer Night’s Dream Character William Shakespeare

1447

The Two Connecting Worlds of a Midsummer Night's Dream

3 pages / 1223 words

In Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream, it is during Act IV that the four “lovers” awaken along the boundary of the woods in which they spent the prior evening and attempt to explain and understand the previous night’s happenings. This particular moment in the play...

A Midsummer Night’s Dream William Shakespeare

1448

The Depiction of The Nature and Forms of Love in a Midsummer Night's Dream

4 pages / 1776 words

In Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream, the concept of love and relationships are certainly at the forefront of the play. However, if one delves a bit further into the story, elements such as violence, death, and pain, which all strongly contrast with love, exist in...

A Midsummer Night’s Dream William Shakespeare

1449

The Theme of Vision and Sight in a Midsummer Night's Dream

4 pages / 1909 words

In A Midsummer Night’s Dream, William Shakespeare plays with ideas of sight and reality. Sight, eyes, and the gaze become crucial themes in this seemingly light-hearted play. They appear constantly in the language of all of the characters, beyond the obvious role in the power...

A Midsummer Night’s Dream William Shakespeare

1450

The Ecofeminist Layer of a Midsummer Night's Dream

3 pages / 1371 words

According to Simon Estok, ecofeminism is defined as the paternalistic society driving a wedge between society and culture. In addition, it consists of the connection between the dominating of nature and the exploitation of women. Estok, as well as many others, have taken the time...

A Midsummer Night’s Dream William Shakespeare

1451

The Construction of Puck's Character in a Midsummer Night's Dream

5 pages / 2097 words

The character Puck, or Robin Goodfellow, is most often associated with the mischievous little hobgoblin fairy in Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream. Even before Shakespeare’s interpretation of Puck though, the little imp had been one of the most popular characters in English folklore. Puck appears...

A Midsummer Night’s Dream Character William Shakespeare

1452

Reading The Dream Symbolism Through Freudian Concepts

5 pages / 2072 words

Shakespeare anticipates the Freudian concept of the dream as egoistic wish-fulfillment through the chaotic and mimetic desires of his characters in “A Midsummer Night’s Dream.” The play also utilizes a secondary meaning of the word “dream” – musicality – by tapping into theater’s potential for...

A Midsummer Night’s Dream William Shakespeare

1453

Illusion and Reality in a Doll's House

4 pages / 1948 words

Truth or illusion? When the fantasy world people create in order to cope with the absurdity of life is brought too far into reality, it becomes hard to distinguish between authenticity and fiction. This ambiguity is apparent in both Edward Albee’s Who’s Afraid of Virginia...

A Doll’s House

1454

Reading a Doll’s House Through Aristotelian Perspective

2 pages / 1064 words

Considered the precursor of Western dramatic criticism, Aristotle’s notes on The Poetics arms modern readers with the language by which tragedy is evaluated and judged. In this essay I will examine how Aristotle’s classical vision of tragedy flourishes in modern plays such as Henrik Ibsen’s...

A Doll’s House

1455

The Importance and Function of Hippolyta’s Character in a Midsummer Night's Dream

2 pages / 886 words

In William Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream, the minor character Hippolyta functions in three ways. Her first role in the play is as an example of mature love in juxtaposition to the two immature Athenian couples. Her second purpose in the play is to aid...

A Midsummer Night’s Dream Character William Shakespeare

1456

Juxtaposition of Darkness and Beauty in Shakespeare's "A Midsummer Night's Dream"

2 pages / 922 words

Introduction Made-to-order essay as fast as you need it Each essay is customized to cater to your unique preferences + experts online Get my essay A Midsummer Night’s Dream is a play that explores what is universally thought to be one of the most bewitching...

A Midsummer Night’s Dream

1457

Introduction of The Mechanicals and The Perception of an Audience

4 pages / 1893 words

Almost completely opposite the beautiful, grave, and love-struck young Athenian nobles are the awkward, ridiculous, and deeply confused Mechanicals, around whom a great deal of A Midsummer Night’s Dream’s most comical scenes are centred. They are first introduced to the audience in Act 1 Scene...

A Midsummer Night’s Dream William Shakespeare

1458

Representation of Love in a Midsummer Night's Dream

2 pages / 1066 words

Can the ocean be considered a lover? Is it possible for someone to find a strong infatuation with the rolling waves and the smell of salt water? Does the sea have the capacity to love someone? Looking out into the waters, the female character in...

A Midsummer Night’s Dream Emily Dickinson William Shakespeare

1459

Intertextuality in The Midsummer Night’s Dream

3 pages / 1203 words

William Shakespeare frequently used his literary works to make statements on social issues. A Midsummer Night’s Dream obviously addresses the conflict between men and women by portraying several relationships, father and daughter, husband and wife, in which the man tries to exert his will upon...

A Midsummer Night’s Dream William Shakespeare

1460

A Midsummer Night’s Dream: Gender Roles and Misogyny

4 pages / 1791 words

In the vast world of literature, writers explore a range of themes, including gender roles and societal expectations. In A Midsummer Night’s Dream, the topic of gender roles is prominent throughout the play. Women are expected to be subservient to men in the patriarchal society...

A Midsummer Night’s Dream William Shakespeare

1461

The Significance of Metaphors in Shakespearian Plays

8 pages / 3428 words

Shakespeare draws on the stage metaphor, an ancient idea stretching back to the time of Pythagoras, and incorporates this comparison of the real world and the world of theatre into a number of his plays. In offering this mutually analogous concept, Shakespeare makes frequent use...

A Midsummer Night’s Dream Hamlet

1462

The Concepts of Myth, Magic and Madness in a Midsummer Night's Dream

2 pages / 896 words

In a fine example of Shakespearean irony, scholars have suggested that A Midsummer Night’s Dream was originally written as entertainment for an aristocratic wedding. The Lord Chamberlain’s Players provided the noble bride and groom, the ultimate symbol of harmony and true love, with a delightful...

A Midsummer Night’s Dream William Shakespeare

1463

Mrs. Linde and Krogstad’s Confrontation in a Doll's House: Themes and Ideas that Influence The Plot

3 pages / 1219 words

As one of the leaders of the realist movement in drama, Henrik Ibsen earned his reputation for creating plays that accurately depict the details of ordinary peoples’ lives. The first two acts of A Doll’s House are safe territory, following the accepted conventions of dramatic...

A Doll’s House