A Midsummer Nights Dream, Much Ado About Nothing, and Measure for Measure :: comparison compare contrast essays

  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Shakespeare's comedies A Midsummers Night's Dream and Much Ado About Nothing have many parallels while Measure for Measure is a problem play with a completely different tone.   Comparing and contrasting these three plays provides insights into the views of Shakespeare concerning comedy.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   A Midsummer Night's Dream is a festive comedy.   The play takes place in June and this is a bewitched time.   In the spring the custom is to celebrate the return of fertility to the earth.   During   this time the young people spend the night in the woods to celebrate.   Shakespeare uses the greenworld pattern in this play.   The play begins in the city, moves out to the country and then back to the city.   Being in the country makes things better because there is tranquility, freedom and people can become uncivilized versus when they are in the city and have to follow customs and laws and behave rationally.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Comedies contain blocking figures and in this play it is Egeus.   If he was not in the way, Hermia could marry Lysander.   Since he is causing problems in his daughters life by trying to make her marry Demetrius, this begins the journey into the woods.   Egeus threatened Hermia with death if she were to marry Lysander so she thinks the only way they can be together is to run away.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   One strange element is why Egeus was so set on Hermia marrying Demetrius.   Lysander came from as good a family as Demetrius.   Both were well possessed with property and money so Egeus's power is made to seem senseless.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The play moves into the woods which is haunted by fairies who are there to bless the wedding of Theseus and Hippolyta.   The quarreling between Oberon and Titania over the changeling boy leads to the king wanting to embarrass Titania with the love juice by making her fall in love with a monster.   The first person she sees is Bottom and she falls violently in love with him.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Oberon is making a spectacle of Titania and Bottom.  Ã‚   It is ridiculous that she is in love with him because he is from such a lower class than her, he is human and she is a fairy, and he has the head of an ass.   She is also a queen and he is an uneducated working man and a match like this would never happen.   Bottom has such a problem with language.