A Midsummer Night’s Dream and Much Ado About Nothing are two of Shakespeare’s most famous plays. They are both comedies, and are full of witty banter and humorous scenes.
A Midsummer Night’s Dream is set in the magical world of fairies, and tells the story of four young lovers who are caught up in a web of love and mistaken identity. Much Ado About Nothing is set in the real world, and tells the story of two pairs of lovers, Benedick and Beatrice, and Claudio and Hero.
Both plays are full of clever dialogue, and are considered to be some of Shakespeare’s best work. They are both still performed today, and are sure to entertain audiences of all ages.
During his lifetime, William Shakespeare penned a number of plays. Some of his works have similar comedic elements, whereas others are the polar opposite of comical. Shakespeare wrote tragedies, love stories, historical dramas, comedy pieces, and problem comedies with great success.
There was no scenery in these plays because they were created during the performance; therefore much time was invested developing the characters and plot to make them interesting. A Midsummer’s Night’s Dream and Much Ado About Nothing are just two among Shakespeare’s many comedies.
A Midsummer Night’s Dream and Much Ado About Nothing are both set in Italy and follow the same pattern of comedy. They are also based on stories that were already popular. A Midsummer Night’s Dream is based off a story by Ovid called The Metamorphoses and Much Ado About Nothing is based off of a story by Plutarch called, Apophthegms of Kings and Great Commanders.
A Midsummers Night’s Dream follows the story of four lovers who are trying to run away from Athens to get married. These lovers are Hermia and Lysander, Helena and Demetrius. Hermia is in love with Lysander but her father wants her to marry Demetrius. Helena is in love with Demetrius but he does not love her back, he loves Hermia. When Hermia and Lysander run away they go into the forest and they fall asleep. While they are sleeping they are changed into different creatures by Puck, a fairy.
Puck makes a mistake and puts the love potion on Lysander’s eyes instead of Demetrius so when he wakes up he falls in love with Helena. Oberon, the king of the fairies, sees this and is angry with Titania, his queen. He orders Puck to put a potion on Titania’s eyes so she will fall in love with a donkey. When Titania wakes up she sees Bottom, who is dressed as a donkey, and she falls in love with him. The play ends with all the characters being happy and getting married.
Much Ado About Nothing also follows a similar pattern of comedy. A group of friends get together to celebrate the return of Don Pedro, a prince, from war. Beatrice and Benedick are two of these friends who do not like each other. They spend most of the play insulting each other but they are actually in love with each other.
Claudio is in love with Hero but is told by Don John, Don Pedro’s brother, that Hero has been unfaithful to him. Claudio believes this and decides to break off his engagement to Hero at the wedding. At the wedding ceremony Don John shows up with Hero and she explains that she has been faithful to Claudio all along. They get married and Beatrice and Benedick marry each other.
Both A Midsummer Night’s Dream and Much Ado About Nothing are very funny plays. They are filled with witty dialogue and crazy situations. These plays show how Shakespeare was a master of comedy. Measure for Measure is a problem play with a totally different tone. It is not funny at all, it is actually quite dark. The play follows the story of a man named Angelo who is in charge of the city while the Duke is away. Angelo decides to punish two people for having sex outside of marriage by making them both pregnant.
One of these people is Claudio, who is engaged to Hero. Claudio’s sister, Isabella, goes to Angelo and begs him to spare her brother’s life. Angelo agrees to spare Claudio’s life but only if Isabella has sex with him. Isabella agrees but then later decides she cannot go through with it. When the Duke comes back he finds out about what Angelo has done and punishes him.
Comparing and contrasting these three plays will help us determine what Shakespeare thought comedy was in the 1600s and whether our views on humor are the same today. A Midsummer Night’s Dream is a joyous comic opera. The play is set in June, when witches abound.
The custom of celebrating the earth’s fertility returning in the spring is observed during this season. To celebrate, young people spend the night in the woods at this time. In this play, Shakespeare employs a greenworld design pattern. The play begins in the city and proceeds to rural regions before returning to town again.
The main character in A Midsummer Night’s Dream is Oberon, the king of the fairies. He is married to Titania, the fairy queen. Oberon and Titania have a quarrel and Oberon uses a love potion to make Titania fall in love with a donkey named Bottom.
A Midsummer Night’s Dream is about two couples who are in love. These two couples are Lysander and Hermia and Demetrius and Helena. Hermia is in love with Lysander but her father wants her to marry Demetrius. Hermia takes refuge in the woods with Lysander and they fall asleep. While they are sleeping Oberon puts the love potion on Demetrius’s eyes so he will love Helena.
When Lysander and Hermia wake up they are in the middle of the woods and they are lost. They see a group of fairies and they are scared. A fairy named Puck comes out and he is trying to find Oberon. Puck puts the love potion on Lysander’s eyes so he will love Hermia again. A Midsummer Night’s Dream is a play about people who are in love and who are trying to get married.
