The fairy mythology in William Shakespeare's 'A Midsummer Night's Dream'

Fiction & Literature, Literary Theory & Criticism, British
Cover of the book The fairy mythology in William Shakespeare's 'A Midsummer Night's Dream' by Melitta Töller, GRIN Publishing
View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart
Author: Melitta Töller ISBN: 9783638023474
Publisher: GRIN Publishing Publication: March 10, 2008
Imprint: GRIN Publishing Language: English
Author: Melitta Töller
ISBN: 9783638023474
Publisher: GRIN Publishing
Publication: March 10, 2008
Imprint: GRIN Publishing
Language: English

Seminar paper from the year 2004 in the subject English Language and Literature Studies - Literature, grade: 2,0, University of Paderborn (Fakultät für Kulturwissenschaften), course: Shakespeare: The Comedies, 14 entries in the bibliography, language: English, abstract: 'A Midsummer Night's Dream' is Shakespeare's most enchanting comedy and one of his most popular plays. It is very lyrical and poetic, filled with magical beings from mythological worlds and the power of true love. Shakespeare's age was the great time of fairy poetry in English literature, but no other work has influenced our visions of fairies as much as 'A Midsummer Night's Dream'. Till today the idea of fairies, as we have them in our mind, is shaped by Shakespeare's delighting comedy. The play can be interpreted as 'a fantasia on love' , because love, it's follies, absurdities, conflicts and even dangers draw a red line through the play: from the quarrel between the fairy king and queen, to the heroic love of Theseus for his war-conquered Amazon queen, to the love-chase of Hermia, Helena, Lysander and Demetrius, and to the enchanted experiences of Bot-tom. In nearly all of these love affairs the fairies have their (sometimes helping) hand engaged and they are thus very important agents in the main- and in the sub-plots. In this paper I will first take a survey of the historic belief in fairies in Shakespearian England, and then look at Shakespeare's literary sources for the most important and most famous fairies who appear in this play, namely Oberon, Titania and Puck. Then I will show some parallels between the fairy queen Titania and Queen Elizabeth I, and afterwards I will analyze the quarrel between Oberon, king of fairies, and his wife. Finally I will give a comprehensive overview of the various ways of performing the play, both in theatre and in film.

View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart

Seminar paper from the year 2004 in the subject English Language and Literature Studies - Literature, grade: 2,0, University of Paderborn (Fakultät für Kulturwissenschaften), course: Shakespeare: The Comedies, 14 entries in the bibliography, language: English, abstract: 'A Midsummer Night's Dream' is Shakespeare's most enchanting comedy and one of his most popular plays. It is very lyrical and poetic, filled with magical beings from mythological worlds and the power of true love. Shakespeare's age was the great time of fairy poetry in English literature, but no other work has influenced our visions of fairies as much as 'A Midsummer Night's Dream'. Till today the idea of fairies, as we have them in our mind, is shaped by Shakespeare's delighting comedy. The play can be interpreted as 'a fantasia on love' , because love, it's follies, absurdities, conflicts and even dangers draw a red line through the play: from the quarrel between the fairy king and queen, to the heroic love of Theseus for his war-conquered Amazon queen, to the love-chase of Hermia, Helena, Lysander and Demetrius, and to the enchanted experiences of Bot-tom. In nearly all of these love affairs the fairies have their (sometimes helping) hand engaged and they are thus very important agents in the main- and in the sub-plots. In this paper I will first take a survey of the historic belief in fairies in Shakespearian England, and then look at Shakespeare's literary sources for the most important and most famous fairies who appear in this play, namely Oberon, Titania and Puck. Then I will show some parallels between the fairy queen Titania and Queen Elizabeth I, and afterwards I will analyze the quarrel between Oberon, king of fairies, and his wife. Finally I will give a comprehensive overview of the various ways of performing the play, both in theatre and in film.

More books from GRIN Publishing

Cover of the book Zadie Smith's White Teeth: Identity Construction between Historical Roots and Transcultural Hybridity by Melitta Töller
Cover of the book Safe take-off with runway analyses by Melitta Töller
Cover of the book Enlargement of the EU is primarily a political and not an economic project. Discuss. by Melitta Töller
Cover of the book Sub-prime crisis in Australia? A deeper insight by Melitta Töller
Cover of the book Female Virginity and Male Desire in Seventeenth Century Carpe Diem Poetry by Melitta Töller
Cover of the book The Concept of Failure Represented by the Nisei Characters in John Okada's 'No-No Boy' by Melitta Töller
Cover of the book Motivation theories - an overview by Melitta Töller
Cover of the book The best Bond movie ever Or: Why 'On Her Majesty's Secret Service' is far better than its reputation by Melitta Töller
Cover of the book Why the Hunts' marriage is not perfect - or why Gilman created this kind of partnership in the mystery novel 'Unpunished' by Melitta Töller
Cover of the book Human Occupation. Introduction to the theory and practice of occupational therapy by Melitta Töller
Cover of the book Doing Business with the Japanese! by Melitta Töller
Cover of the book Economic overview of Japan by Melitta Töller
Cover of the book The Truth And Reconciliation Commission in South Africa - A Learner's Diary by Melitta Töller
Cover of the book Branding, Positioning and Segmentation at Volkswagen by Melitta Töller
Cover of the book The Role of Emotions in Effective Negotiations by Melitta Töller
We use our own "cookies" and third party cookies to improve services and to see statistical information. By using this website, you agree to our Privacy Policy