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 Two-sided markets and their relevance for competition policy by Melitta Töller
Cover of the book The Franco-German Relationship by Melitta Töller
Cover of the book Academic writing in ESL composition classes - Academic discourse community by Melitta Töller
Cover of the book How 'Vote or Die!' Lured Youths to Vote in the 2004 American Presidential Elections by Melitta Töller
Cover of the book The History of the Nokia Company by Melitta Töller
Cover of the book Steele's The Conscious Lovers and Goldsmith's She Stoops to Conquer. A question of sentiment. by Melitta Töller
Cover of the book Challenges in development in Ngamiland, Botswana by Melitta Töller
Cover of the book Shakespeare - The disturbing world of Richard III and Edmund by Melitta Töller
Cover of the book Welcomed or Rejected? The situation of Turks in Germany by Melitta Töller
Cover of the book Selected Essays on Market Microstructure by Melitta Töller
Cover of the book Genetic Programming in the Context of Natural Computing by Melitta Töller
Cover of the book The Creoleness of Middle English by Melitta Töller
Cover of the book Feeding before Moral! by Melitta Töller
Cover of the book Scalability of the Gnutella Network and Business Opportunities of Peer-to-Peer Networking by Melitta Töller
Cover of the book American Jews in World War I - German Propaganda Courting the American Jewry 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