A Midsummer Night's Dream--Comedy

"If we shadows have offended,Think but this, and all is mended:That you have but slumbered here,While these visions did appear; And this weak and idle theme,No more yielding but a dream,Gentles, do not reprehend.If you pardon, we will mend."

This quote is said by Puck as he addresses the audience after the performance of the play. This is not only the end of the play within the play, but also the last paragraph in the play itself. Shakespeare intends for this last passage to cause uncertainty. Throughout the play, references to dreams are made, and there is a surreal quality surrounding much of the play. Bottom and Theseus believe that much of the play was a dream; Puck regurigitates this to the audience, saying that if the play was found offensive, it should be regarded merely as a dream. This addrses of the audience after the play is performed adds to the surreal feel of the work, and forces the reader to wonder exactly what in the play was reality, and what was dream. This concluding speech is a statement on the dream-like, surreal atmosphere of A Midsummer Night's Dream.
Puck describes he and his fellow cast members as "shadows". This gives them the appearance of something mystic and unreal. In the shadows, sight is limited and senses are blurred. Shadows tend to cause one to secondguess oneself. He is attempting to instill doubt in his listeners' minds. Puck speaks of slumbering and visions, alluding to sleep and dreams. He is diverting blame away from himself, and onto the audience themselves. It is not his fault that the play was a failure, the fault was theirs for they dreamt it. Puck speaks in riddles, and brings the reality of the play into question.

Comedy
This Shakespearean comedy utilizes irony, situational absurdity, and confusion in order to achieve its comedic intent. The tone of this play is light-hearted, especially when juxtaposed with Macbeth and Richard III. The play casts a plethora of foolish, silly, and otherwise absurd characters. Bottom is so arrogant and full of himself (and wrongfully so) that the audience can do nothing but laugh at his actions. He plays "the fool", and is the butt of Shakepeare's jokes. His absurd actions, as well as the incompetance of the other moronic actors in the play adds a comedic element to this Shakespearean comedy. The entire situation that Hermia, Lysander, Helena, and Demetrius are in is positively crazy in itself. Their dillema (switching partners/falling in love with the wrong people) gives A Midsummer Night's Dream a relatable and funny perspective. It makes it easy for the reader to relate to their debacle, for it is a common problem to have multiple people fall for each other, but the huge and unrealistic extent of their struggle is what makes it humerous.

What I Think...
Though it would not be considered funny by today's standards by most people, I thought this play was tremendously comical. I, for one, love dry humor and situational irony. This play could be considered the "original sitcom" because of its absurd plotline and cast of quirky and comical characters. Each character's subtleties and nuances make the play funnier as it goes on; as the reader gains a better understanding of each individual character's quirks, everything that follows seems increasingly more humerous. This was an easy read compared to Taming of the Shrew, thus it was more enjoyable. I was able to better appreciate the comedy without having to decipher each individual line. Bottom was most likely my favorite character for his sheer and utter stupidity. The surreal quality embodied by the work also enhanced its humor by adding depth and mystery; it blurred the distinction between reality and dream, causing the reader to have to actively think about it. Reading such a great Shakespearean comedy in contrast to reading his enthralling tragedies and epic histories, shows his masterful skill in myriad genres.

Richard III--History

"The lights burn blue. It is now dead midnight. Cold fearful drops stand on my trembling flesh.What do I fear? Myself? There’s none else by.Richard loves Richard; that is, I am I. Is there a murderer here? No. Yes, I am.Then fly! What, from myself? Great reason. Why:Lest I revenge. Myself upon myself?Alack, I love myself. Wherefore? For any good That I myself have done unto myself?O no, alas, I rather hate myself For hateful deeds committed by myself.I am a villain." (V.v.134–145)

This passage is so extremely important to the play, so inarguably essential to both the plot and characterization. After his visitation with the ghosts that haunted his sleep, Richard made this speech. This is the first, and only, moment in the play when Richard shows the slightest shred of doubt or regret. At this point, Richard becomes "human", showing human qualities for the first time in the entire plot. Though he is alone, he is unable to find comfort in his solitude. He realizes that he is the person he should most fear. Richard's initial reaction to this realization is to run away, only to realize that he cannot run from himself, his efforts would be futile.
It is not only important to analyze the meanings of the words spoken here, but also the words themselves. Shakespeare characterizes Richard in this passage through descriptive diction. Blue, the color of the light protruding into the room, is a key word. The word blue is often used to describe feelings of doubt or sorrow, which is exactly what Richard is feeling at this point. The word "cold" is used to describe Richard's sweat. The use of this word is omni-purposeful. It makes reference to the cold-blooded nature of Richard's prior actions. Also, it refers to Richard breaking out in a cold sweat; a "cold sweat" typically exemplifies dfear, nervousness, or panic. In this case, Richard is feeling all of the three. Finally, the word "cold" carries a negative connotation even without any meaning attached to it. It is used to help set the ominous tone. The word "dead" is used to describe midnight. This is ironic because Richard is brooding over all of the deaths that he has caused. Also, perhaps "dead" is used as a type of foreshadowing of his impending death. Creative wordchoice on Shakespeare's part...

History
Richard III is a well-known and well-received history written by Shakespeare. He incorporated factually correct English history with his own fictional flair. For example, Richard in real life, was not deformed--Shakespeare made him that way in the play to allow for a deeper chraracter development, more complex. Shakespeare tailored history in a manner that would best suit himself societally, and that would give his plays greater meaning. RIchard III was written while Queen Elizabeth ruled England. Elizabeth openly let her anger at Richard be known, so Shakespeare played up his character to be evil and villainous, mainly for her benefit. To say otherwise would have been foolish on his part. By tweaking reality ever-so-slightly, Shakespeare's Richard III was more believeable than pure fiction, and more entertaining than pure fact. By combining subtle comedic irony, tragic loss, and overpowering violence, Shakespeare created a historical masterpiece.

What I think...
I enjoyed this play; not that I love reading Shakespeare for pleasure exactly, but I found the characters in the play particularly intriguing. The character that I was most impressed with was, obviously, Richard. His insanity was at a level greater than Kurtz in Heart of Darkness. His character was simply so brutal and sociopathic, constantly acting without regard for human life. His strive to satisfy his own ends at the cost of others is reminiscient of Machiavelli's "The Prince". One effect that I greatly appreciated was how Richard engaged the audience. His narratives and monologues gave the reader incite that other characters in the play did not have. This helped bring the reader directly into the mind of Richard, giving a view into his insanity that is almost too close for comfort. This helped evoke fear and similar emotions, for the reader often knew what was coming while the victims did not. I did struggle, however, digesting the complex family lines throughout the story. The family blood lines just made me work harder to understand exactly what was going on. After understood though, it ceased to be a problem.

Macbeth--Tragedy

"That tend on mortal thoughts, unsex me here, And fill me from the crown to the toe top-full Of direst cruelty. Make thick my blood, Stop up th’access and passage to remorse, That no compunctious visitings of nature Shake my fell purpose, nor keep peace between Th’ effect and it. Come to my woman’s breasts, And take my milk for gall, you murd’ring ministers, Wherever in your sightless substances You wait on nature’s mischief. Come, thick night, And pall thee in the dunnest smoke of hell, That my keen knife see not the wound it makes, Nor heaven peep through the blanket of the dark, To cry ‘Hold, hold!’"

This passage is found early-on in the play. Lady Macbeth says this upon Duncan's arrival at the castle. She desires to eventually have Duncan murdered, so she needs to summon up all of the evil that she possibly can. She casts aside her womanhood and femininity, for only men are perceived as srtong and brute. She feels that as a woman, she would lack the power necessary. The most obvious reference to this is when she says "unsex me here". She no longer desires to be a woman, because she feels it is holding her back. This passage gives the reader insight into exactly how power-crazed Lady Macbeth is fairly early on. She is a crazed wife who is dissatisfied with her husband's accomplishments. She feels she must take matters into her own hands, for in her eyes Macbeth is simply too weak to carry out the actions she thinks are essential to his success. She wants to live vicariously through him, and takes more pride in his successes than he himself does. Her power-hungry, show-no-mercy attitude is transferred to her husband, just as she intended. Because of her, Macbeth was as he was.

Tragedy
As is the case with most Shakespeare tragedies, Macbeth is filled with blood, violence, and murder. By definition, a tragedy must entail a person falling from a zenith to a nadir. This path is clearly followed in Macbeth; he seems unstoppable as his power continues to grow. He eventually reaches the top, only to fall plummeting into death, to be remembered as a failure and villain forever. Macbeth, essentailly, is not an unlikeable character. He is subdued and thinks carefully about his actions. He is too easily manipulated. He emblematizes innocence, but only for a brief while. After his thoughts are corrupted by his wife, he turns into a mass-murderer. This emotional transformation engages the audience, and they are able to foresee his fall in advance. Since emotional ups and downs, characterized by extreme violence, greed, and revenge make up this story, it is correctly labeled as a tragedy.

What I think...
This story was an "okay" read. It was difficult to decipher at times, making for a rather slow read. The pace of the plot, on the other hand, was quite different. The plot moved along at breakneck speed. Twists and turns, up and downs, all characterized by the violent and ingenious scheme of Lady Macbeth. I loved how Lady Macbeth was able to completely transform Macbeth into an object of her own creation. She modified him to her liking, to better suit her ends. That is quite relatable to today; people are yet manipulative and use others for their own gains on a regular basis. This is particularly true in the world of politics, just as in the play. Lady Macbeth's scheme was quite simple in the start, but grew more and more complex as time went on. This is natural and to be expected, as problems and setbacks are likely to occur along the way, but seeing how it all unfolds is quite spectacular. The constant setbacks and obstacles that Macbeth faced just go to support the overall theme: attempts at gaining power fraudulently are futile.