Different Viewing Strategies of a Midsummer Night’s Dream
Autor: Mikki • January 18, 2018 • 1,173 Words (5 Pages) • 576 Views
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The final point that is able to show that watching the production of A Midsummer Night’s Dream is more effective than reading the script is the role of the Mechanicals. The mechanicals in both the production and the script are portrayed as the comic relief to the play, with their actions and ideas they add humor to the production. The mechanicals’ are the characters that are simpleminded and easy to understand because of their lack of education. These men are easier understood as being foolish in the production because their actions and emphasis of certain words combined with their body language gives the audience the full picture of their character. Bottom’s excitement to try to play every role was easier to identify in the production with the use of tone and movements to get his points across. This excitement is hard to portray and wasn’t easy to pick up on while reading the script. The pride that the mechanicals’ take in their production for Theseus is also more evident in the production with the use of their facial features to show how nervous or how proud some of them were to have played their part so well. The mechanicals’ part of being the comic relief was easier to confirm in the production because of their use of hand movements, facial features or overemphasis of their words.
Shakespeare's play, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, was a mix of love and comedy in a twisted web of characters. These characters all become connected because of the fairies and what they do to try to “fix” some scenarios, while trying to get payback in other scenarios. Even though both the production and the script have the same story and plot, watching the production is more fitting to understanding the overall atmosphere and mood of the play because the audience is given the chance to actually “see” the words performed over just reading them on a script.
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Works Cited
A Midsummer Night's Dream. Dir. Adrian Noble. Perf. Lindsay Duncan and Alex Jennings. Lionsgate Studio, 1996.
Shakespeare, William. A Midsummer Night's Dream. Clayton, DE: Prestwick House, 2005.
Shakespeare, William. A Midsummer Night's Dream. Perf. Warren, Michael Maloney, and Sarah Woodward. Naxos Audio Books, 1997.
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