A point to see before conveying the single character readings into drama is how to contextualise the public presentations within the text as a whole. In other words, the characters are non reciprocally sole entities, instead, they are synergistic and woven into the landscape of the drama. Therefore, I would wish to suggest a general lineation for the overall public presentation.
There are many ways to execute ‘A Midsummer Night ‘s Dream, ‘ and the manner I choose will impact elements of the characters. There have been many public presentations of Shakespearian play, where the drama is brought into the modern twenty-four hours. I nevertheless, would wish to execute the drama in its authoritative scene. I would wish the drama to retain its antediluvian clip puting. It is a really self-reflexive drama – it is a drama about presenting a drama. This highlights the thought of play at its root – the reheasrsal and work that goes into a drama.
I would wish to go forth the drama in an olden twenty-four hours puting because it consolidates the thought of play being detached from life through its ruse, and the drama being set in a by-gone epoch further consolidates the thought of detaching play from mundane life.
( a ) The first character I would wish to look at is Lysander. He refuses to give to Demetrius ‘s demand for Hermia ‘s manus, and risks the wrath of Theseus by run offing with Hermia. This demonstrates non merely the deepness of his feeling for Hermia, but besides his strong belief in his ain beliefs, and the bravery to transport out these beliefs.
The amusing discharge of Lysander ‘s public presentation hits its flood tide after Puck has sprinkled the love potion into his eyes and he falls in love with Helena. I would execute the character with some exaggeration at this point, in order to convey the amusing component of the text to the audience. The thought of Lysander disputing Demetrius to a affaire d’honneur in order to win Helena ‘s manus is an illustration of the inordinate behavior and heightened action that brings much of the comedy into the drama.
It is a temper that comes from the reversal of the natural order – Capital of montana has gone from being urgently in love with Demetrius and being scorned by him to being the object of both work forces ‘s fondness, for illustration.
This reversal in the behavior of Lysander is something I ‘d wish to foreground in public presentation. I think a alteration in demeanour, and in vocal qualities could foreground this. At the beginning of the drama, Lysander is portrayed as a romantic hero. I would convey this to the audience through his visual aspect ; ideally, the function would be filled by a tall, fine-looking adult male. I would wish him to have on a costume of light stuff – symbolizing the artlessness of the ‘true lovers ‘ ( Hermia ‘s description of themselves ) .
As I would wish to maintain the drama true to its chromatic beginnings, I would wish Lysander to have on a type of Athenean costume, which he could alter when he enters the wood. I would wish all the characters to alter their costumes when they enter the wood, to stand for the huge alteration in their environment. I would wish him to wear a more crude, dark-skinned coloured robe, such as green, to convey the pastoral environment to the audience.
I would wish to concentrate on how the character of Lysander should be performed during the sequence in which he challenges Demetrius to a affaire d’honneur. The reading that I would wish to convey to the audience is one of intensifying absurdness, which contributes to humor. This would be done through the props, bringing, vocal quality, paralinguistic characteristics and a presentation of how Lysander relates to Demetrius in this subdivision:
Lysander
Helen, I love thee. By my life I do.
I swear by that which I will lose for thee
To turn out him false that says I love thee non.
Demetrius
I say I love thee more than he can make.
Lysander
If 1000s say so, withdraw, and turn out it excessively. ( Scene III, Act II, lines 251-256 )
There is a strong sense of beat in these lines, and besides rime, which contribute to the tenseness and sense of heightened action. I would wish the histrion to foreground the beat in his bringing.
I would wish Lysander to follow a masculine stance, and to circle Dimitrius, spread outing his motion around the phase, having the phase, as it were, utilizing the full phase to convey to the audience that he feels he owns the infinite, as he prowls around it.
Demetrius
A character trait that emerges from the text is the point where he tells the enamored Helena that when he says, Tempt non excessively much the hate of my spirit ; /For I am ill when I do look on thee. ( Scene II Act I, lines 211-212 ) . This vocalization evokes a sense of his barbarous nature, a dyslogistic position of Demetrius which is further amalgamate when we examine the first first scene of the first act. When Lysander and Hermia are told that they can non get married, Demetruis tells them they should allow him hold his certain right. ( Scene I Act I line 92 ) .
There is later a immense alteration in Demetruis when he falls back in love with Helena at the terminal of the drama. This is declarative of a softening of his character – a alteration which I feel should be represented visually in public presentation.
In order to convey Demetruis ‘s somewhat cruel, righteous nature to the audience, I think the histrion should allow a certain demeanour. Body linguistic communication could be used to show his confident, cocky side. For illustration, he could tittup, utilize big gestures and besides make usage of all of the phase infinite – exerting his ego imposed ‘right ‘ to the phase infinite in the same manner that he wants to exert his ‘right ‘ to Hermia ‘s manus.
I would wish his costume to be dark colorss – such as a rich ruddy – and showy design, to contrast with Lysanders ‘ . The vocal qualities should besides show these traits. He merely has two lines in scene I, move one, so it is really of import how these are represented, as they will be the first feeling the audience have of him.
Demetrius ‘s lines are:
Relent, sweet Hermia ; and, Lysander, output
Thy crazed rubric to my certain right. ( Scene I, Act I, lines 91-92 )
The manner in which this line is performed is really of import. As the anguished lovers, the audience feels really strongly for Hermia and Lysander, to whom the presence of Demetrius is an invasive 1. I would hence besides like to convey to the audience this sense of invasion. When Demetrius says, Relent, sweet Hermia I would wish him to walk up to Hermia, and put his arm around her, fondling her with his other manus, turning them both off from Lysander. When he speaks to Lysander, Demetrius should maintain his dorsum to Lysander, but turn his caput to face him, so that his line is like an aside, as if he does non esteem him.
The words ‘crazed rubric ‘ should be accompanied by paralinguistic characteristics, such as an outstretching arm to convey to the audience how much Demetrius does non desire Lysander and Hermia to get married. Finally, the word ‘my ‘ should be over emphasized to convey that Demetrius strongly feels that Hermia should be his, whether she loves him or non, because of the wants of her male parent.
His character, and particularly his behavior towards Helana alterations at the terminal of the drama. Whilst in the earlier phases of the drama, he is confident, utilizing big gestures and a batch of phase infinite, at the terminal of the drama, I would wish him to show a more tender side to the audience, to convey the development of his character:
That we are awake? It seems to me
That yet we sleep, we dream. Make non you think
The duke was here, and bid us follow him? ( Scene IV, Act I, lines 192-194 )
This line should be used to convey character development to the audience as it contrasts so strongly with his opening line – the usage of ‘you ‘ in contrast to ‘my ‘ for illustration. There is besides a confusion in this vocalization, which contrast with the assurance in the first lines.
Capital of montana
At the beginning of the drama, Helena is portrayed as hapless ; the scorned lover who has been wooed by Demetrius and so ignored in favor of Hermia. However, like Demetrius, Helena demonstrates a monolithic character development and transmutation. Like Lysander, the discharge of her character flight reaches its crescendo after Puck has sprinkled the love potion in Lysander and Demetrius ‘s eyes.
When they both try to court her, she feels they are mocking her, and gets angry. To outdo convey the transmutation in her character between before and after the love potion has been dispensed, I ‘d wish to see how vocal quality and demeanour can be used in two of her vocalizations:
Name you me fair? That ‘fair ‘ once more unsay.
Demetrius loves your carnival. O happy carnival!
Illness is catching. O, were favour so,
Yours would I catch, just Hermia, ere I go.
O, learn me how you look, and with what art
You sway the gesture of Demetrius ‘ bosom. ( Scene I, Act I, lines 181-194 )
This except is from a long address in which Helena returns to laud the virtuousnesss of Hermia, with whom Demetrius is infatuated. The cardinal message I would wish to convey to the audience from this address is the thought that Helena is confused, upset and somewhat covetous of Hermia. She is inquiring Hermia how she won the bosom of Demetrius. In order to convey this dejection to the audience, I think the bringing of this address should affect some rhetoric – while Helena is inquiring Hermia how she wooed him, and stating how just Hermia is, my reading of this address is that it is a melancholic speculation on the loss of her love.
She is non looking for external replies, instead internal replies, and so it is inquiries she is inquiring herself. This could be expressed to the audience by the character of Helena distancing her ego physically from the group – this would be a ocular symbol of her isolation. Her demeanour and organic structure linguistic communication would be hunched and dejected, and her voice subdued and hushed
The other address that is a seminal minute in the public presentation of Helen is when she feels she is being mocked by the two work forces, and gets angry. Clearly her relationship with Demetrius is changed when he falls in love with her. While she may be unaware of it, the hierarchy of the relationship has been overturned, and she has now adopted a place of power. In her address, she says:
O malice! O snake pit! I see you are all set
To put against me for your gaiety.
If you were civil and knew courtesy
You would non make me therefore much hurt. ( Scene III, Act II, lines 145-148 )
This address can be used to great consequence to show the public presentation possibilities of this function. The demeanour and vocal qualities executing this address would necessitate differ enormously to the earlier one – with a louder voice, bringing directed at the other characters and inflated organic structure linguistic communication required.
Hermia
Hermia is represented in the drama as a strong, noncompliant immature adult female, prepared to take hazards in order to carry through her ain desires. This is exemplified in her refusal to bow down to her male parent ‘s want that she marry Demetrius. In the face of a decease sentence, or life in a nunnery, she escapes with Lysander into the wood. Lysander ‘s love for Hermia, along with Demetrius ‘s desire, demonstrate that she is an attractive and desirable immature adult female.
These are two of import points I ‘d wish to see when building the public presentation of Hermia. I would wish to convey to the audience her interior strength and finding, alongside her physical attraction.
The impression of physical attraction could be conveyed chiefly through costume and visual aspect. As Hermia is clearly a adult female of considerable appeal ( illustrated when Helena asks her what appeal she used to capture Demetruis ‘s bosom ) , her costume should reflect this. As it is believed that she inadvertently won over Demetrius ( this is an ambiguity in the text – it is possible that Demetrius loves her because her male parent is so impressed by him ) I would besides wish to affect upon the audience a sense of naivete and artlessness.
The obvious symbolic coloring material of this is white. White would besides look striking under the phase visible radiations. I would utilize buoyant cloths for the costumes, such as organza, to pass on the aeriform quality of non merely Hermia herself, but besides the forest, and the thaumaturgy contained within it. When Hermia leaves Athens and escapes to the wood, I would wish her to follow a robe over her frock, of green, to convey to the audience, through her alteration in costume, that a alteration is impending in the drama.
While the appeal and beauty of the character of Hermia will be communicated visually, the interior strength and bravery that I interpret as being cardinal elements of her character, will be communicated through her demeanour. It is normally understood in the survey of organic structure linguistic communication that confident people stand up directly, unlike diffident people, who hunch up, in a subconscious determination to take up less infinite. In this manner, phase infinite becomes an of import index of personality.
I have mentioned before that I would, at certain points in the text like characters to utilize the whole infinite of the phase to convey a sense of assurance. I would wish the public presentation of Hermia to follow a comfy usage of the full phase infinite.
More specifically, I would wish to mention to one address that I feel is really of import in the text, in Scene I, Act I, when Hermia is speaking to Theseus with respects to her desire to get married Lysander:
So will I turn, so unrecorded, so die, my Godhead,
Ere I will give my virgin patent up
Unto his Lordship whose unwelcome yoke
My psyche consents non to give soveregnity. ( Scene I, Act I, lines 79-82 )
This address is an of import point at the text because Hermia makes clear her purposes to avoid matrimony to Demetrius. It is a really dramatic, sensitive piece. This address should be delivered with strength, to convey to the audience the deepness of Hermia ‘s feelings for Lysander. The public presentation should include some paralinguistic characteristics such as traveling around the phase, facial looks and manus motions to show her feelings visually.
Theseus
My apprehension of Theseus is that he is a really complex character – there is conflicting grounds in the text as to his true nature. There is one vocalization in the text that brings up inquiries sing his true nature, when he is speaking to Hippolyta and he says that:
Hippolyta, I wooed thee with my blade,
And won thy love making thee hurts ;
But I will marry thee in another key: ( Scene I, Act I, lines 16-18 )
My reading of this line is that Theseus raped Hippolyta. The deductions of this in footings of how the character should be performed are huge. In much of the text, Theseus is represented as a pensive, thoughtful adult male. He kindly advises Hermia to Take clip to hesitate ( Scene I, Act I, line 83 ) when discoursing the state of affairs with her male parent Egeus. This scene presents him as rational and kindly.
The suggestion of colza in line 16 makes the line extremely of import, the suggestion I would wish to convey to the audience is the thought that Theseus is warning Hippolyta. In conveying the issue of the colza to the head, he is reminding her of the power balance in their relationship. There is besides perchance some repentance in this admittance. This could be communicated to the audience through the usage of certain vocal qualities, demeanour and phase infinite.
Back to: Example Essaies…
I would wish Theseus ‘s sense of power to be conveyed to the audience in a ocular manner, so he would present this address standing, and walking about, whilst the character of Hippolyta would be sitting down. The disagreement in their highs would be a ocular representation of the hierarchy, which would farther consolidate what Theseus was stating. This is such a patriarchal power drama that props could be used to stand for a sense of phallocentricity – such as a scepter – a regal and phallic symbol.
The usage of this prop could convey to the audience my reading of Theseus as being the patriarchal and dominant force in the gap of the drama. His land is run on a set of stiff regulations – for illustration, Egeus raising the ancient jurisprudence of Athens as Hermia wants to get married Lysander. This is in blunt contrast to the forest – the cryptic, feminine sphere which is the binary antonym of Athens.
In footings of demeanour, Theseus should be calm, and considered in his motions. I would wish his costume to be of dark colorss, and of neat, clean lines. This operates in contrast to Hermia ‘s costume – the white of her costume is a symbol of artlessness while the dark of Theseus ‘s costume is aligned with the dark side he hints at in this address.
