Summary of "A Midsummer Night's Dream"
Summary of "A Midsummer Night's Dream"
Narration:
Midsummer Night's Dream written in 1595 -1596 is one of William
Shakespeare's most nuanced comedies. The story takes place in the context of
Ancient Greece. The comedy revolves around 3 main groups of characters from
different worlds and happens quickly in just one night :
+ The four human lovers: Hermia, Lysander, Demetrius, Helena
+ The fairies Titania, Oberon, and Puck: Oberon's personal assistant fairy
(also known as Robin Goodfellow).
+ The human actors are Nick Bottom (aka Bottom) and Peter Quince;
these characters are also known as “the mechanicals” in reference to their
day jobs: carpenter, joiner, etc.
The play opens with the image of a young girl named Hermia angry with her
father Egeus and Theseus - king of Athens for forbidding her to marry her lover
Lysander.
Hermia has no interest in her father's chosen fiance, Demetrius, but Demetrius
falls deeply in love with Hemina, and ironically, her best friend - Helena - falls
in love with Demetrius.
Being angry with her father, Hermia flees into the forest with Lysander,
Demetrius pursues them fiercely and Helena also decides to chase Demetrius
into the woods in hopes of winning his love.
At the same time, a group of carpenters is discussing their play, led by Nick
Bottom in the woods.
But the human do not know that they have entered in the fairy world.
Oberon and Titania, the king and queen of the fairies, have their own romantic
problems. Furious at his inability to control Titania, the jealous Oberon
commands the trickster Puck to squeeze the juice of a magical flower over her
eyes. When she wakes up, she’ll fall in love with the first thing she sees. On his
mission, Puck gleefully sprinkles the juice over the eyes of the napping
Demetrius and Lysander and transforms Bottom’s head into that of a donkey for
good measure.
When they all wake up, a night of chaos ensues with hearts broken by the wrong
lovers. Demetrius and Lysander, still under the spell of the flower juice, pursue
Helena. Hermia is jealous and confused about the lack of attention paid to her
so they have an argument. Meanwhile, Titania - the fairy queen falls in love
with the ass - Bottom and entertains him with her fairies.
Introduction:
So are you curious to see what is going to happen at this night of chaos? Today,
group 3 would like to bring you a scene of the play A Midsummer Night's
Dream
Conclusion:
While magic drives all actions, the play reflects the underlying cause of what
we do out of love and the irrational human behavior under its power. The moon
is like a silver bow that sees through every action, showing erratic behavior, the
dark side of love, and the allure and fascination of a world where common sense
doesn't exist.
Although, eventually, the characters return to normal, (Helena gets the love of
Demetrius, Hermia and Lysander are able to marry each other, and Oberon can
take control of Titania) "A Midsummer Night's Dream" raises the question of
how much freedom we have in everyday life. It's not lovers, rulers, or
machinists who decide, but mischievous Puck who asks if we can believe what
we see.
If this upsets you, please forgive and think: You just had a dream where
illusions reappear.
And so, Shakespeare immerses the audience in a magical world where the grand
theater plays with the line between illusion and reality, and dramatizes the
possibility that life might just be a dream.
Đến đây cũng là kết thúc của nhóm 3,cảm ơn cô và các bạn đã và theo dõi.