Introduction
William Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream is one of the most controversial plays in world literature and the author’s legacy. Different from his other pieces in the level of comedy or, rather, ridicule, A Midsummer Night’s Dream has kept audiences and critics alike wondering what occasion it might have been dedicated to and what the motive was to create the play. Irrespective of these interpretations, one thing common among the viewers is that the play cannot leave anyone indifferent. The costumes, which are outrageous at times, the intricate plot, the use of spells and mystique, and the all-winning power of love make the play an interesting piece to contemplate. The play’s most powerful aspect is magic, manifested through the author’s use of imagery and the director’s choice of costume and visual effects.
Discussion
The moon has the most compelling effect on the audience in all pieces under analysis due to its sinister endowment. The moon is frequently associated with enchanting events and hypnotizing happenings. In A Midsummer Night’s Dream, this role is emphasized numerous times. Shakespeare mentions how Lysander has bewitched Hernia’s “bosom” as he “by moonlight at her window sung” (Shakespeare 1.1.27-30).
Hence, the moon is initially entitled to an exceptional capacity. As the plot is unveiled, the attentive viewer can notice that the most mysterious and romantic happenings occur under the moon. In a scene from Moshinsky’s adaptation, Titania is depicted under the moonlight with her fairies and the boy she refuses to give away, demonstrating the power the moon grants (00.18.58).
Meanwhile, in Hall’s film, there is a scene with Titania explaining the outcomes of revenge and anger to Oberon (00.23.39). Making this speech in the moonlight makes Titania more emphatic, so the examples of the terrible happenings she enumerates sound even more looming. Finally, Freiman’s interpretation, which is the most modern of all, still connects with the traditional ones by depicting mist and moonlight in accompaniment of romantic music and night birds’ sounds (00.26.20). The magic effect of the play is, thus, reenacted in all film interpretations in numerous ways to demonstrate the emphasis that Shakespeare has placed on it.
Another impressive impact of the play is revealed in the use of love juice and flowers to make it. In the play, Puck fetches a pansy to help Oberon prepare a potion that will make anyone “madly dote” the person they see upon awakening (Shakespeare 2.1.171). In Hall’s (00.38.22) film, the love juice is used when Puck enchants sleeping Lysander with “All the power this charm doth owe” (Shakespeare 2.2.85). While there is no such scene in Fraiman’s interpretation, the movie contains a reference to pansies in a picture on the wall (00.05.08).
The selected imagery is a rather important element of magic since it mimics real-life situations. Quite often, people who are otherwise sober-minded and logical lose their senses when hormones start to drive their actions. In all the pieces under analysis, the enchantment makes the characters do something they would have never done under normal circumstances. Therefore, by exploiting this imagery, Shakespeare and movie directors demonstrate true love’s unpredictability.
One more compelling image entitled with magical power is that of roses. As a true poet, Shakespeare could not avoid this metaphor in yet another of his plays. Thus, through Theseus’ words, he declares that “earthlier happy is the rose distilled” (Shakespeare 1.1.76) than the one that “Grows, lives, and dies in single blessedness” (1.1.78). One of the most frequently deployed imagery examples in love lyrics, a rose is utilized here to represent both the exuberant and vivid life and its withered and bleak end. Films directors have interpreted this symbol more richly by adding roses to their character’s costumes.
Hall’s (01.18.21) and Moshinsky’s (01.17.25) Bottomwears many roses on his head, whereas Fraiman (00.15.52) has decorated Helena’s costume with a large white rose. While Bottom’s costume may have been overloaded with flowers, in Helena’s case, it was just enough to emphasize the beauty and fragility. Irrespective of the ways of introducing the roses, all creators have managed to represent the beauty and vulnerability of the human soul through these flowers.
Conclusion
A Midsummer Night’s Dream may be considered an unusual or even ridiculous play, yet its use of magic gives it an entirely different sense that it would have otherwise lacked. Love has always been connected with extraordinary emotions and happenings, which is promptly reflected in Shakespeare’s play and its cinematographic interpretations. By a rich and vivid use of imagery, including the moon, the roses, and enchanting flowers, the authors managed to create and maintain an atmosphere of a magical story where everyone’s actions are guided by love. At the same time, the authors demonstrate that love is often irrational, and things return to normal once the magical spell dissolves.
Works Cited
A Midsummer Night’s Dream. Directed by Ed Fraiman, BBC, 2005.
A Midsummer Night’s Dream. Directed by Elijah Moshinsky, BBC, 1981.
A Midsummer Night’s Dream. Directed by Peter Hall, Metro Goldwyn Mayer, 1968.
Shakespeare, William. A Midsummer Night’s Dream. Edited by Reginald A. Foakes, Cambridge University Press, 2003.