Shakespeare’s Play and One of its Characters – Theseus

Oberon – Oberon is the master of all the fairies and starts off by strongly disagreeing with his wife, Titania, as she does not want to give him a young Indian prince. Oberon wishes for this prince to become one of his knights and eventually seeks revenge on Titania for her refusal to help him. He then sends Puck to retrieve a love potion which leads to a lot of overall confusion throughout the play.

Helena – Helena is a young woman in Athens that falls in love with Demetrius.

Demetrius eventually meets Helena’s friend Hermia with whom he then falls in love. This leads to Helena being by herself and lacking self-confidence as she believes that when Demetrius and Lysander eventually fall in love with her, it is just false hope.

Nick Bottom – Bottom is more of a supporting role in this play but does have a part in the overall comedic style of it. He is an Athenian craftsman (the Mechanicals) who focuses primarily on weaving. He was chosen to play Pyramus in the Mechanicals play for Theseus’s wedding celebration. Additionally, he is very confident and faces a dilemma that results in his head being turned into that of a donkey’s butt due to the enchantment performed by Puck. This puts a hold on his love for Titania, and throughout the play, he attempts to do his best to keep her, despite the problems he faces.

Hermia – Hermia is Egeus’s daughter and a young woman of Athens. She is in love with Lysander and a very good friend of Helena. Due to Oberon’s love potion, both Demetrius and Lysander fall in love with Helena. Hermia suspects that Helena has won the men over because of her height, but everything is sorted out once Puck fixes the issues with the love potions.

Demetrius – Demetrius is a young man from Athens who found himself in love with Hermia but then quickly changed that love to Helena because of the love potions.

Lysander – A young man of Athens that is in love with Hermia. He is not allowed to marry Hermia as she is unallowed to do so because of her father Egeus’s rules. Lysander and Hermia run away to the enchanted woods, and one day he wakes up in love with Helena instead.

Titania – Titania is the queen of the fairies and will not give in to Oberon’s attempt to make a knight of the young prince. She has a short-term love for Bottom despite his head being transformed into that of an ass.

Supporting Roles

Hippolyta- Hippolyta is the queen of the Amazons and symbolizes the order that is set in place in the play. She is also engaged to Theseus.

Francis Flute – Francis Flute is chosen to play Thisbe in the Mechanicals play for Theseus’s marriage celebration. He does not have a big part in the play and is primarily known for playing a young girl in love with a high-pitched voice. This appearance is unlike his own, as he is a bearded man.

Peter Quince – Peter Quince is a well-known carpenter and leader of the Mechanical’s overall attempt to perform a play at Theseus’s wedding celebration. In the play, he plays the prologue and is often overlooked due to Bottom’s overwhelming self-confidence.

Egeus – Egeus is Hermia’s father who raises a complaint against his daughter to Theseus. Hermia refuses to listen to her father in regard to her marrying Demetrius. She wishes to marry Lysander instead, which forces Egeus to threaten her with a death sentence if she does not listen to him.

Robin Starveling – Robin Starveling is a tailor who is chosen to play the role of Thisbe’s mother, Moonshine, in the Mechanicals’ play.

Snug – Snug is the joiner who plays the role of the lion in the Mechanicals’ play. He continuously worries that his loud roaring will frighten the ladies in attendance.

Tom Snout – Tom Snout is the tinker who plays the role of Pyramus’s father in the Mechanical’s play. He also plays the part of the Wall that sets a division between the two lovers.

Philostrate – Philostrate is Theseus’s Master of the Revels. He is primarily responsible for directing and organizing the entertainment for Theseus’s marriage celebration.

Fairies – The fairies demanded by Titania are responsible for attending to Bottom after she falls in love with him.

Theseus – Theseus is the duke of Athens and engaged to Hippolyta. He primarily represents a strong sense of order and power throughout the play.

Playwright’s Craft:

Themes and Messages – There are various themes throughout the play that help shape the plot of the story. These themes include love, different versions of reality (supernatural), foolishness, and transformation. I believe the message Shakespeare was attempting to convey with the use of these themes is to never underestimate the power of love. Furthermore, I think that he was also trying to portray the overall aspect of living life without worries, as we see Puck do in this play. Lastly, it appears that he displayed the concept of reality versus fantasy very well. I strongly believe that Shakespeare is not forcing any opinion whatsoever and that this play is mostly neutral.

Style of Writing – Shakespeare utilizes a form of writing known as iambic pentameter and rhymed verse. Iambic pentameter is a way to separate the upper class from lower-class-speaking people. The rhymed verse is often seen when the characters talk about the love they hold for each other. This is done to give it a sense of poetry, as many poems would have, with the last words of each line rhyming with one another.

Historical Context and SCF recommendation – I believe that the play applies to any audience that is willing to see it or read it. It was written in the 1900s, but I feel it connects much more to years before this time. Furthermore, I believe this play is still relevant today, and I do recommend that SCF’s theatre department take it up. It is a very comedic play, and I strongly believe it would suit many different audiences. Overall, this play was extremely entertaining and allowed me to expand my mind to something a little new as far as playwriting goes.

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