THE WORLD OF WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE

CHARACTER COMPARISON

• In AMSND, the royals are similar to the rich and famous of our world, such as actors, singers, athletes, and those with political power. They have greater influence over the "lower classes" of our world just like the royals have a higher priority over the workers. They also have a higher standard of living than those without such power or wealth. The workers are similar to those who work in our world. They have blue-collar jobs, whereas in our world, workers can have blue, white, or pink-collar jobs. The fairies in the world of AMSND are similar to the easy-going, fun-loving people of our world who like to party the night away. In both worlds, they can be very troublesome and cause a ruckus.

FIELD TRIP PERFORMANCE COMPARISON

• The performance of AMSND that we observed differed from the illustrated classic version, but only slightly. The performance we saw had three aspects that differed. The first was that it was put on by children, not just the actors, but the children that the actors played in the study hall. This is the second difference, the study hall that the students attended prior to the actual play. Finally, the narrators that helped to better explain AMSND as the language was the original language from Shakespeare's play. Otherwise, the play was very similar to the classic version. The characters and lines were similar, if not the same, with the exception of the lines added for the narrators.

CLASS PERFORMANCE

• I, Patrick, played Lysander in the play. I had an obviously important role as one of the four lovers that the world of the royals is based around, along with Theseus and Hippolyta. Without Lysander, the play would not happen as there would be no conflict between Demetrius and Lysander, forcing Hermia to marry him.
• I, Kaede, played the role of Demetrius, one of the four lovers in AMSND. This is one of the lead roles as Demetrius is the one competing for Hermia's affection against Lysander. Demetrius also ends up in love with Helena, who loves him, because of the work of the fairies, mainly Puck.

LYSANDER'S QUOTE

• "The course of true love never did run smooth," are quite the words to remember, as they apply to the real world just as much as in Shakespeare's plays. Many lovers in our own time disagree, argue and have rough patches in their marriages or relationships. People are all different so we are bound to disagree at some point. Most relationships end in breakups or divorce based on the levels of disagreement. When it comes to true love, however, we can take these differences to make our bond or relationship stronger. In the case of Lysander and Hermia they truly love each other but outside forces disrupt their relationship. This can also occur in the real world as it can be a dark, grim place. In conclusion, love can have disruptions, but true love always prevails.

"LOVE LOOKS NOT WITH THE EYES BUT WITH THE MIND"

• The quote, “love looks not with the eyes but with the mind” can relate to the play and real life. In the play Lysander truly loves Hermia because of her personality and her inner beauty, because his mind knows she is the right person to love. In real life people often like someone because of their appearance, even though they're not a good person, meaning that it's not really true love. This quote states that true love is liking someone for who they are as a person, not just because they're attractive. When a person likes someone else for how exceptional of a person they are and all of their aspects, then it truly is true love. In AMSND, Demetrius didn't love Hermia for who she really was. Helena was Demetrius’s true love because she had an extreme passion and desire for him. So, as you can see from real-world and AMSND examples true love comes from the mind and heart, not from appearance.

WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE: A LIFE OF DRAMA

• After watching “William Shakespeare: A Life of Drama, we learned many things about Shakespeare’s life. One of the reasons he was such a great playwright was because of the drama in his home life. As with all good authors, their inspiration is the most important thing about them. For Shakespeare, this came from some of the books and plays he read as a young child. One such example would be Pyramus and Thisby, a play that would be his greatest influence when writing Romeo and Juliet, as well as being a useful resource when writing A Midsummer Night’s Dream. A second important component of Shakespeare’s life was the life, and more importantly, the death, of his only son, Hamnet. Hamnet’s death left Shakespeare emotionally devastated, and influenced his work for the rest of his life, his later works being more sorrowful and grim. He also wrote the theatrical genius of Hamlet, a tribute to his deceased son. Finally, one of the most important things to happen in Shakespeare’s life was what he wrote on his deathbed, “Good friends for Jesus sake forbear, To dig the Dust enclosed here, Blessed be the man who spares these stones, And cursed be he that moves my bones.” This brilliant piece of literary work describes a situation in which someone might dare to move his bones, and was a wonderful way for a true artist of words to go out.

THE GLOBE THEATRE

• There were many interesting things to learn about the Globe Theatre. One thought-provoking is piece of information I learned is how it affected William Shakespeare's career. When the Globe Theatre burned down it had a way of marking the end of Shakespeare's career. Also, it was indubitably alluring learning the unfortunate, yet absurd way the Globe Theatre burned down. Learning how the cannon misfired and burned the theatre down made me think how the operator of the cannon may have been rather clumsy or a troublesome child. One last interesting thing I gained the knowledge about the Globe Theatre is how they had to move it. It made me think how dedicated Shakespeare must have been to his work to move an entire theatre across a river into the bad side of town just so he could keep his theatre open.

SONNET 73

• Sonnet 73 is one of Shakespeare's more well known sonnets. The underlying theme of the sonnet is likely 'love and remembrance, even after death.' Quatrain 1 is a metaphor for how Autumn is a somber time of year, yet symbolizes life coming to a close. Quatrain 2 symbolizes this same thing, except it uses a metaphor of night and blackness instead of Autumn. The final quatrain symbolizes how the light of his life, Shakespeare's or that whom he is writing to, is going out. The couplet describes how even after death, love continues to grow and never fades. In conclusion, Sonnet 73 is a poem about loving someone after they have passed away, and continuing to keep the flame of their memory burning strong in our hearts.

THE TEMPEST

• The play opens with Antonio, Alonso, and several of their retainers on a ship in a mighty storm. Unbeknownst to them, the storm is the work of the magician Prospero, the brother of Antonio and overthrown Duke of Milan. He aims to crash them into his island. Once they are washed ashore, Prospero plans to take revenge on his foes and regain his position as Duke of Milan. Eventually, through magic, intimidation, and trickery, Prospero succeeds in his plans. Prospero is restored to his reign and brings about the revelation of Antonio's betrayal. Then he secured the marriage of Miranda to King Alonso's son, Prince Ferdinand. This seems to contrast with Egeus in A Midsummer Night’s Dream, as Prospero, Miranda’s father, respects her wishes and love towards Prince Ferdinand. Eventually, however, his sly work paid off in the end as his plan succeeded, and both he and his daughter were happy.