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MACBETH AND MIDSUMMER NIGHTS DREAM (The tragedy of Macbeth (Malcolm and …
MACBETH AND
MIDSUMMER NIGHTS DREAM
The
tragedy
of
Macbeth
Lady Macbeth
, ambitious, cold, rational, loses her mind by the end of the play.
Macbeth
has a
tragic flaw
, his
ambition
, he creates chaos by committing regicide. Anxious and more "human" at the beginning, he becomes disillusioned, colder at the end, convinced that
life in meaningless
#
.
The
witches
foretell the future of Macbeth; although some predictions seem impossible, they all come true.
King Duncan
, killed by Macbeth
Malcolm and Donalbain
, Duncan's sons, lead an army helped by the English, defeating Macbeth.
The army hides behind branches before attacking giving the impression that the forest is moving, as the witches had predicted.
Macduff
kills Macbeth; the witches had predicted that no-one "born of woman" could, but Macduff was born by
cesarean section
so technically he was not "born" by his mother.
Banquo
is killed by men hired by Macbeth; his ghost haunts Macbeth.
The
comedy
of
Midsummer Night's Dream
The Duke of Athens,
Theseus and Hyppolyta
, queen of the Amazons, are getting married. They represent
order
and in fact, only appear during the
day
.
The four young Athenians,
Lysander, Hermia, Helena and Demetrius
are initially
mismatched
but all is resolved thanks to an
enchantment
.
The
mechanicals
, Athenian workmen, are preparing a play for the wedding; this provides comic relief but is also an example of
metatheatre
.
Bottom
is transformed into a monster with an ass-head; thanks to an enchantment, Titania briefly falls in love with him.
Oberon and Titania
, the king and queen of the fairies, quarrel over a servant; their argument causes chaos: order is restored when they make up. They only appear at night.
Puck
, a mischievous spirit, acts as the "chorus" in the
epilogue
.
Magic
In both plays
supernatural beings
, who the Elizabethans believed in, have a
primary role
.
In MSND the
fairies
both
interact with and influence
what happens to
humans
.
Love
is considered just an
enchantment
#
.
In
Macbeth
the witches
predict the future
.
Setting
In MSND the
scenes of magic
and
chaos
are set at
night
and in a
forest
.
In
Macbeth
the scenes with the
witches
are in the
open
, during a
storm
, or at night.
Chaos
The
Elizabethan
loved order and were
afraid of chaos
; they believed that order / disorder in the supernatural world and in the upper levels of society was reflected in ordinary life .
In
Macbeth
when
regicide
is committed the country plunges into
chaos
.
In
MSND
when
order
returns to the
supernatural world,
it also returns among
humans
.
Life and the theatre
In both plays people are seen as "actors playing a part", as "shadows" - i.e. not real
In
MSND
in
love
and therefore also in
life
you just play a part, the result of magic, something that resembles
a dream, an illusion
.
The idea of people as shadows reminds us of the philosopher
Plato
, for whom what we experience and perceive is just shadows of the perfect world of ideas.
In
Macbeth
life is compared to a play and people are just its actors
Macbeth
gets to the conclusion that
life is meaningless
, it has no purpose.
People
, with their fretting and fury, are only
fools
.
Themes
Ambition
Regicide
Witchcraft and prophecy
Fate and free will
Reversal of values
Time
Love's difficulty and marriage
Magic / Creative imagination
Dreams / Appearance and reality
Order and disorder