Indian boy Essay

The next characters to enter the play are the Mechanicals. The play is a romantic comedy. A lot of the play’s comedy comes from the Mechanicals. They are a group of actors that want to fulfil a dream. This dream is to write a play good enough to perform for the Duke, which would get them their pensions. The Mechanicals are a subplot to the play and take the action away from the chaos and gives the play a wider variety. The Mechanicals are all portrayed to be ambitious but most of all Bottom. His enthusiasm lightens up the mood of the play. For example, as the parts are being read out, Bottom is asked to play the part of Pyramus. He enthusiastically quizzes Peter Quince about the part. When the rest of the parts are being read out, Bottom continuously interrupts and requests that he plays other parts as well as Pyramus. On one occasion, Bottom pleads, ‘And I may hide my face, let me play Thisbe too’. He then starts acting out Thisbe’s part in a squeaky voice, which is quite humorous. Peter Quince appears to be a leader, as he takes the leading role of the Mechanicals. He also seems quite intelligent, as he has written a whole play. He is also directing it, showing his leadership qualities. The other Mechanical that stands to me, even though he says little, is Snug the joiner. This is because of his studying inequalities and his inability to realise that a lion does not speak. This is also quite humorous. The Hoffman version of the film shows slapstick humour at the very first sighting of Bottom. As Bottom is acting out one of the parts that he would like to play, a crowd gather around him. Whilst he acts, he has a huge grin on his face. As the crowd grows bigger he starts acting to his audience. Two drunken men on a balcony above Bottom tip red wine over Bottom. This provokes a laugh from the audience and wipes the grin off Bottom’s face. After reading the play, this does not appeal to me as Bottom, as he is not one to get upset over a practical joke. I think that the Noble version shows more slapstick comedy than the Hoffman version. The most noticeable event being the moment that Titania and Bottom share on Titania’s huge umbrella. Bottom makes noises of an ass and I found this very funny. I prefer the Bottom on the Noble version of the film, as he is louder and more active. He is what I would call a slapstick comedian. He has more character about him. On the Hoffman version, Bottom gets upset about a practical joke. I could not see this happening with the Bottom on the Noble version. Athens is a society that believes in law and order, which an Elizabethan audience would feel comfortable viewing. Law and order are mainly demonstrated in the first scene of the play, where Hermia is being told to respect her father’s wishes or face the consequences. Hermia’s father was willing to see his daughter die if she did not respect his wishes. This also demonstrates power, as Hermia’s father has the power to control her. In the Hoffman version, powerful clothing is also used to show who is the more powerful. The need for power in the fairy world causes trouble in the mortal world. What ever happens in the fairy world has a direct effect on the mortal world. For example, when Titania and Oberon are arguing over a small Indian boy, there are storms in the mortal world. Oberon demonstrates his need for power by requesting that he has the small Indian boy. He does not need the boy for anything but wants to take the boy from Titania to prove that he can and show that he is more powerful than her. The fairy world seems to be disordered in the way that Puck fails to carry out Oberon’s instructions correctly, as he put the love juice on Lysander’s eyes rather than Demetrius’. Also, disorder is shown by Oberon doing anything he can to get the Indian boy, not caring what harm he is causing. For example, Oberon is willing to make Titania fall in love with Bottom, with an ass’s head, in order to get the Indian boy. In the Noble version of the film, when Titania and Oberon are arguing, bubbles are transporting fairies around. The boy is blowing these bubbles into the toy theatre, which has reappeared in his dream. One of the bubbles shows a reflection of this boy dressed as an Indian. To me, this implies that in the boy’s life, his parents represented by Titania and Oberon, could be arguing over him. In this case Titania and Oberon are arguing over an Indian boy, which appears to be the boy whose dream it is. Shakespeare uses language to create the fairy world by describing nature’s beauty. Describing nature creates the feel of a world we do not know much about. Shakespeare uses phrases such as, ‘Swifter than the moon’s sphere’ and ‘To dew her orbs upon the green’. Orbs create the feeling of jewels, like jewels of a king or queen. Orbs also create the feeling of power, which is shown so much in the fairy world. Moonlight re-affirms the night and dreamy theme of the play. We only see the fairy world during times of darkness in the two film versions of the play. The orbs and green to me create little fairies sparkling like orbs in a green forest. Such description is important because in Elizabethan times, special effects and settings were unavailable. Shakespeare must concentrate on the power of the mind. He uses such descriptive words so that the audience can imagine the set, scenery and feeling of the play. Adrian Noble meets the challenge of creating another realm by implementing surreal situations. He starts off by using bubbles to carry fairies. He also uses light bulbs to create stars. Because this isn’t what we are used to seeing, it makes us feel like we have entered something different to our world.