Words: 1799
In reading, “Romeo and Juliet,” and, “A Midsummer Night’s Dream,” we can find a number of similarities in the characters of both plays. The distinct differences in them are that In one, we have a humorous character (or characters) with a cheery ending and in the other; we have a tragic character’s with a moral flaw that will aid in his or her downfall. In an evaluation of their distinctions we can see how they both hold true to their intent on carrying the story forward on it’s meandering course through the land of Shakespeare.
In the opening of “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” we are in a palace in Athens with a people, Theses and Happily, speaking of their upcoming wedding vows. They are interrupted by Segues who complains that his daughter, Hermit, is in love with Alexander while he has betrothed her to Demerits. Demerits wants Hermit, but her friend Helena wants Demerits, who once seemed to like her. Hermit, told that she must follow her father’s word as law or Join a nunnery, decides to run away and elope with Alexander. This Act is ended with a lighthearted scene in where six men decide to put on a play for Theses forthcoming marriage.
The play, wittingly enough, s, “Paramus and Thesis,” which is what we can call the original story where, “A pair of star-crossed lovers take their lives. ” (prologue. 6) On the other hand we have “Romeo and Juliet” which starts us out with a battle between the feuding members of the household of Montague and Capsule. Next enters the moping figure of Romeo, bemoaning the loss of his love, Rosalie. After some cajoling from his friend Mercuric and cousin Benevolent, they all decide to go to a masque at the house of Capsule, where they can compare Rationale’s beauty to other attractive females.
We then have Juliet in another scene speaking to her mother on whether she might be adverse to marriage with a handsome bachelor, Paris, whom she Is unsure of. At the party, later on, Romeo sees Rosalie, but Is taken In by Gullet’s beauty and falls In love with her, even after flying out that she Is a Capsule. In both these plays we have lovers who are young of age. Yet our introduction to these characters is much different. In MIND, we walk right into the story with talk of love and marriage with many characters.
Although there is talk of marriage in the first act of R, we are start In this tale with a conversation of the rape of women In he house of Montague with Sampson saying to Gregory: Its true, and therefore women, being the weaker vessels, are ever thrust to the wall. There- fore I will push Montage’s men from the wall and rust his maids to the wall. 1 We are then thrust into a quarrel between both houses, making the opening of this play violent. Our introduction in one story is rape, violence, mopped and bit of mania in Americium’s character.
On the other hand, in MIND, we might think happy thoughts at the word, marriage. It is comic to think of the circle of love that happens between the four lovers, nipping at their own heels. In Romeo and Juliet, we follow along, as Romeo can’t tear himself away from Juliet, going back to the house and into the garden where he hears her professing her love for him. In this time that Romeo goes back, Mercuric and Benevolent are searching for him. When Romeo and Juliet speak to each other, they use natural imagery of the moon and night.
The moon, as Juliet says, is, “the’ inconstant moon, that monthly changes in her orb,” and night changes as well, into dawn. This is where it’s touched on that things are not constant in the world of love. But they move on to marriage tit Romeo running to enlist the help of Friar Lawrence, who hopes to end the feud between families by binding them together in holy matrimony. They plan, they meet and they get married by Friar Lawrence, all with the Nurse’s help. In Act II of MIND, we are left to frolic with the faeries and their fancies.
Oberon, the king of faeries, wants one of his wife’s servants and plot’s to get him away from her by wiping some magic flower pollen on her eyes so that she will fall in love with whomever she meets upon waking. During this time, Oberon happens upon Demerits being chased by Helena as they follow Alexander and Hermit. Demerits rejects Helena love and tells her to be careful of what happens to her, as he is not responsible for her safety. Feeling sorry for Helena, Oberon sends Puck to meddle in their affairs by using the magic pollen on Demerits. Unfortunately, Mr..
Goodwill places the magic goop on Lassoer’s eyes instead and upon waking with the magic go on his eyes, Demerits POOF! Falls madly in love with Helena, instead of Hermit. Thinking that he is making fun of her, Helena feels hurt and runs from him. There is some correlation between these Acts in that; they both have their lovers, peaking of marriage and elopement, the use of a significant character in hopes to complete the details of marriage in Oberon and Friar Lawrence. Both of these characters are only thinking of themselves in their “help” of both pairs of young lovers.
Friar Lawrence in that he hopes to get credit for bringing the feud between the two families to an end and Oberon for sticking his nose in human affairs, thinking he knows what is best. Also, we have Puck searching for Demerits and Mercuric searching for Romeo, both of who are with their “lovers. ” Puck and Mercuric, as well, do not find who they are looking for. Significantly though, in MIND, we are with merry pranksters who are chasing humans in a circle to get them on the right track lightheartedly.
In R&J we are left with an impending sense of doom as they think both their parents would not take kindly to them getting married, en n MIND, we laugh as Boron’s Witt tall’s madly in love Witt Bottom, one to the actors in, “Paramus and Thesis,” whose friends have run from him in fright because Puck had changed his head into that of an ass. When Puck tells Oberon of what had ensued, he was elated that his plan and come to fruition, in that respect. Regrettably, Oberon notices that Puck has placed the magic pollen on the wrong Athenian.
This situation results in Hermit and Helena fighting verbally and Demerits and Alexander almost pulling out their weapons. Oberon then demands that Puck right the whole situation by pulling them away from each other so they could place spells and magic juice on the right people. Next in Romeo and Juliet, we begin with Table, of the house of Capsule, challenging Romeo for wrongs he feels Romeo has done to him. Romeo begs off, stating he has nothing for love for Table. This is followed with Mercuric taking Romeos place and yin in the resulting battle.
Mercuric curses both houses with a plague and dies and then Romeo kills Table. Everyone finds out that there was a brawl, even though the Prince forbade it, and the Caplet’s demand retribution, with Juliet crying for the loss of her cousin and the impending loss of her husband. Romeo is banned, left with only one night to spend with his wife. The Friar promises to send word on all events in Verona and to work on getting him back to Verona. Senior Capsule promises Juliet to Paris (in hopes of breaking her melancholy over her cousins death) and the nurse shushes Juliet to forget Romeo and think kindly on Paris.
Rejecting the idea of marrying Paris, Juliet runs to the Friar for help. These Acts are paralleled only in that though there is fighting in both scenes and there is a sense of urgency in the fixing of the situation of Gullet’s sadness and the odds that the couples are in MIND. Only R&J’s Act results in death and banishment and Mend’s with us humorously watching the merry-go-round of people being chased. On the one hand we have death and despair and in the other we have lovers quarreling. In the end of MIND, the couples have sorted themselves out and are given approval y both Hermit’s father and their lord Theses.
Bottom’s head no longer mimics his asinine ways, allowing him to reunite with his friends, telling them of his strange dream of the faeries. They are then chosen to perform their play at the celebration of all three weddings that night. The couples find their performance laughable but honest and appreciate the men’s effort. The story ends with the faeries blessing the union of all three marriages and Robin asking us to think of the whole affair as if it were a dream. In R&J Juliet is left scared, as she will be forced to marry Paris and running to the Friar, she threatens suicide as a way out.
He comes up with another plan to fake her death and reuniting the two lovers afterwards. Going home more obedient, her father moves the marriage up another day. Going to bed on the night before her marriage, Juliet drinks the potion and dies, everyone is sad and they prepare for the funeral. Disaster strikes as the letter the Friar sends to Romeo, advising him of the plan, does not get delivered. Romeo besieged by pain at the loss to his Witt, returns to Verona and visits Gullet’s crypt. Romeo then kills Paris outside the crypt, climbs in, drinks the poison he has bought and dies.
Juliet awakens, sees Romeo dead and finishes off his poison. The Friar confesses all to the Prince and the two families resulting in the end of the feud. We are left with a tragic hero in Romeo, resulting in the demise of not only him, but Juliet as well. In MIND we have many humorous characters in not only Bottom but also more importantly Puck and Oberon who are both mischievous without hurting anyone physically. With a little effort these plays could be changed, MIND turning to tragedy and R&J turning to comedy but it’s a good thing that they are left as they are, otherwise the movies would be different.