A Midsummer Night’s Dream Act 4 Scene 1/2 – Analysis

The theme of supernatural is addressed in act 4 scene 1 of A Midsummer Night’s Dream. It begins with Bottom, whom still has the head of an ass, living a fantasy as he is spoiled by Titania the Fairy Queen. She is still blinded by the supernatural powers of the flower that was applied to her eyes in act 3. Bottom’s head had been turned into that of a donkey; he however, does not realize it himself and believes that he is still human. Shakespeare utilizes puns to create an irony in Bottom’s situation. For one the name Bottom insinuates that he is an ass, in the sense that he is foolish and stubborn. He doesn’t believe that a supernatural occurance has taken place, rather he feels as if he is just naturally hairy. “I must to the barber’s, monsieur, for methinks I am marvelous hairy about the face. And I am such a tender ass, if my hair do but tickle me, I must scratch.”

In this story, the supernatural theme plays as both a conflict solver and creator. Previously Puck had applied cupid’s flower to the eyes of Lysander and Demetrius in hopes to make them fall in love with Hermia and Helena, respectively. However, a mix up had occurred and Lysander is head over heels for Helena, and Demetrius for Hermia, causing the main plot conflict in the story. This conflict is then resolved through another supernatural solution. After removing the spell, another one is applied. This time the lovers have fallen in love with their rightful spouse. Though they do not remember the events that occurred of the previous day, they do not question the merit of Lysander’s and Demetrius’ love at all

A Midsummer Night’s Dream Act2 Scene1/2 – Analysis

The concept of a feminine power leading is in question in Act 2 Scene 1 and 2 of A Midsummer Night’s Dream by William Shakespeare. In the first scene of act two, three additional characters are presented: Oberon, Titania, and Robin Goodfellow. In this scene, the female character holds much power, dominance, and freedom from her oppressive husband who had committed adultery. Oberon and Titania are quarrelling over a young child whom Titania  had adopted but Oberon wishes to foster the child for his own needs. Neither side wishes to desist and follow the orders of each other, asserting that they each hold their right to be the dominant individual in the marriage; Oberon states “Tarry, rash wanton. Am I not thy lord?” while Titania rejects with “Then I must be why lady.” Since they are married, Oberon believes that the mistress should always follow their lord; however, Titania believes that since she is the lady her husband should be loyal and loving. Rather than abiding by Oberon’s rules and submitting to his command, Titania refuses to behave unless Oberon subsides showing her unwillingness to waver in their marriage. This boldness shows that women as just empowered as men. On the other hand however, this concept is undermined by Helena’s behaviour as she stalks Demetrius through the forest.

Helena mindlessly follow Demetrius, the love of her life, who returns no compassion to her, but hatred rather. Regardless, Helena follows him like a dog through the treacherous forest. She belittles herself, comparing herself to a dog, allowing herself to be mistreated “the more you beat me, I will fawn on you. Use me but as your spaniel”. Helena continues to state something that illustrates the behaviour expected from women during this period: “we [women] cannot fight for love as men can. We should be pursued and courted. We weren’t made to do the pursuing.” These lines demonstrate that women in the time were thought of as weak and docile, incapable of doing anything, not even love, without the assistance of men.

At the Fishhouses – Analysis

In the poem At the Fishhouses by George Szirtes, both the cheerful and stark images of the sea are illustrated. The descriptions used in this poem are detailed by also very concise. The author uses specific diction to accurately evoke the emotion he is after. This is clearly seen in the repition of the line “cold dark deep and absolutely clear”. The vivid depiction of the “cold dark deep” water contradicts that of an image of “absolutely clear”. The sea cannot have both properties at once, but that is what is being described in the poem. This illustration creates a a feared yet inviting realm which is the sea. The poem seems very straight-forward until the last few stanzas. Szirtes clearly describes the surroundings as well as actions to appeal to both visual and tactile senses. The author applies very colourful descriptions such as “dark purple-brown” to depict the murky waters, or “all is silver” when describing reflections from the surface of the water.  However, the most impacting descriptions are those which the author allows the readers to feel in the ending stanzas. Szirtes states that “If you should dip your hand in/your wrist would ache immediately/your bones would begin to ache and your hand would burn/as if the water/were a transmutation of fire/that feeds on stones and burns with a dark gray flame.” This entire last portion of the poem shows the horror and ruthlessness of the sea, a representation of nature. The water which is clear and calm, which can support life such as the seal the author shows, can also cause pain which the speaker describes as a burning sensation. The last line of the poem is the most impacting and like a Shakespearean sonnet leaves the reader to interpret the meaning of the poem. The sea “is like what we imagine knowledge to be:/…forever, flowing and drawn, and since/our knowledge is historical, flowing, and flown”. In this last stanza Szirtes compares the sea to knowledge and history, underlining how as time flows and passes, our knowledge becomes a never ending stream of our past history.

A Martian Sends a Postcard Home – Analysis

The poem A Martian Sends a Postcard Home by Craig Raine depicts exactly what the title says: a Martian sending a postcard home. However, we must take into consideration that the Martian is actually on Earth, sending a postcard back to his own home; therefore the descriptions of our everyday objects are depicted so bizarrely. Every detail alludes to items as well as actions seen on Earth. In the poem Raine illustrates several things from the Martian’s perspective: a book, fog, car, clock, telephone, bathroom, and dream. The author applies a very unique technique in describing all these things, he breaks down each object into unrecognisable parts and compares them to something similar. A book is illustrated and compared to a mechanical bird with many wings. The flapping wings of a bird imitates the turning pages of a book. Raine also says “some are treasured for their markings” referring to that fact that some books are cherished by individuals because of their “markings”, the words written in them. One final things the author does to compare a book to a bird is to remove certain qualities of a bird that don’t fit in the description of a book, such as flight, but also emphasize a similarity; a book sitting compared to a bird perching on someone’s hand. This kind of dismantling of objects and analysing them in a new perspective is done for every object Raine depicts. Another excellent example of this would be the author’s depiction of a car. The author says, “Model T is a room  with a lock inside”, from an outside look, a car is nothing more than an enclosed space, exactly what a room is. Raine removes features of a room that don’t apply to a car, a room doesn’t lock from the inside but a car does. The ending of the poem is the most intriguing since it doesn’t depict anything tangible but rather the concept of dreaming or the action of sleeping. Raine states that “at night when all colours die, they hide in pairs and read about themselves — in colour, with their eyelids shut”. It is very clear in these last stanza’s Raine is illustrating a scene where two people are sleeping. The night is dark and no colour can be seen; but in our dreams, where we learn or “read” about ourselves, we see in colour. This is the only thing that the author doesn’t compare to another object but simply analyses what dreaming truly is, using the simplest of descriptions.

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