The Motif of Contrast

The Three main groups of Speech:

characters in the play differ in the Notice how their speech is full
style and mood in which their of impossible ideas, ridiculous
ACT I SCENE ii scenes are presented. propositions and
The Context & The Conflicts Furthermore, their respective malaproprisms.
subplots are all unique yet Some relatively ridiculous, but
intertwined. also comical thoughts from
The dreamlike nature of the play is scene ii:
highlighted through the Bottom, for example,
In another part of Athens, a group of common incorporation of these realms or set claims that he will roar “as
labourers (also referred to as the mechanicals), of characters that are so different gently / as any sucking
rehearse a play, hoping to perforn it on the wedding in their existence. dove”
The Play Within the Play
day of the Duke and Duchess-to-be. The mechanicals specifically, allow Flute does not want to
(to be performed on the wedding day of
Characters: Theseus and Hippolyta) for a comic aspect to the play play Thisbe because he is
Quince, Snug, Bottom, Flute, Snout and Starveling. This scene acts as comic relief from the before the comedy of errors in the growing a beard.
previous scene which was full of conflict. woods begins. Note also the extensive
discussion regarding
whether the lion’s roar
would frigthen the women;
and that perhaps someone
ought to clarify that no
The Play Ovid’s Metamorphoses isn’t really a play one would real lion is present.
perform at a wedding (and that is a contrast in itself).
The Most Lamentable Comedy and Most It is a tragedy that depicts love lost, and discusses
Cruel Death of Pyramus and Thisbe the idea of suicide, due to love’s tumultuous nature.
The story of two lovers, separated by their Midsummer is effectively a lighter take on this notion:
parents’ feud, who speak to each other at night where nobody is hurt, and every one ends up being
through a hole in a wall. In the play, a lion with who they are supposed to be with.
surprises Thisbe one night and tatters her mantle
before she escapes. When Pyramus finds the The Play Note: The contrast between the serious nature of the
shredded garment, he assumes that the lion has A Babylonian Myth -- known to play and the slapstick comedy brought about by the
killed Thisbe; stricken with grief, he commits Shakespeare’s audience, most likely. natures of the craftsmen/ mechanicals/ labourers.
suicide. When Thisbe finds Pyramus’s bloody The Play is as adaptation of Ovid’s
corpse, she too commits suicide. Metamorphoses

Task:
Write a 300 Word paragraph highlighting the importance of this scene and how Shakespeare uses it to create
contrast from the preceding scene [consider the style, mood, setting & language].
In an additional 250-300 words, consider how this scene reflects the themes of A Midsummer Night’s Dream.

Due Date: Sunday 17th December