A Midsummer Night's Dream Forest Vs Forest Essay

The settings in all stories of fiction determines how the action and dialogue of the characters are played out, often setting the “rules” in the dialogue and in plays, and in the motions used. Whether the tone and the setting be serious and businesslike, or playful and melodical, they shape and alter the dialogue and actions of the character. In Shakespeare’s, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, a comedy first performed in the Elizabethan era, two major settings are employed. This changes how the characters and the court act, which signifies and shows a more serious and methodical tone in the scene. This is the first major setting introducing the conflicting sides of the play; while in contrast the forest is has a more laid back, melodical tone, shown by the dialogue in the play and actions of the character. The forest and the court are the
two major settings used in the play that provide the a important role by contrasting their tone in the comedy. The play utilizes two main settings, the court of Athens, and the forest surrounding Athens. these change how the characters in the play act and the topics discussed between them. The court is the start of the play where many of the Athenians are introduced, the audience is first shown the tone and rules, which depicts the setting altering and modifying how characters are supposed to interact with one another are seen by the audience. Egeus begins quarreling with Theseus on the disobedience of his daughter, Hermia, on her unwillingness to marry Demetrius. This infuriates Egeus and resolves him to seek Theseus for a pardon to kill her or rather punish her for her stubbornness.
The tone, the threats, and the topic discussed in Egeus’ monologue symbolizes the serious nature of the courtroom. The monologue shows no fluid, melodical structure, and discusses the topic of marriage, courtship and punishment of his daughter for going against his will. Characters are limited to only talking about important and serious issues, rather than insignificant or trivial talk that is shown in the forest. Typical singsongy sentence structures and rhyming is not present and ruled out of dialogue between characters. Egeus portrays these unspoken rules, by speaking in a direct manner, discussing a serious topic concerning the marriage of her daughter. He does not stray in the conversation or the matter with the Duke, and goes straight to the point.
The forest on the other hand, portrays a completely different setting and environment in comparison to the court.
In act 2 ,the audience is exposed to the forest portraying a contrast between the two settings that dictate the nature and topics spoken between the two settings. The fairies are a prime example of the difference of atmosphere emanating from these two settings. An example of this is in Act 2, where the fairies sing joyously for Titania to put her to sleep. (2.2 1-30) This gives a sense of the more laid back nature of the forest compared to the court, with the fairies singing, this emphasises the difference the settings entail to the characters and their actions. While the Athenians in court discuss politics and courtship, the forest and its’ fairies sing, dance, and follow orders from their beloved king and queen, symbolizing with the peace of nature. The setting rules a more relaxed environment and rules the dialogue of the characters to be more passionate and emotional in their speech. The differing settings shown changes and alters the dialogue and actions the characters act upon, making the story more
dynamic. The significance of each setting changes how each character act, with the court exhuming a more serious and topic driven environment, while the forest tones down the serious nature of the court and portray a more comedic and melodical environment whereupon lovers interact and express their emotions, and fairies dance and jolly around. Shakespeare utilizes these settings to deepen and show thought in the setting of the play, enhancing the performance of the play. The forest on one hand shows the comedic nature and mischief caused by the fairies allowing the plot and characters to develop. The court presents the conflict and society the lovers are subjected to. In all Shakespeare’s masterful ability to manipulate the settings of the play by setting the rules of the dialogue and influencing the actions of the characters and brings the play to another level in terms of literature.