The interrelationship between human and its counter opposites should never be categorised in a reductionists binary, as the distinction is not as straightforward as one may perceive. In the Elizabethan era the complexity of the human genre and its sense of placement and connectivity in relation to the natural world was being questioned and explored. Shakespeare clouds the parameters between the human and non-human, stripping the boundaries in order to explore the limitations of humanity. Titus Andronicus and Midsummer's night Dream embody these fluid boundaries between the human and non-human, presenting an interaction that is surprisingly nuanced and ambiguous, offering a disturbance of the accepted certainties of set relations. Anthropocentrism
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Bottom's transformation into an inverted centaur with a donkeys head, had not only exemplified his persona as the plays fool, but has shown that the boundaries between man and animal are slim indeed. Following the awakening of Bottom and his proceeding speech on "Man is but an ass..." it draws attention to humans failure to communicate and perceive the world outside their physicality(4.1.205). By repeating man 7 times only reiterates mans vanity in attempting to comprehend the world as viewed through their eyes, stressing the inevitability of anthropocentrism and the impossibility of objectivity because of man's self envy. Our interpretation of the world is only restricted by our position within it, were man tries to comprehend the incomprehensible, and thus becoming a fool. The function of the fairies in Midsummer's adds to the quandary in the relations between human and nonhuman. The fairies during this period were generally perceived in a positive light, and therefore were open to presentation in a more humanist form, particularly emphasised by the language of verse spoken by Oberon and Titania, paralleling the regal pair of Theseus & Hippolyta, were both pairs their quarrels have repercussions upon their underlings . The magic of the fairies takes place during the hours of the night, allowing one to categorize the fairies and …show more content…
The purpose of the hunt, particularly during the early modernist period was used to explain the link between man and nature, a social event that helped to create and recreate social and political relationships. Drawing upon the anthropocentric ideas of how humans vary in comparison to animals may justify the acts of exploitation towards other species; a poignant example is the hunt as common pastime of this period. The notion of hunting associates itself with a predatory violence, raising the issues of human domination over the nonhuman. Titus Andronicus blurs this relationship by utilising the hunt metaphorically to represent sexual violation upon the character of Lavinia, who is compared throughout the plot as "dainty doe" (2.1.114). This animal imagery enhances her gentleness and her purity, portraying her as a defenceless prey that is being hunted simultaneously alongside the actual hunt. These animal comparisons add further difficulty in distinguishing who is the hunter and hunted. Tamora's reference to the story of Diana, another name for Artemis the Roman goddess of the hunt, which relates to Acteon's transformation into a stag, switching the roles were Acteon now becomes the prey(2.3.65). This allusion to the ancient myth highlights Shakespeare attempts to show that the roles are not set in
Bottom's transformation into an inverted centaur with a donkeys head, had not only exemplified his persona as the plays fool, but has shown that the boundaries between man and animal are slim indeed. Following the awakening of Bottom and his proceeding speech on "Man is but an ass..." it draws attention to humans failure to communicate and perceive the world outside their physicality(4.1.205). By repeating man 7 times only reiterates mans vanity in attempting to comprehend the world as viewed through their eyes, stressing the inevitability of anthropocentrism and the impossibility of objectivity because of man's self envy. Our interpretation of the world is only restricted by our position within it, were man tries to comprehend the incomprehensible, and thus becoming a fool. The function of the fairies in Midsummer's adds to the quandary in the relations between human and nonhuman. The fairies during this period were generally perceived in a positive light, and therefore were open to presentation in a more humanist form, particularly emphasised by the language of verse spoken by Oberon and Titania, paralleling the regal pair of Theseus & Hippolyta, were both pairs their quarrels have repercussions upon their underlings . The magic of the fairies takes place during the hours of the night, allowing one to categorize the fairies and …show more content…
The purpose of the hunt, particularly during the early modernist period was used to explain the link between man and nature, a social event that helped to create and recreate social and political relationships. Drawing upon the anthropocentric ideas of how humans vary in comparison to animals may justify the acts of exploitation towards other species; a poignant example is the hunt as common pastime of this period. The notion of hunting associates itself with a predatory violence, raising the issues of human domination over the nonhuman. Titus Andronicus blurs this relationship by utilising the hunt metaphorically to represent sexual violation upon the character of Lavinia, who is compared throughout the plot as "dainty doe" (2.1.114). This animal imagery enhances her gentleness and her purity, portraying her as a defenceless prey that is being hunted simultaneously alongside the actual hunt. These animal comparisons add further difficulty in distinguishing who is the hunter and hunted. Tamora's reference to the story of Diana, another name for Artemis the Roman goddess of the hunt, which relates to Acteon's transformation into a stag, switching the roles were Acteon now becomes the prey(2.3.65). This allusion to the ancient myth highlights Shakespeare attempts to show that the roles are not set in