Though they lie on different ends of the spectrum, comedy and tragedy compliment each other well and uncover latent themes in A Midsummer Night’s Dream by William Shakespeare. The mechanical who portrays Pyramus in Pyramus and Thisbe, Bottom, is one of the most hilarious characters in this play, but he faces a fair amount of mocking and disappointment as the story progresses. The play within the larger work, Pyramus and Thisbe, is a tragedy about star-crossed lovers who kill themselves because they cannot be with each other, but the atrocious acting cannot help but incite laughter. Likewise, two distraught characters, Hermia and Helena, exchange objectively funny insults whilst arguing over their convoluted romances. One would not expect to
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At a glance, Bottom the weaver is nothing more than an overexcited actor with no niche for his passion, but because of the intersection between the fairy and mechanical worlds, the audience is exposed to a more mellow version of the bumbling actor. When first introduced, Bottom receives his part in Pyramus and Thisbe: Pyramus, “a lover that kills himself most gallant for love” (1.2.22). The character seems as though it would lend itself to a serious portrayal, but Bottom is ultimately unable to live up to even the lowest of expectations. While the mechanicals rehearse in the woods, Puck the fairy uses flower juice to make Titania fall in love with the most humiliating thing he can find: Bottom. Though laughter would have ensued from that alone, Puck also gave Bottom an unfortunate …show more content…
Helena, originally loved by no one, is now lusted after by both Demetrius and Lysander. The man she desires, Demetrius, wakes up and addresses Helena as a “goddess, nymph, perfect, divine” (3.2.140), and she believes the men are playing a cruel joke on her. An already sympathetic audience feels even worse for Helena when she expresses that if the men “were civil and knew courtesy, [they] would not do [her] thus much injury” (3.2.150-151), showing just how distressed she really is. As soon as Hermia enters and is assumed to be part of the conspiracy, the scene becomes more intense, but also more humorous. Hermia, who just lost a lover to Helena, grows frustrated and calls her friend a “painted maypole” (3.2.311) and threatens that she is “not yet so low But that [her] nails can reach unto thine eyes” (3.2.312-313). Though these verbal abuses seem malicious in the context of the scene, an audience finds them hilariously appropriate. This quarrel could have been an entirely serious scene, but that would have disrupted the mood of the play. By including these objectively funny insults, Shakespeare is able to portray a serious argument between two distraught character while managing to maintain
At a glance, Bottom the weaver is nothing more than an overexcited actor with no niche for his passion, but because of the intersection between the fairy and mechanical worlds, the audience is exposed to a more mellow version of the bumbling actor. When first introduced, Bottom receives his part in Pyramus and Thisbe: Pyramus, “a lover that kills himself most gallant for love” (1.2.22). The character seems as though it would lend itself to a serious portrayal, but Bottom is ultimately unable to live up to even the lowest of expectations. While the mechanicals rehearse in the woods, Puck the fairy uses flower juice to make Titania fall in love with the most humiliating thing he can find: Bottom. Though laughter would have ensued from that alone, Puck also gave Bottom an unfortunate …show more content…
Helena, originally loved by no one, is now lusted after by both Demetrius and Lysander. The man she desires, Demetrius, wakes up and addresses Helena as a “goddess, nymph, perfect, divine” (3.2.140), and she believes the men are playing a cruel joke on her. An already sympathetic audience feels even worse for Helena when she expresses that if the men “were civil and knew courtesy, [they] would not do [her] thus much injury” (3.2.150-151), showing just how distressed she really is. As soon as Hermia enters and is assumed to be part of the conspiracy, the scene becomes more intense, but also more humorous. Hermia, who just lost a lover to Helena, grows frustrated and calls her friend a “painted maypole” (3.2.311) and threatens that she is “not yet so low But that [her] nails can reach unto thine eyes” (3.2.312-313). Though these verbal abuses seem malicious in the context of the scene, an audience finds them hilariously appropriate. This quarrel could have been an entirely serious scene, but that would have disrupted the mood of the play. By including these objectively funny insults, Shakespeare is able to portray a serious argument between two distraught character while managing to maintain