Dramatic Burlesque In A Midsummer Night's Dream

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“I do not believe that any writer has ever exposed this bovarysme, the human will to see things as they are not, more clearly than Shakespeare.” (T.S. Eliot, 1927) First things first, “bovarysme” is the literary movement for those who are fed up with the borders of the life and for those who wants to get beyond this borders. As T.S. Eliot states in his quote above, Shakespeare fits into this explanation very well because in his famous pieces, there are many samples which can support his arguments. In this essay, this argument will be discussed within the scope of Shakespeare’s “A Midsummer Night’s Dream”. Generally speaking, in Shakespeare’s pieces, the protagonist and antagonist are trying to get beyond the borders which are predetermined …show more content…

Browning: There Shakespeare, on whose forehead climb The crowns o’ the world; oh, eyes sublime With tears and laughter for all time! In the theatre part demonstrated by the Mechanicals in the play, the features of the dramatic burlesque can easily be seen. R.J.E. Tiddy exemplifies this point like; “whenever Shakespeare mentions or reproduces a popular dramatic performance, he does so for purposes of humour and burlesque.” (The Mummer’s Play, 1923, p. 126). The part which tells the story of the four lovers shows the samples of bovarysme but the last part of the play, as mentioned above, there is a stage play about two lovers named as Pyramus and Thisbe rather shows the features of the burlesque. The nature of this title depends on “exaggeration” or “extravaganza” (Italian version) of the events. First of all, it should be demonstrated on a theatre like Pyramus and Thisbe’s play. Also the events are clearly exaggerated because the main aim of the burlesque is to entertain the audience, making them laugh mostly. By adding some dramatic aspects like love’s difficulty or the pressure of the society, the playwright can make the audience think about the aspects too as they are laughing. This play’s main theme is love’s difficulty and ends with the suicides of Pyramus and Thisbe (or Thisby). Its title is an imitation of sixteenth century play titles and also

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