Discuss the play within the play in A Midsummer Night’s Dream.

The play within the play in A Midsummer Night’s Dream. This thesis deals with the miracle of the play-within-the- play in A Midsummer Night’s Dream and Hamlet by Shakespeare. It takes on the discussion of where‘ meaning’in the textbook resides by looking at the play-within-the- play. The focus of the thesis is on the way in which the relation between imagination and reality is created in the play-within-the- play and its relation to the play as a whole. The literal environment of both plays have been explored and taken into account when looking at the meaning of the play-within-the- play.

The play within the play in A Midsummer Night’s Dream. In A Midsummer Night’s Dream the play-within-the- play glasses the play as a whole, both emblematic and literally. The play deals with the immoderation of love and its madness. It also addresses the fine line between imagination and reality. This relates to meaning as it addresses the idea about mortal fortune. The question arises whether or not there's a force lesser than people who alters lives as has happed in the play. Hamlet’s play-within-the- play also glasses the main plot of the death of Hamlet’s father. Claudius’ response to the play-within-the- play is interpreted by Hamlet as a evidence of Claudius’ guilt. The play within the play in A Midsummer Night’s Dream.  Still, there are multiple other reasons why Claudius responds to the play as he does. The play-within-the- play could be seen as an personality to Claudius’ woman who used to be the woman of the former king but has soon married, another reason could be that in the play-within-the- play the whoreson has come the killer of the king which could mean that Hamlet has plans to kill Claudius. The play-within-the- play illustrates the significance of a good understanding of the different perspectives of the characters which arguably brings about their motives. The play-within-the- play provokes the tragedy of the plot as a total which illustrates the possible meaning of the play.

 The thesis first explores the literal environment of both plays as well as the emergence of the term‘metatheatricality’. Latterly it gives a close- reading of both play-within-the- plays in relation to the play as a whole as well as the literal environment and medications of the play-within-the- play.

The play within the play in A Midsummer Night’s Dream. A Midsummer Night’s Dream is set in multiple worlds, among others, the world of the brownies. At the end of the play Robin argues that everything the followership has just endured was simply a dream. This emphasises the idea of the fine line between reality and dream. Stephen Greenblatt explores this arguing that the play seems to emphasise the difference between “ walking and sleep, men and women, nobles and commoners, humans and creatures, mortals and brownies”. Still, the play shows how these differences fade when the story evolves. The different worlds start to interact with each other. This applies to the mechanicals, as well as to the plot of their lamentable comedy, the play-within-the- play. These situations in their own way comment on the other worlds; the world of the brownies and the world of the newlyweds. This will be explored further in the chapter. The play within the play in A Midsummer Night’s Dream.

 A Midsummer Night’s Dream contains a play-within-the- play performed by the Mechanicals. The Mechanicals are a group of handicraftsman from Athens, who are about to perform a play for Theseus and Hyppolita, a soon to be wedded couple. Ronda Arab argues that tradesmen in Renaissance drama were frequently used as a ridiculous relief (13). They're generally not characters to be looked up to, but rather, looked down upon, which is shown in the play by the response of the youthful suckers and Theseus and Hippolyta towards the mechanicals’ performance.

The play within the play in A Midsummer Night’s Dream.

 The play within the play in A Midsummer Night’s Dream.  The play-within-the- play is called “ the most lamentable comedy and utmost cruel death of Pyramus and Thisbe” (Shakespeare2.1.10-11). The plot contains numerous parallels with Romeo and Juliet by Shakespeare. The followership, Theseus, Hippolyta and the four suckers, watch the play and sport it. Rather of a tragedy, like Romeo and Juliet, the play turns into a comedy because of the terrible amusement of the Mechanicals. The on- stage followership, still, don't feel to realise the parallels with their own lives. The nonfictional and emblematic mirroring of the play-within-the- play and the play as a total will be further explored in the paragraph about metatheatricality. The play within the play in A Midsummer Night’s Dream.

A Midsummer Night’s Dream makes multiple references to theatre and how it was approached at the time. Philostrate parallels the Master of Ploys, as he chooses which performance he wants to see at court and decides to shortlist the Mechanicals. The play within the play in A Midsummer Night’s Dream.  In the same way England had a Master of Ploys who made opinions as to which plays and which theatre companies would perform before the Royal court. This means that utmost of the plays chosen by the Master of Ploys were approved before being acted. The play would only be cleaned if there was anything in it which was supposed obnoxious. The play within the play in A Midsummer Night’s Dream.  Theseus would, also, equal the King or Queen. The play-within-the- play also refers to the environment of theatre as the actors only get the lines they're supposed to recite in their performance which was common in Shakespeare’s time (Shakespeare1.286-90). The play-within-the- play becomes a chaotic play and rather of a tragedy, it therefore becomes a lamentable comedy. The play-within-the- play arguably works as a ridiculous interpretation of theatre at the time.