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I am sure everyone and I mean EVERYONE knows about Romeo and Juliet, the famous balcony scene in Verona,their cute, puppy love and their tragic deaths. But how many have actually experienced this renowned story by actually reading the play written by Shakespeare. And, no, reading a summary or a Charles Lamb version does not count as having read the play. In order to really understand these two eternal lovers’ story and cry over their tragic fate, one must read Shakespeare’s play, ‘Romeo And Juliet‘ that has immortalized them and made it one of the greatest love story ever told. No pitiful synopsis can compare reading the actual play.
So if everyone knows the plot of this play, why bother going in details? Nonetheless, there may be some ignorant souls in this world still. So lets enlighten them. Romeo and Juliet belong to the two different, wealthy families in Verona- Montagues and Capulets respectively. Both the families have the same social standing in the city. And both for reasons that Shakespeare does not elaborate hate each other. So once the Montague men crash the Capulet feast and ball wherein Romeo sets eyes on Juliet and falls in love with her. Later the famous balcony scene occurs where both pour out beautiful, lyrical verses to profess their love for each other and Juliet puts the proposition of marriage.Later, both are happily married by Friar Lawrence. However, their family feud is one of the problems in their marriage. Later, Mercutio, one of the Montagues, is killed by Tybalt, who is Juliet’s cousin, in a street brawl. Therefore, Romeo sets out to kill Tybalt and succeeds whereupon he is banished from Verona by the Prince. Another complication is that Juliet’s parents want her to marry a fellow named Paris. They know nothing of her marriage to Romeo and now that he is a killer and is banished(not to mention that he is a Montague), Juliet cannot talk about it either. Juliet’s refusal to marry Paris is not accepted. So now both the lovers are in a pickle. How they try to get themselves out of this mess is for you to find out by reading the whole play.
Quite frankly, ‘Romeo and Juliet‘ does not have much in terms of story. It seems like a game of Fate and a bunch of chance encounters and missed ones that takes the play forward. The tragedy could have been easily averted (but then there wouldn’t be a story, you might rebuff!). What makes the play memorable is the effusive verse with very quotable quotes and not to mention the use of the then popular sonnet tradition. This last feature makes the play quintessentially an Elizabethan romance(although the story existed much before Shakespeare immortalized it).
Like many of his other plays, ‘Romeo and Juliet‘ also have a mixture of comedy and tragedy. Initially, the story is so comic that you would scoff at the thought of it ending tragically. It is only the numerous foreshadowing in terms of the prologue, dreams and visions that the play is peppered with that makes one think otherwise. Only after Mercutio’s death and Romeo’s banishment does the play become wholly serious and gravity of the lovers’ situation becomes apparent. From here onwards, even the lines become more intense with passion and gravity.
Apart from the tragic lovers, there are other unforgettable characters as well, chiefly: Mercutio, Nurse(to Juliet), Friar Lawrence and to some extent the lovers’ parents and Tybalt. Their part in either hastening or stalling the tragedy is also very important.
So, ‘Romeo and Juliet‘ may have a silly, even stupid plot (The play within a play, ‘Pyramus and Thisbe’ staged in ‘Midsummer Night’s Dream’ can be considered as a parody of ‘Romeo and Juliet’) but stands out because of the wonderfully elegant verse, the splendid imagery, the beautiful depiction of light and dark, and last but not the least: the innocent and fated love of the young Romeo and Juliet.It is a beautiful play, undoubtedly a must read that exalts love and the idea of love. Watching a good stage adaptation is a bonus and Franco Zeffirelli’s 1968 film version goes a long way to bring the Shakespearean magic on the screen. It is more or less faithful to the plot and uses the cinematic space to its advantage to elaborate many famous scenes of the play. It is an excellent film adaptation. A must watch!
Are you tired of watching the same,old,boring, cheesy, Bollywood or Hollywood romantic comedies or chick flicks? Do you absolutely scorn those ridiculous lovey-dovey songs that do nothing to take the plot forward? Or scoff at the, lets face it, stupidity of such films?
Then, Shakespeare comes to your rescue! Now the last thing most people would want is to read the Bard’s plays rather than watch those crappy chick flicks. You agree, don’t you? However, most of the plots of these contemporary rom coms have been inspired by his plays or have elements from many of them. The difference lies in the fact that the plays are far more intricately written than the soppy,mawkish rubbish that film industries churn out regularly.
Hence one simple Shakespeare play that is sure to lighten the scorn and fatigue created by scores of the more or less similar roms coms is the famous, hilarious, ‘A Midsummer Night’s Dream.‘ You may have read a summary or watched the film but nothing can beat watching/perusing the actual play with its funny twists and turns, ample confusion and blunders, modicum of magic and loads of love to entertain you thoroughly.
Taken from ebookee.org
Now comes the plot which is rather complicated but I’ll try my best to explain. There are essentially three worlds described in the play-the world of Athenian lovers, the world of the fairies and the world of the Athenian workers. The play starts off in Athens where the Duke Theseus is waiting for his wedding day anxiously. He is to wed Hippolyta who is an Amazonian queen. To his court comes Egeus followed by her daughter, Hermia and two young men, Demetrius and Lysander. Egeus complains to Theseus about Hermia’s wish to marry Lysander which is contradictory to his own desire that Hermia must marry Demetrius instead. Theseus supports Egeus and believes that Hermia must do as her father wishes as that is the law of Athens,disobedience to which will result in death. Seeing that Hermia and Lysander don’t stand a chance against the duke’s or the former’s father, the young couple decide to run away in the forest. Hermia tells of this plan to Helena, her friend who likes Demetrius blindly but the feeling is not mutual. Helena tells Demetrius about Hermia’s plans and so he too goes in the forest in search of them and Helena follows Demetrius. The forest is the realm of the fairies and the King and Queen of the fairy worlds are Oberon and Titania respectively. This royal couple has been quarreling over an Indian boy who Titania has adopted. Oberon wants the boy for himself but Titania refuses to part with him. Meanwhile, when Helena follows Demetrius in the forest, Oberon sees them and hears their conversation. Demetrius is scorning Helena but she is adamant in her love.(One point to note is that the Athenians cannot see the fairies). Oberon summons Puck, an evil cum good spirit who is Oberon’s servant as well, and tells him to get the flower whose love juice when sprinkled on the eyes of a person on waking up falls in love with the first person who he/she sees. The Fairy King wants Puck to do that with Titania and tells him to sprinkle on an Athenian man(he does not specify whom as he has not seen Lysander yet) as well. Puck successfully does his first task. However the latter is messed up-instead of putting it on Demetrius,Puck puts it on Lysander and the first person he sees is Helena (One can imagine all must have broken loose in the forest because of this confusion). Oberon wants Titania to fall in love with some beast or an ugly being. Puck sees a bunch of workers rehearsing for a play which they want to perform at Theseus’ wedding. He transforms a worker’s, Nick Bottom’s, head into an ass and Titania sees this fellow first on waking up. This along with Puck’s mistake lead to comical consequences that have slight dark undertones and it is through these misunderstandings that the Athenian lovers find their love and Oberon is able to get back Titania’s affections and her Indian boy. The play happily ends with the marriage of the Duke to Hippolyta.
You seriously did not expect it to end any other way, did you?
Despite its predictable ending, ‘A Midsummer Night’s Dream‘ provides a wonderful take on the notions and idea of love, provides a glimpse into Shakespeare’s mastery of weaving the different strands of the three plots into one fitting conclusion, proffers a peek into certain Elizabethan conventions of life, theater, patriarchy etc.
Now this is only a very short synopsis of a marvellous romantic comedy play that is extremely fun and merry to read. It does not and cannot encompass the play’s beauty,comedy and complexity wholly. There are so many layers to ‘A Midsummer Night’s Dream‘ that one is perplexed whether Shakespeare wrote it only for mere entertainment or for other instructional purposes as well. It may not be one of his best plays but still remains a popular one that is sure to make anyone laugh. And if the Shakespearean language daunts you, don’t fret, it isn’t that difficult. Just try reading it aloud, going with the flow of the verse, comprehension will come to you eventually (Plus the notes and the annotations help a lot). And if you can, go watch its performance which will further deepen your understanding of the play and perhaps kindle a love for Shakespeare forever freeing you from the tedious rom coms of today!
