Compare Prices
Postage & Packaging: £2.​75
Postage & Packaging: £2.​75
Postage & Packaging: £2.​75
SHOPPING > DVDs > Drama > William Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream (DVD) > Reviews

William Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream (DVD)

from (217 offers) · Product Information

William Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream (DVD)

Quote-start

A MIdsummer Night's Review

Quote-end

4 Feb 11th, 2007 

15 Ciao members have rated this review on average: somewhat helpful

Advantages:
Funnier than other Shakespeare plays .

Disadvantages:
The language is hard to understand .

Recommendable Yes:

Detailed rating:

Did you enjoy it?

Story

Characters / Performances

Special Effects

How does it compare to similar films?

Doni07

Doni07

About me:

Member since:16.11.2006

Reviews:25

Members who trust:4

A Midsummer Night's Dream

In the play 'A Midsummer Night's Dream' by William Shakespeare, there are three different sets of characters and I am going to be discussing the theme of love and marriage and how each set is affected by this.

The first set of characters within the play are the lords and ladies which consists of four main characters who are all affected by love in different ways.

To begin with, Demetrius is being forced to wed Hermia by her father, Egeus. Hermia does not like this as she has loved Lysander forwhatseems as an eternity in their eyes.

Helena, the one who loves Demetrius, is always pestering him to take her back but he doesn't love her so therefore, he intends to marry Hermia. When Hermia and Lysander decide to run away however, all sorts of adventures take place and create a very enjoyable play within the human's story.

However, there are another three characters involved in the human's story and that is Egeus, Theseus and Hippolyta. Egeus is the overprotective father who wants her daughter, Hermia, to marry another man, Demetrius. Theseus and Hippolyta are the equivalent of the king and queen area and are to marry very soon:
'And she is mine, and all my right of her, I do estate unto Demetrius'.

This shows that Egeus desperately wants his daughter to marry Demetrius as he seriously believes that he is a good, honest nobleman but Hermia still wants to marry Lysander:
'The worst that may befall me in this case, If I refuse to wed Demetrius'.

The worst in this case is the fact that if Hermia does not marry Demetrius, she will be beheaded and she is prepared to take that risk so that she can be with Lysander. The play about how love affects this group in particular and it shows all the different relationships between the four lovers: Hermia, Helena, Lysander and Demetrius. This is one of Shakespeare's more humourous plays and this is showed in the love of these four people.

Puck affects their love in very different ways because the potions he puts into their eyes force them to fall in love with all the wrong people. Puck is the center of most of these deeds and it is because of him that this poem becomes so funny.

Another group of people affected by love are the fairies. One big issue is when the king of the fairies, Oberon and Titania, get mixed up in different relationships. To begin with, Puck who causes a lot of trouble, puts a potion in Titania's eyes on purpose as Oberon has told him to do so, so she will fall in love with him again.

He ends up doing this at the wrong time and she wakes up and sees Bottom (the ass) sitting next to her. Oberon is furious with this and he sends Puck to put another potion in Titania's eyes to reverse it.

This dilemma also happens with the lords and ladies as Puck, again puts a potion in Lysander's eyes and also Demtrius's eyes which means they both fall for Helena and understandably, she thinks that they are trying to make a fool of her:
'But you must join in souls to mock me too?'

At the end of the play, there are three main couples who get married as this is one of Shakespeare's happier plays unlike most of them.

The three couples are Lysander and Hermia, Demetrius and Helena as Demetrius still has the potion in his eyes and Theseus and Hippolyta who are the king and queen of the land. Ultimately, everything works out for the best as all the couples get married and live happily ever after.

The third and final group affected with the issue of love are the Townspeople who are the workers in the town and throughout the play, these people set up a play of their own to signify the wedding of Theseus and Hippolyta, the rulers of the land. There are six main characters in this play: Quince, Bottom, Flute, Snout, Starveling and Snug all with different roles in the play and each with ordinary day jobs. Firstly there is Peter Quince who is like the leader of the pack and tells the others what to do and where to go.

Then there is Nick Bottom who is an ordinary weaver and plays the character Pyramus in the play. Francis Flute is a bellows-mender and plays Pyramus's partner Thisbe as they usually used men for women's parts then. Tom Snout is a tinker and he plays a wall which he isn't too happy about.

The last two characters are Robin Starveling who plays Moonshine and Snug who plays Lion. Altogether, the actors aren't very good as they keep forgeting their lines and getting mixed up:
'Thisbe, the flowers of odious savours sweet-.' Quince:' Odours - 'Odorus'!'

This shows the characters are quite stupid and also add a bit of humour to the story-line. Puck, the fairy is linked with this particular group in many ways aswell as being liked with the other two groups. He plays parts in the play and also does a lot of things to the lords and ladies such as accidently putting potions in their eyes.

Most of the play is linked by Puck as he is the fairy who causes all the trouble and messes with people's lives. A lot of characters rely on Puck to do their deeds for them. Finally, the workers finish their play and all the couples get married. In the end, all is happy and cheerful and Puck ends it by saying a pleasant poem to the audience.

I think that this poem was one of Shakespeare's happiest and best plays and I would recommend it to anyone who likes Shakespeare.

Thank you for taking the time to read my review and hope that you will rate the other reviews I have already written.

Connor


 
Pictures
William Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream (DVD) Picture 19148833 tb
A Midsummer Night's Dream Poster

How helpful would this review be to a person making a buying decision? Rating guidelines

exceptional

very helpful

helpful

somewhat helpful

not helpful

off topic

Products you might be interested in »

Walk The Line (DVD)

Walk The Line (DVD)

(+) A Fascinating Insight into Johnny Cash's Life
(-) I Can't Think of Any

User reviews (28)

Buy now for only £ 2.46

American History X (DVD)

American History X (DVD)

(+) Never a boring moment. Keeps you gripped.
(-) Squeamish moments.

User reviews (111)

Buy now for only £ 0.28

Meet Joe Black (DVD)

Meet Joe Black (DVD)

Production Year: 1998 - Drama - Director: Martin Brest - Original Language: English - Classification: 12 years and over - Starring: Brad Pitt, Anthony Hopkins, Marcia Gay Harden, Jake Weber, Claire Forlani, Jeffrey Tambor

User reviews (36)

Buy now for only £ 1.32

The Notebook (DVD)

The Notebook (DVD)

Production Year: 2004 - Drama - Director: Nick Cassavetes - Original Language: English - Classification: 15 years and over, 12 years and over - Starring: Rachel McAdams, Ryan Gosling, Gena Rowlands

User reviews (60)

Buy now for only £ 0.23

The Godfather Trilogy (The Coppola Restoration) (Box Set) (Blu-ray) Jack And The Beanstalk - The Real Story (DVD)

Jack And The Beanstalk - The Real Story (DVD)

(+) Disc would make a nice Frisbee
(-) Too many to count.

User reviews (4)

Buy now for only £ 0.01

Comments about this review »

Doni07 24.03.2007 14:55

How do I get 'ciao' to delete my review?

COOOEEE 18.03.2007 22:52

You need to actully get the review deleted as ciao do not move them the correct categories anymore. Once done you can then repost the review at http://www.ciao.co.uk/A_Midsummer_Night_s_Dream_William_Shakespeare__5111285

Soho_Black 14.02.2007 19:30

This is still showing as in the DVD section to me. Let me know when it does finally get moved and I'll re-rate as appropriate.

Compare prices for William Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream (DVD) »

1 to 5 out of 217 offers for William Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream (DVD) Show all offers   sorted by: Price 
A Midsummer Night's Dream (Shakespeare Stories) - 1841213322

A Midsummer Night's Dream (Shakespeare Stories) - 1841213322

Pages: 64, Paperback, Orchard

amazon marketplace books

Postage & Packaging£2.75
AvailabilityUsually dispatched within 1-2 business days...
 Visit Shop  >
amazon marketplace b...
A Midsummer Night's Dream (Dover Thrift) - 048627067X

A Midsummer Night's Dream (Dover Thrift) - 048627067X

Pages: 80, Edition: New edition, Paperback, Dover Publications Inc.

amazon marketplace books

Postage & Packaging£2.75
AvailabilityUsually dispatched within 1-2 business days...
 Visit Shop  >
amazon marketplace b...
A Midsummer Night's Dream (Actors on Shakespeare) - 0571217966

A Midsummer Night's Dream (Actors on Shakespeare) - 0571217966

Pages: 96, Paperback, Faber and Faber

amazon marketplace books

Postage & Packaging£2.75
AvailabilityUsually dispatched within 1-2 business days...
 Visit Shop  >
amazon marketplace b...
3 by Shakespeare: WITH A Midsummer Night's Dream AND Romeo and Juliet AND Richard III (Dov ...

3 by Shakespeare: WITH A Midsummer Night's Dream AND Romeo and Juliet AND Richard III (Dov ...

Pages: 288, Paperback, Dover Publications Inc.

amazon marketplace books

Postage & Packaging£2.75
AvailabilityUsually dispatched within 1-2 business days...
 Visit Shop  >
amazon marketplace b...




Are you the manufacturer / provider of William Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream (DVD)? Click here