The Similarities and differences between SHAKESPEARE'S original version of a Midsummer Night's Dream and a filmed ADAPTATION
Drama Essay
A Midsummer Night’s Dream is one of Shakespeare’s most famous comedies that has been performed around the world for decades. What’s fascinating is the immense amount of differences that come with the experience of reading the play compared to watching it be performed. The version of A Midsummer Night’s Dream performed by The Royal Shakespeare Company embraces an interesting modern twist with the addition of a new character: a little boy with a big imagination. Hearing that The Royal Shakespeare Company is involved makes many think of a very traditional performance, but this imaginative modern performance changes Shakespeare’s vision completely. While Shakespeare’s original version focuses on a theme of love, this filmed version distorts the overall theme and emphasizes on the power of imagination.
This cinematographic version began almost like Alice in Wonderland, where the small boy fell asleep with Shakespeare’s classic play in hand and he began to dream. After getting up from his bed and traveling through an array of strange doors, he came upon Theseus and Hippolyta. Throughout the movie the audience continues with the little boy while he dreams and he follows the characters with silent interaction. It is not until the end that he is acknowledged by the cast in a large theater, and his dreams come true (A Midsummer Night’s Dream).
Many people overlook the fact that Shakespere’s original works were never meant to be read. In an article by Susan Spangler for State University at New York, she expresses strong feelings about teaching Shakespeare as written works in schools. She states that many themes, such as love in A Midsummer Night’s Dream, are lost in translation because of difficult language. It is much more beneficial for students to view Shakespeare’s play for comprehension and appreciation. Also, because Shakespeare’s plays are written in play form, he does not share elaborate descriptions for characters or setting with readers (130). Instead, those who came to watch his plays were given the characters as the director envisioned them, who was originally Shakespeare! This film made the characters much more modern, in both their clothes and the setting. The most modern characters were the craftsmen, who Shakespeare uses as comic relief throughout A Midsummer Night’s Dream. Quince and his friends wear sweaters and business coats and there is even a dart board on the wall, but none the less the dialogue is still the same (A Midsummer Night’s Dream).
The dialogue throughout the whole film is almost identical. In Shakespeare’s original version he begins his dialogue with “Now, fair Hippolyta,” (1.1.1), but in the movie it is not establish who Theseus, the first character Shakespeare introduces, was talking to. It may seem very unimportant, but it actually shows another difference between the written play and watching it. In reading, the audience would have no clue who he is talking to unless Shakespeare tells us, but in a filmed version it is easy to establish that Theseus is talking to his soon to be wife, Hippolyta, even while their backs are turned (A Midsummer Night’s Dream). Many other play to movie adaptations use the same technique and allow the audience to establish character backgrounds and relationships on their own instead of making it obvious like a play. Another point where the dialogue slightly changes is during the ending monologues. Theseus’s begins at “the iron tongue of midnight” (5.1.2210) and so much is cut out along with many of the other characters in the ending scene. Despite that, the director chose not to shorten Puck’s monologue (5.1.2275-2290) which ends both versions beautifully. The only difference is that during the filmed version the little boy is accepted into Puck’s arms and his dream ends a happy one.
Another difference between each version is the ability to keep track of all the characters and scene changes. Shakespeare is known for creating large amounts of characters and in written version, it is hard to keep track of all 23 of them. The filmed version however, makes it easy to follow each of their stories because of visualization, even with the addition of the little boy. This young child plays a huge role in the filmed version because of the way he brings on scene changes. The scene changes were very interesting, because the young boy is traveling through his dream instead of the traditional scene changes originally written by Shakespeare. For example, Act 1 Scene 2 in the original written version when Shakespeare introduces his comic relief characters, the little boy falls into their stove after traveling through his dream “wormhole”.
While Shakespeare’s original theme of love is forgotten behind the bright and inspiring story of the little boy’s imagination, this filmed adaptation does Shakespeare justice. With the filmed version, an audience can truly experience the magic of theater that Shakespeare originally intended on when writing these plays. Shakespeare had no idea his work would live on for centuries and wanted people to view his plays instead of reading this. His characters and the setting interpreted by Adrian Nobel leaves the audience with beautiful scenes and characters. Nobel also stays true to Shakespeare’s dialogue, even though his interpretations are slightly different. This version allows a whole new generation to enjoy Shakespeare’s work and many more to come.
Works Cited
A Midsummer Night's Dream. Dir. Adrian Noble. Perf. Lindsay Duncan and Alex Jennings.
Lionsgate, 2003. Amazon Instant Video.
Shakespeare, William. "A Midsummer Night's Dream." Open Source Shakespeare . George
Mason University. Web. 17 July 2014.
<http://www.opensourceshakespeare.org/views/plays/playmenu.php?WorkID=midsummer>.
Spangler, Susan. "Speaking My Mind: Stop Reading Shakespeare!" The English Journal 99.1
(2009): 130-32. 26 June 2009. Web. 30 July 2014.
A Midsummer Night's Dream. Dir. Adrian Noble. Perf. Lindsay Duncan and Alex Jennings.
Lionsgate, 2003. Amazon Instant Video.
Shakespeare, William. "A Midsummer Night's Dream." Open Source Shakespeare . George
Mason University. Web. 17 July 2014.
<http://www.opensourceshakespeare.org/views/plays/playmenu.php?WorkID=midsummer>.
Spangler, Susan. "Speaking My Mind: Stop Reading Shakespeare!" The English Journal 99.1
(2009): 130-32. 26 June 2009. Web. 30 July 2014.
Wikimedia Commons. Web. 30 July 2014.
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/60/A_Midsummer_Night%27s_Dream_1935.JPG
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/60/A_Midsummer_Night%27s_Dream_1935.JPG