Something

Peter Spiak
English 10H
Mr. Pitt
5-28-07



A Midsummer’s Nights’ Dream



	In the play A Midsummer’s Nights’ Dream by William Shakespeare another play is performed inside of the original play. The play-within-the-play is called “Pyramus and Thisbe”. A Midsummer’s Nights’ Dream was written by Shakespeare in the late 1500s. A Midsummer’s Nights’ Dream is a romantic comedy that takes place in Athens. The
original play and the play within a play share their differences and similarities.
	In Williams Shakespeare’s A Midsummer’s Nights’ Dream there is a play within a play performed in the mechanicals. They are as follow Nick Bottom, Peter Quince, Flute, Starveling, and Snout. These characters come together in act III to rehearse a play that they will be performing for the Duke and his wife on their wedding day. The play is called “Pyramus and Thisbe” and it’s a comedy that ends with a tragedy much like Shakespeare’s other play Romeo and Juliet. Bottom is assigned to play the role Pyramus, who is the main character in the play. Flute was to play the part of Thisbe, which is the lover of Pyramus. There are also the characters the wall and moonlight played by the other mechanicals. 
	The story of Pyramus and Thisbe relates to the main play of A Midsummer Night’s Dream in many ways. Both are comedies and they are about lovers who can not be together so they need to devise a plan to be together. In both cases they are to flee to 
another town in order to pursue their relationship. Lysander and Hermia are madly in love just like Pyramus and Thisbe. Lysander plans to run away with Hermia to his aunt’s house so they can be married. “Steal forth thy fathers house tomorrow night / and in the wood, a league without the town” (I.i.164-5). Lysander will take Hermia to his aunt’s house where the Athenian law can not pursue them. The same plan was reveal in “Pyramus and Thisbe”. They had arranged to meet at Ninus tomb later that night to escape there quarrelsome families. “Wilt thou meet me at ninny’s tomb straight away” (V.ii.202). These are the similarities shared by both plays.
	The play of “Pyramus and Thisbe” and Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream also have their many differences. In the real play there is no such tragic ending like there was in “Pyramus and Thisbe”. In A Midsummer Night’s Dream the lovers do encounter a problem when they are not allowed to be wed by Athenian law so they devise a plan. In the end it all works out and each man gets their women and all live happily ever after so to speak but in “Pyramus and Thisbe” this is not the case at all. In the play of Pyramus tragedy is what ends their story. They were supposed to meet each other at Ninus tomb but when Thisbe did not show Pyramus feared the worst and then he found a bloodied mantle that belonged to Thisbe. He had taken this evidence in the worst way. He had thought his Thisbe had died and now he could not go on living. He pulled out his blade and he committed suicide. “Thus I die thus, thus, thus / now I am dead/ now I am fled” (V.i.301-2).  Thisbe finds her way to the tomb and sees Pyramus’s dead body she takes her life too. In the real play all the lovers eventually end up together and they are married. These are the differences each play hold when compared to each other.
	During the performance of the play by the mechanicals many of Theseus’s guests at his wedding make comments about the play. They think it is not well performed and that it holds no class at all. Theseus makes a statement during the performance. He said “The best in this kind are but shadows; and/ the worse and no worse, if imagination amend them” (V.i.212-3).  What he means by this quote is that the best actors are the best and show no fault and the worse and no worse if we lend our imagination to them to help them along. This way the play is as good as they want it to be or as bad as they want it to be. The quote said by Theseus basically states the play is as good as the person wants it to be.
	Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream and the play-within-the-play shared their similarities and differences. In Shakespeare’s plays he did include many main key points in each play about his tale of lovers. He also included many magical and elements along with his characters of power. By entwining a play inside in outer play he was able to show the reader the different elements and how they were used.