Final Humanities Essay:
Although to some it may seem the authority figures in A Midsummer Night’s Dream are clearly labeled; I perceive their position and role in society varies dramatically from today’s generic authority figure’s which makes it hard to distinguish the authority from the common class. This is shown through a variety of characters throughout the play and also most authority in today’s world.
Unlike A Midsummer Night’s Dream, authority figures in today’s society have very clearly labeled uniforms which give them a distinguishing feature making them clearly separate from the common class. For example, any type of authority such as a police man, guard, or even the employees at Wal-Mart have some sort of distinguishing feature that sets them apart from the common class. An example of this is the Stanford Prison Experiment that was conducted in 1971. In this twisted experiment volunteers were placed in either the role of a prisoner or a guard. As the time passed the prison guards became very violent and manipulated their authority over the other prisoners. These guards weren’t any better then the prisoners but when you give them a uniform and a badge the power goes straight to their heads. Most of the time the distinguishing figure is some type of uniform, but sometimes it can include a badge or just something simple like the Stanford Prison Experiment had. Even though the uniform might be something very simple it is always clear which people are in charge. Some may think this is only an American thing but, believe it or not, this is also true in other countries outside of the US. For example, North Korea does the same thing. It may seem like they go to the very extreme in most case scenarios, but actually their authority isn’t much different from the rest of the world. Yes they do have an overwhelming number of guards and protection, but the basic concept of authority still runs similar roots. Just look at the White House security, or even the security surrounding banks; they all wear something very similar to North Korea and have basically the same job. In the real word our perception of authority is very twisted and once it is broken down it becomes very apparent that we share very similar traits to the rest of the world such as uniforms that make it easy to distinguish authority.
Although A Midsummer Night’s dream can be perceived as very different than life today, I will argue that the authority roles are played similarly because both are in charge of a group of people. If you were to ask most people to describe an “authority figure” they would most likely give the most basic generalization and say they rule over people or are “important.” In all reality, no matter how stereotypical this may sound, it is true. All people we label as authority have some type of power over us. For example, in most companies there is some form of manager. Of course they are present for the benefit of the whole group but they have tremendous power over the rest of the employees. This type of ruler is also present in A Midsummer Night’s Dream. For example, Oberon, the fairy king, has Puck who is basically his servant throughout the entire play. Also, Titania has a group of fairies that she bosses around. I believe at some points throughout this play some may perceive this obvious separation between the common folk and the hierarchy as diminishing to the common folk and a promotion of slavery. For example, the entire argument between Oberon and Titania is about the possession of a servant. “It lies in you. Give me one of your servants and i’ll go with thee.” This line that Oberon says to Titania is almost his way of undermining her authority and taking the power back. This is especially present when he uses the trade of her servant for his love. Although it is taken with a whimsical approach I argue that it has a darkened context for that time period which is very similar to the authority in today’s world.
After observing the way in which characters in a Midsummer Night’s Dream respond to authority, it became very clear it was much different from modern day society. Most reactions to authority throughout the play are very formal yet mindless. The servants do their job, give it to their master and move on with their lives with little to no enthusiasm. The one scene that defies this relationship between authority and common folk is the scene with the lovers, Egeus and Theseus. When Lysander is being tormented by Egus he ignores Egeus's authority and goes straight to the Duke showing his defence in this scene. “I am, my lord, as well derived as he.” This is the one scene throughout the entire play in which the stereotypical relationship between authority and the common is defied. In the rest of the play this idea is never presented in such defiance as this scene and most of the play continues on with the stereotypical version of authority. As for today’s society the defiance is most more prominent. I mean we have thousands of buildings dedicated to putting people who break the rules and go against society’s unspoken rules away. They change the reaction we should all have to authority. I don’t think this rebel like behavior was as present in Shakespeare's time, which leads to the play being more formal than modern day society.
Some may perceive the authority figures in A Midsummer Night’s dream to be alienated from what we are used to in our society, but after deeper analysis I have concluded even with the differences there are still some similarities to compare which makes this play so diverse. Some of the lines seem very stereotypical but with a closer look different perspectives on the authority at the time is revealed and is easily compared to today.
Sources:
"Stanford Prison Experiment." The : A Simulation Study of the Psychology of Imprisonment. N.p., n.d. Web. 12 May 2015. <http://www.prisonexp.org/>.
Shakespeare, William, and R. A. Foakes. "Act 1, Scene 1." A Midsummer Night's Dream.
Cambridge: Cambridge UP, 1984. Print.
Shakespeare, William, and R. A. Foakes. "Act 1, Scene 2." A Midsummer Night's Dream.
Cambridge: Cambridge UP, 1984. Print.
Unlike A Midsummer Night’s Dream, authority figures in today’s society have very clearly labeled uniforms which give them a distinguishing feature making them clearly separate from the common class. For example, any type of authority such as a police man, guard, or even the employees at Wal-Mart have some sort of distinguishing feature that sets them apart from the common class. An example of this is the Stanford Prison Experiment that was conducted in 1971. In this twisted experiment volunteers were placed in either the role of a prisoner or a guard. As the time passed the prison guards became very violent and manipulated their authority over the other prisoners. These guards weren’t any better then the prisoners but when you give them a uniform and a badge the power goes straight to their heads. Most of the time the distinguishing figure is some type of uniform, but sometimes it can include a badge or just something simple like the Stanford Prison Experiment had. Even though the uniform might be something very simple it is always clear which people are in charge. Some may think this is only an American thing but, believe it or not, this is also true in other countries outside of the US. For example, North Korea does the same thing. It may seem like they go to the very extreme in most case scenarios, but actually their authority isn’t much different from the rest of the world. Yes they do have an overwhelming number of guards and protection, but the basic concept of authority still runs similar roots. Just look at the White House security, or even the security surrounding banks; they all wear something very similar to North Korea and have basically the same job. In the real word our perception of authority is very twisted and once it is broken down it becomes very apparent that we share very similar traits to the rest of the world such as uniforms that make it easy to distinguish authority.
Although A Midsummer Night’s dream can be perceived as very different than life today, I will argue that the authority roles are played similarly because both are in charge of a group of people. If you were to ask most people to describe an “authority figure” they would most likely give the most basic generalization and say they rule over people or are “important.” In all reality, no matter how stereotypical this may sound, it is true. All people we label as authority have some type of power over us. For example, in most companies there is some form of manager. Of course they are present for the benefit of the whole group but they have tremendous power over the rest of the employees. This type of ruler is also present in A Midsummer Night’s Dream. For example, Oberon, the fairy king, has Puck who is basically his servant throughout the entire play. Also, Titania has a group of fairies that she bosses around. I believe at some points throughout this play some may perceive this obvious separation between the common folk and the hierarchy as diminishing to the common folk and a promotion of slavery. For example, the entire argument between Oberon and Titania is about the possession of a servant. “It lies in you. Give me one of your servants and i’ll go with thee.” This line that Oberon says to Titania is almost his way of undermining her authority and taking the power back. This is especially present when he uses the trade of her servant for his love. Although it is taken with a whimsical approach I argue that it has a darkened context for that time period which is very similar to the authority in today’s world.
After observing the way in which characters in a Midsummer Night’s Dream respond to authority, it became very clear it was much different from modern day society. Most reactions to authority throughout the play are very formal yet mindless. The servants do their job, give it to their master and move on with their lives with little to no enthusiasm. The one scene that defies this relationship between authority and common folk is the scene with the lovers, Egeus and Theseus. When Lysander is being tormented by Egus he ignores Egeus's authority and goes straight to the Duke showing his defence in this scene. “I am, my lord, as well derived as he.” This is the one scene throughout the entire play in which the stereotypical relationship between authority and the common is defied. In the rest of the play this idea is never presented in such defiance as this scene and most of the play continues on with the stereotypical version of authority. As for today’s society the defiance is most more prominent. I mean we have thousands of buildings dedicated to putting people who break the rules and go against society’s unspoken rules away. They change the reaction we should all have to authority. I don’t think this rebel like behavior was as present in Shakespeare's time, which leads to the play being more formal than modern day society.
Some may perceive the authority figures in A Midsummer Night’s dream to be alienated from what we are used to in our society, but after deeper analysis I have concluded even with the differences there are still some similarities to compare which makes this play so diverse. Some of the lines seem very stereotypical but with a closer look different perspectives on the authority at the time is revealed and is easily compared to today.
Sources:
"Stanford Prison Experiment." The : A Simulation Study of the Psychology of Imprisonment. N.p., n.d. Web. 12 May 2015. <http://www.prisonexp.org/>.
Shakespeare, William, and R. A. Foakes. "Act 1, Scene 1." A Midsummer Night's Dream.
Cambridge: Cambridge UP, 1984. Print.
Shakespeare, William, and R. A. Foakes. "Act 1, Scene 2." A Midsummer Night's Dream.
Cambridge: Cambridge UP, 1984. Print.
Self Assessment:
The introduction and thesis summarizes your upcoming argument in a clear and
concise manner
Evidence for your score (use a quote from your paper):
My argument is not as packed full of information as others so I believe I did a good job making it as clear as possible with the narrow topic I selected. “I perceive their position and role in society varies dramatically from today’s generic authority figure’s which makes it hard to distinguish the authority from the common class.” I decided to choose a topic that was very specific which made it hard to create a broad and fluffy thesis but overall it was successful.
Each paragraph begin with clear topic sentences
Evidence for your score (use a quote from your paper):
I believe my topic sentences for all body paragraphs create a clear and to-the-point message to clear up any further confusion. For example this is the topic sentence for my first body paragraph.“Unlike A Midsummer Night’s Dream, authority figures in today’s society have very clearly labeled uniforms which give them a distinguishing feature making them clearly separate from the common class.” Clear, to-the-point and direct.
Each paragraph's evidence is relevant and clear. The analysis following the evidence
explains how the evidence proves the topic sentence.
Evidence for your score (use a quote from your paper):
In my rough draft I didn’t have very good evidence so when I went back and revised it I made sure that was my main focus. Every paragraph has at least one direct quote or relevant piece of evidence and clear analysis. “As the time passed the prison guards became very violent and manipulated their authority over the other prisoners. These guards weren’t any better then the prisoners but when you give them a uniform and a badge the power goes straight to their heads.” In this specific piece of evidence I was able to incorporate the analysis along with the explanation of the experiment.
Craftsmanship: (75 points)
There are no spelling errors or punctuation errors (esp. comma splices, incomplete
sentences, incorrect semicolons)
Evidence for your score (use a quote from your paper):
There might be a couple of comma splices but i’m not exactly sure how to fix them… Everything else is good though.
Evidence is cited correctly
Evidence for your score (use a quote from your paper):
I used EasyBib… also I even cited the script and act that I got the quote from.
Sentences are dynamic; they vary in length and use multiple structures (especially
concessive sentences or NPA's)
Evidence for your score (use a quote from your paper):
I try really hard to vary the sentence dynamics in everything I write just to spice it up a little bit. In each paragraph I focused on combining two sentences or even shorting a very long run on sentence if there was one previous to it. “I mean we have thousands of buildings dedicated to putting people who break the rules and go against society’s unspoken rules away. They change the reaction we should all have to authority.” In this example I followed up this longer scentce with a shorter sentence which shows dynamics.
Creativity: (50 points)
The thesis infers a hidden meaning beneath the obvious facts of the subject
Evidence for your score (use a quote from your paper):
My topic was pretty black and white but I tried to incorporate a hidden meaning and a deeper analysis by showing the evolution of authority from Shakespeare's time to today. “This is shown through a variety of characters throughout the play and also most authority in today’s world.”
Each paragraph creatively interprets the meaning of the evidence to further prove the
Evidence for your score (use a quote from your paper):
“It lies in you. Give me one of your servants and i’ll go with thee.” This line that Oberon says to Titania is almost his way of undermining her authority and taking the power back. This is especially present when he uses the trade of her servant for his love.” I am really proud of this analysis and I think it presents a whole new meaning to Oberon and Titania’s relationship and contrasting power.
The conclusion wraps the different layers of meaning into an easily summarized (yet
still complex) series of thoughts:
Evidence for your score (use a quote from your paper):
The conclusion is a great way to wrap up any final thoughts and to clear up any confusion. I believe I did this pretty well with the line, “but after deeper analysis I have concluded even with the differences there are still some similarities to compare which makes this play so diverse.”
Final grade: _____________190_____/200
Shakespeare Project Reflection:
The project consisted of many different elements that came together to create a successful end result. At the beginning of the project we started off by analyzing Shakespearean text and did something called a close reading where we recreated the text into our own words. After that we started analyzing the actual script and getting our roles in the play. I was Puck who is a playful fairy that also has a mischievous side too. When performing the play I found it very helpful to perform and act it out versus just reading it. When we first received the script I found it very hard to retain the information and understand what the play was about. Once I was able to act out the play it was much easier to follow the series of events. Most of us, including myself, are hands on learners which is the reason all of us did so well with this project.
I ended up really connecting to this project in the end. At first I didn’t really understand that we were acting it out but after we started run throughs it was just an amazing feeling. Overall I think the thing I most enjoyed about the project was the final performance. Even hours after I felt so exhilarated and alive. I admit it was a little nerve racking but in the end it was one of the most amazing feelings. For the academic elements I enjoyed the close reading so I kind of knew what I was talking about throughout the play.
This project was one of the most difficult projects we have done all year. Its not like the content was hard its just there was so much riding on the performance. Towards the end when the final performance was approaching the stress was rising with all the actors in the play. There was a time when I had barely any lines memorized and we had our first dress rehearsal. It was pretty stressful but in the end it worked out for the better and I knew all my lines after that.
Throughout this project I learned a lot about myself as a learner. I realized compromising is not one of my strong suits. My way or the highway basically. It was harder for me to take others people’s suggestions and not totally shoot down their contribution. I also learned that i’m a lot better actor the night of the performance then just during dress rehearsals which was kind of weird. I guess it was just harder to imagine the dress rehearsals were the actual performance so I didn’t try as hard as I should have. Overall I think this project didn’t reveal a lot a about me as learner but there were a couple of elements that shone through.
William Shakespeare is considered a legend in most culture and I believe he will continue to be. His work was much more than a bunch of lines and a couple of 2 dimensional characters. His characters were as relatable as they could be and I would argue they were definitely 3 dimensional. If his scripts were uncovered instead of just read so many hidden messages are revealed. So much time must have been put into these scripts because all lines have type of purpose and fit with the rest, whether it is through the rhythm or the rhyme scheme or many more hidden elements.
I ended up really connecting to this project in the end. At first I didn’t really understand that we were acting it out but after we started run throughs it was just an amazing feeling. Overall I think the thing I most enjoyed about the project was the final performance. Even hours after I felt so exhilarated and alive. I admit it was a little nerve racking but in the end it was one of the most amazing feelings. For the academic elements I enjoyed the close reading so I kind of knew what I was talking about throughout the play.
This project was one of the most difficult projects we have done all year. Its not like the content was hard its just there was so much riding on the performance. Towards the end when the final performance was approaching the stress was rising with all the actors in the play. There was a time when I had barely any lines memorized and we had our first dress rehearsal. It was pretty stressful but in the end it worked out for the better and I knew all my lines after that.
Throughout this project I learned a lot about myself as a learner. I realized compromising is not one of my strong suits. My way or the highway basically. It was harder for me to take others people’s suggestions and not totally shoot down their contribution. I also learned that i’m a lot better actor the night of the performance then just during dress rehearsals which was kind of weird. I guess it was just harder to imagine the dress rehearsals were the actual performance so I didn’t try as hard as I should have. Overall I think this project didn’t reveal a lot a about me as learner but there were a couple of elements that shone through.
William Shakespeare is considered a legend in most culture and I believe he will continue to be. His work was much more than a bunch of lines and a couple of 2 dimensional characters. His characters were as relatable as they could be and I would argue they were definitely 3 dimensional. If his scripts were uncovered instead of just read so many hidden messages are revealed. So much time must have been put into these scripts because all lines have type of purpose and fit with the rest, whether it is through the rhythm or the rhyme scheme or many more hidden elements.