A heartfelt tragedy and a whimsical comedy, both alike through history. Romeo and Juliet, and A Midsummer Night’s Dream are plays by William Shakespeare, set in the renaissance and Elizabethan eras of Europe. Both plays also contain deep historic roots in this time as well. Romeo and Juliet, as well as A Midsummer Night’s Dream are both based with historical setting, use allusions to reality, and use ideal characteristics of their times to all create realistic, history rooted plays that would live on for centuries.
To begin, the setting of Romeo and Juliet is a violently feuding city, reminiscent of Italy in the renaissance era. For example, as stated by Overview, “But Verona, like other ...view middle of the document...
In addition, Shakespeare uses allusions to relate A Midsummer Night’s Dream to the lives the audience watching, both in his time and later. For example, as stated by scholars, “Titania, as queen of the fairies in Midsummer Night’s Dream could be, at some degree identified with Queen Elizabeth.” (“Women in Shakespeare Comedies”). Shakespeare eludes the queen of his play to the queen at his time so people can relate to the play, and feel like they know the characters. This also creates a historically accurate play because even now, it is seen how the play relates to the time. He uses this to create a play that can be seen and related to by readers and watchers for many generations past him and his original audience. Furthermore, as statd by scholars, “About Titania, we learn from the play that she is a married woman, although we notice that Titania’s attitude is quite similar to the authoritative character of Queen Elizabeth.” (“Women in Shakespeare Comedies”). Shakespeare uses Titania as an allusion to Queen Elizabeth to create a historically accurate setting that can be seen and appreciated for time after his. The way he does this creates a historically accurate setting that keeps the reader/ watcher to stay to the end. To wrap up, Shakespeare uses characters to allude to real people that would be commonly known in the time that the plays are written.
Furthermore, Shakespeare’s characters in Romeo and Juliet and A Midsummer Night’s Dream conform to cultural beliefs and practices through their...
