Themes of Shakespeare

Description

it’s the merchant of Venice only, not Romeo and Juliet or a midsummer’s night dream

Give a thematic connection between the plot involving the four young lovers and the plot involving the “rude mechanicals” rehearsing their play. There is a structural connection in that both involve the Pyramus and Thisbe plot (parents object to one’s beloved so that one goes out into the woods to meet that person). But I want a thematic connection. When we talk about themes, we are talking about the “message” that the author is trying to send through his or her work of literature (though “message” is a bit crude, and “moral” is worse, and “hidden meaning” is worst of all).

So take this in parts. First, what idea does Shakespeare convey through the plot involving the four lovers in the forest? Second, what idea does Shakespeare convey through the working men of Athens and their misunderstandings of theatrical illusion? Then finally, how are those two ideas connected in some way? For each part, provide quotations from the play to substantiate your reading, to prove that it has validity. So give some quotes from the lover plot to show that it has the meaning you say it has. Give some quotes from the “rude mechanicals” plot to show the meaning that you say it does. And give some quotes to show how it is you think those two plots are connected, thematically.

You may well need to re-read the play to do well on this assignment.