In our relatively brief study of this Shakespearean comedy, we discussed a number of elements of the play that made the scenes and characters humorous and we even experimented with writing and staging our own versions of the play in order to grasp the humor in this comedy. Now that you've finished reading the play, what do you think the purpose of the Mechanical's play at the end of A Midsummer Night's Dream is? We're reading a play and then in the final act, the actors in the play we're reading decide to put on a play of their own...that seems weird, or does it? Explore some possible explanations for why a play within a play might add to the humor of the comedy, might shed some light on certain characters, might bring the actions of the entire play to a close, etc.
Instructions: The purpose of this blog is to extend the type of conversation we have in class to a written forum. You should feel free to explore your ideas, take risks and even dare to offer an interpretation that might be wrong. The point here is to articulate your thinking through written conversation just as we articulate our thinking through spoken conversation in class. You should submit your blog post no later than 10 pm on Wednesday evening. Since this is supposed to be a written conversation, you should read the contributions of your classmates as well as composing your own thoughtful post. Your post should be 5 to 7 sentences long and offer observations and insights regarding the prompt above. You are welcome to respond to, agree or disagree with the comments of others. Have fun!
