Friday, February 14, 2014

In Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream, what are some examples (besides the moon) of a time motif?

In Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's
Dream
, there are references to the motif of time. There
is a reference to the moon in Act One,
scene one, and also a reference to days: there are four days (a
passage of time) until the new moon. It refers to the slow pace of time until Theseus
and Hippolyta will be married—he is anxious to wed
Hippolyta.


readability="16">

THESEUS:


Now,
fair Hippolyta, our nuptial hour


Draws on apace; four happy
days bring in


Another moon; but, O, methinks, how
slow


This old moon wanes! She lingers my desires...
(I.i.1-4)



Hippolyta says that
the time will pass quickly enough. (Theseus has "won" Hippolyta by defeating her in war;
here he is trying to woo her, and she is slow to
respond.)


readability="7">

HIPPOLYTA:


Four
days will quickly steep themselves in night;


Four nights
will quickly dream away the time... (lines
7-8)



Next, Egeus brings his
daughter Hermia before the Duke to force her to marry Demetrius (who Hermia does not
love). Theseus reminds her that if she does not consent to her
father's wishes, she will either be put to death (as is the law of Athens, the setting
of the play) or enter a convent forever. The Duke tells Hermia to take some time to
think about it and gives her until his own wedding
day.



THESEUS:


Take
time to pause...



In
discussion, Lysander speaks to Hermia about how quickly hope ("bright things") fades
(referring, again, to the passage of time),
saying...


readability="11">

...Making it momentary as a
sound,


Swift as a shadow, short as any
dream...


...So quick bright things come to confusion.
(I.i.145-151)



When Helena
arrives, discouraged that Demetrius does not love her, Lysander and Hermia decide to
share their plans to elope, in order to comfort her. Then Hermia will no longer be in
the picture to distract Demetrius from Helena (and remember, he loved
her once). The plan they share also involves time: that the time
they have chosen to flee—under a cover of darkness—is
perfect:


readability="17">

Tomorrow night, when Phoebe doth
behold


Her silver visage in the watery
glass,


Decking with liquid pearl the bladed
grass,


A time that lovers' flights doth still
conceal,


Through Athens' gates have we devised to steal.
(214-218)



Titania and Oberon
meet in Act Two, scene one; they are fighting over a changeling whose mother—a friend of
Titania's—died while giving birth to him. Oberon wants the boy as a page, but his wife
refuses. Oberon asks his wife how long she intends to stay in the
woods where they have accidentally met.


readability="5">

OBERON:


How
long within this wood intend you stay?
(II.i.140)



Annoyed, Titania
leaves Oberon draws Puck, his "mischievous henchman," aside to recall a time when they
heard a mermaid's singing while she rode on a dolphin's back, and another time when
Oberon saw Cupid fire an arrow that missed its mark and fell to the earth. In
remembering, Oberon is referring to segments of time, seated deep in the king of the
fairies' memory.


readability="22">

OBERON:


Thou
rememberest


Since once I sat upon a
promontory,


And heard a mermaid, on a dolphin's
back


Uttering such dulcet and harmonious
breath…


…………………………


That very
time I saw...


Flying between the cold moon and the
earth


Cupid all arm'd; a certain aim he
took


At a fair vestal throned by the
west,


And loosed his love-shaft smartly from his bow
(II.i.150-162)



Time can refer
to what time it is, a segment of time (in the past or the future), the passage of time,
etc. There are many references, but finding them can be a
challenge.

No comments:

Post a Comment

What accomplishments did Bill Clinton have as president?

Of course, Bill Clinton's presidency will be most clearly remembered for the fact that he was only the second president ever...