{"id":879,"date":"2021-12-15T12:32:20","date_gmt":"2021-12-15T17:32:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.dickinson.edu\/digitalmethodsforthehumanities\/?page_id=879"},"modified":"2021-12-15T14:28:59","modified_gmt":"2021-12-15T19:28:59","slug":"part-i-annotation-on-midsummers-night-dream","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/blogs.dickinson.edu\/digitalmethodsforthehumanities\/digital-editions\/midsummer-nights-dream-act-1-scene-1\/part-i-annotation-on-midsummers-night-dream\/","title":{"rendered":"Part I: Annotation on\u00a0Midsummer’s Night Dream"},"content":{"rendered":"

Part: I Annotation on\u00a0<\/span>Midsummer’s Night Dream.<\/span><\/i>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

My final project is based on the\u00a0romantic and\u00a0comedic plays of William Shakespeare.\u00a0For the annotation segment, I chose to use the first scene of\u00a0<\/span>Midsummer Night\u2019s Dream.\u00a0<\/span><\/i>I did not use the entire scene\u00a0because I wanted to focus on\u00a0Theseus,\u00a0Hipployta,\u00a0Hermia\u00a0and her father\u00a0Egeus.\u00a0The goal of my annotations is to break down the mythological allusions that Shakespeare employs and to show the power struggle between\u00a0Hermia\u00a0and the men in her life.\u00a0I\u00a0highlighted\u00a0the significance of the title, the allusions to\u00a0Greek mythology,\u00a0and the literary devices. The\u00a0ending mostly\u00a0focused\u00a0on my analysis and the breakdown of the connections I made.\u00a0I have tagged each of my annotations to\u00a0make it\u00a0easier to search through and I have incorporated numerous links\u00a0on information that I think might interest readers.\u00a0My ideal\u00a0reader is someone who has a general\u00a0knowledge\u00a0of\u00a0the text and is interested in\u00a0the allusions and the\u00a0analyses\u00a0being made.\u00a0My reference page also includes\u00a0a summary\u00a0of the plot,\u00a0but it might\u00a0not\u00a0be enough for new readers of Shakespeare\u2019s work.\u00a0Because of the tagged function, readers can\u00a0directly\u00a0choose\u00a0to begin\u00a0at the area they are most interested in.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span>I began my annotations with information about the title, \u201cMidsummer\u00a0Night.\u201d\u00a0This night refers to a celebration\u00a0on the eve\u00a0and the day\u00a0of the summer\u00a0solstice.\u00a0Bonfires are lit all night and it is\u00a0believed\u00a0that supernatural forces make themselves known\u00a0to humans. I began with this\u00a0because\u00a0it\u00a0foreshadows the events that are about to take place.\u00a0Additionally,\u00a0Shakespeare\u2019s use of this holiday speaks to the social tension between Christianity and the previous\u00a0faiths\u00a0that existed.\u00a0I inserted a\u00a0link to a\u00a0website that gives\u00a0more information about\u00a0the celebration.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span>My next\u00a0annotation\u00a0focuses on the\u00a0allusions to\u00a0Greek mythology.\u00a0I begin with\u00a0the story of Theseus and Hippolyta, two famous characters in\u00a0mythology..\u00a0There are various accounts to their\u00a0story,\u00a0and\u00a0I highlight two sources\u00a0 that might have influenced Shakespeare\u2019s narration.\u00a0I cite the work of\u00a0Christine de\u00a0Pizan\u00a0who was famous for her\u00a0happy-ending\u00a0account of Theseus and the\u00a0Hippolyta\u00a0story\u00a0in the 1500s,\u00a0compared\u00a0to\u00a0Plutarch\u2019s version, in which Hippolyta dies in battle. I have added the sources of\u00a0Pizan\u2019s\u00a0work so readers can find it and have also incorporated links and websites about the Theseus and Hippolyta affair so readers can deduce which version fits better for their understanding.\u00a0Another example\u00a0of mythology\u00a0is\u00a0the\u00a0mention of the\u00a0moon.\u00a0Hippolyta\u00a0is the first to use it when she complains that the moon is moving\u00a0too\u00a0slow\u00a0towards her wedding day.\u00a0As she explains,\u00a0\u201cAnother moon; but oh, methinks, how slow\/<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>This old moon wanes! She lingers my\u00a0desires,\u201d (1.1.). The reference to the moon\u00a0refers to Diana,\u00a0the goddess of hunting who was most affiliated to the moon, and a guardian of virginal women. I have\u00a0also\u00a0linked resources\u00a0for curious readers interested in Diana and what she stood for.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>The last leg of my annotations focuses on the analysis of the scene, specifically the\u00a0dialogue\u00a0between Theseus,\u00a0Hermia,\u00a0and her\u00a0father,\u00a0Egeus.\u00a0The\u00a0introduction to Theseus\u00a0and\u00a0Hippolyta\u2019s\u00a0wedding plans\u00a0speaks to the role of female agency, and like the\u00a0role of the\u00a0title, foreshadows the lack thereof in the play.\u00a0Shakespeare\u00a0ignores the forced and difficult decision that marriage to Theseus might have been for Hippolyta, especially when he waged war on her country for dominion.\u00a0 This directly plays into the next event that happens in the scene: Hermia\u2019s refusal to marry her father\u2019s chosen mate, Demetrius. In this section, I focus more on elaborating on certain phrases.\u00a0An example is the\u00a0dialogue in which\u00a0Hermia\u00a0informs\u00a0Theseus that\u00a0she\u00a0is<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>refusing to marry Demetrius. In rejecting Demetrius, she is rejecting her father\u2019s power over her. But even as she does so, she is careful to assert the power of Theseus and Egeus over her, especially when she states, \u201cI know not by what power I am made bold, \/Nor how it may concern my modesty<\/span>\/\u00a0<\/span>In such a presence here to plead my thoughts:\u201d\u00a0She affirms\u00a0their\u00a0power and in doing so, does not threaten them\u00a0even though her refusal of\u00a0Egeus\u2019\u00a0choice\u00a0is a direct opposition to his power over her.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span>The analysis is to add another layer\u00a0a reader might have missed, and the\u00a0allusions and literary devices helps tie it together.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0Homepage<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Part: I Annotation on\u00a0Midsummer’s Night Dream.\u00a0 My final project is based on the\u00a0romantic and\u00a0comedic plays of William Shakespeare.\u00a0For the annotation segment, I chose to use the first scene of\u00a0Midsummer Night\u2019s Dream.\u00a0I did not use the entire scene\u00a0because I wanted to focus on\u00a0Theseus,\u00a0Hipployta,\u00a0Hermia\u00a0and her father\u00a0Egeus.\u00a0The goal of my annotations is to break down the mythological allusions … Continue reading Part I: Annotation on\u00a0Midsummer’s Night Dream<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4697,"featured_media":0,"parent":488,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-879","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.dickinson.edu\/digitalmethodsforthehumanities\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/879","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.dickinson.edu\/digitalmethodsforthehumanities\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.dickinson.edu\/digitalmethodsforthehumanities\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.dickinson.edu\/digitalmethodsforthehumanities\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4697"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.dickinson.edu\/digitalmethodsforthehumanities\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=879"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.dickinson.edu\/digitalmethodsforthehumanities\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/879\/revisions"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.dickinson.edu\/digitalmethodsforthehumanities\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/488"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.dickinson.edu\/digitalmethodsforthehumanities\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=879"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}