Reading a play aloud is quite difficult because you have to say the character's name--colon--and what they say. In the beginning, it was awkward to listen to, as well. Furthermore, I had to stop every so often in the first couple scenes to set the stage. "Oh that's Egeus, Hermia's father. You don't need to know about him. The Duke wants Hermia to marry Demetrius but she loves Lysander. Nuptial hour draws on apace? Oh it means that Theseus and Hippolyta are going to get married soon. Hippolyta? She's the queen of the amazons. You know who they were? Etc..." Once the characters are down, and the motivations and plot set, it's really not hard to fall into the story, and the scenes are quite short and manageable. The language, of course, is so rich, even for Shakespeare.
Characters and Plot:
There are no better characters--and especially no better plots--that are both as culturally relevant and as deeply embodied as in these plays. It was quite fun revisiting this work, and, as always, you notice something new. This time around I was noting that the entire last act is the performance of Bottom's play for the Duke's wedding--which is quite striking because you've been seeing them rehearse the play all along and you already know the plot of this story and the characters. However, the performance remains interesting by the live-reactions of the in-play audience, made up of the four lovers and the Duke and Duchess, who are enjoying it as a bad piece of art, similarly to how folks are drawn to seen junk movies together, just for the joy of making fun of it. When Shakespeare ends the play, and he has Puck come out to ask the audience not to judge the play too harshly "If we shadows have offended..." I think it is a way of reminding the audience to just enjoy the delights present and to not be too critical. It's an interesting argument for low brow art, in what we assume is a piece of high brow art. But it's not, really. And totally suitable for kids.
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