Close Reading
Close Reading
Will Klumpenhower
Humanities
When Theseus gives a soliloquy after listening to the lovers’ strange ordeal in the forest, one would think that he is merely reflecting on the strange things that have happened. But does he really believe them? What does he make of the strange happenings in the forest?
Theseus is the Duke of Athens, and, as such, a very well-to-do man with seemingly little to do with the overall story except being the authority behind Egeus’ decisions concerning Hermia. He is only seen at the very beginning and very end, where all he does is make decisions, which makes sense; that’s essentially his job. First, he makes the decision to back Egeus, as I previously mentioned. At the end of the play, he decides to let the lovers marry who they wish and what play he wishes to see at his wedding, both good decisions, at least from the audience’s point of view. He seems to be a Shakespearean Spock, using his logic to solve problems. In the beginning, the logic is defined by the rules. Towards the end, it is based on what he thinks is right. Theseus seems to take the lovers’ story as a foolish account of delusioned lovers. In his little speech, he initially seems to disregard the story as absolute nonsense. He compares them to “madmen” and “lunatics”. He seems to take little interest in their story.
All this makes sense, but however, he also compares them to a poet. This makes one think of stories and imagination as not being absurd, but interesting and worthwhile. When you think of a poet, you picture people such as Shakespeare himself. You think of wonder and verse that binds together love and hate, passion and peace. A poet grasps his surroundings and makes sense of them. This makes for an unusual comparison alongside titles associated with madness and other things found in the fairy realm of Midsummer Night’s Dream. In the play, there is the world of the humans, where order and a dignified presence are valued. This is contrasted with the world of the forest, with madness and merriment, that no one departs from unscathed. Or perhaps unchanged is the better word. People are not the same once they come out. It is from this passage that perhaps J.R.R. Tolkien, another poet, applied the idea for Lothlorien, home of the elves. People do not come out of that wood unchanged as well, as Aragorn says. Just the mention of a poet can send the mind off on brilliant journeys of the imagination. Think of all the great stories to be told in verse: Homer’s Iliad and The Odyssey, Beowulf, Shakespeare himself, and then Tolkien taking ideas from each to form the Lord of the Rings, arguably the very pinnacle of fantasy. The mind of man imagines what is not said from a word, what is not heard from a pause, what is not seen from a glance. It is the most powerful machine in the world. If you control the mind, you control everything. But even the mind, with its unfailing creativity, its neverending curiosity, its ultimate superiority, can interpret things wrong. Which is why I believe that Theseus is not contemplating any deep forgotten memory, or any hidden meaning besides the wondrous story he has heard. Shakespeare is not putting any hidden meaning behind his pen. He is simply advancing the plot with an interesting little passage, enough to perhaps leave the audience with a little insight as to Theseus’ character, but not enough so that they get distracted from the story. He knows how to make a good play, so he doesn’t want the audience to be too deep in thought during the best part, the play that the mechanicals put on. And don’t you tell me that isn’t the best part. It is and you know it. It is a good thing that Shakespeare didn’t lace the unimportant parts with underlying meanings so we could have this wonderful piece of comedy for us to enjoy even now, over 400 years later.
13/15
3-meets all criteria
2-meets some criteria
1-meets one or no criteria
Do they address the three questions of a close reading--
What?
Why?
So What?
Yes
Does the author cite the text often in order to give evidence?
Does the author analyze the evidence sufficiently to explain their point?
Infrequently
Is the close reading free of grammatical errors such as comma splices and incomplete sentences? Is it a full page, single spaced?
Yes--a few small errors, see my comments
Will Klumpenhower
Humanities
When Theseus gives a soliloquy after listening to the lovers’ strange ordeal in the forest, one would think that he is merely reflecting on the strange things that have happened. But does he really believe them? What does he make of the strange happenings in the forest?
Theseus is the Duke of Athens, and, as such, a very well-to-do man with seemingly little to do with the overall story except being the authority behind Egeus’ decisions concerning Hermia. He is only seen at the very beginning and very end, where all he does is make decisions, which makes sense; that’s essentially his job. First, he makes the decision to back Egeus, as I previously mentioned. At the end of the play, he decides to let the lovers marry who they wish and what play he wishes to see at his wedding, both good decisions, at least from the audience’s point of view. He seems to be a Shakespearean Spock, using his logic to solve problems. In the beginning, the logic is defined by the rules. Towards the end, it is based on what he thinks is right. Theseus seems to take the lovers’ story as a foolish account of delusioned lovers. In his little speech, he initially seems to disregard the story as absolute nonsense. He compares them to “madmen” and “lunatics”. He seems to take little interest in their story.
All this makes sense, but however, he also compares them to a poet. This makes one think of stories and imagination as not being absurd, but interesting and worthwhile. When you think of a poet, you picture people such as Shakespeare himself. You think of wonder and verse that binds together love and hate, passion and peace. A poet grasps his surroundings and makes sense of them. This makes for an unusual comparison alongside titles associated with madness and other things found in the fairy realm of Midsummer Night’s Dream. In the play, there is the world of the humans, where order and a dignified presence are valued. This is contrasted with the world of the forest, with madness and merriment, that no one departs from unscathed. Or perhaps unchanged is the better word. People are not the same once they come out. It is from this passage that perhaps J.R.R. Tolkien, another poet, applied the idea for Lothlorien, home of the elves. People do not come out of that wood unchanged as well, as Aragorn says. Just the mention of a poet can send the mind off on brilliant journeys of the imagination. Think of all the great stories to be told in verse: Homer’s Iliad and The Odyssey, Beowulf, Shakespeare himself, and then Tolkien taking ideas from each to form the Lord of the Rings, arguably the very pinnacle of fantasy. The mind of man imagines what is not said from a word, what is not heard from a pause, what is not seen from a glance. It is the most powerful machine in the world. If you control the mind, you control everything. But even the mind, with its unfailing creativity, its neverending curiosity, its ultimate superiority, can interpret things wrong. Which is why I believe that Theseus is not contemplating any deep forgotten memory, or any hidden meaning besides the wondrous story he has heard. Shakespeare is not putting any hidden meaning behind his pen. He is simply advancing the plot with an interesting little passage, enough to perhaps leave the audience with a little insight as to Theseus’ character, but not enough so that they get distracted from the story. He knows how to make a good play, so he doesn’t want the audience to be too deep in thought during the best part, the play that the mechanicals put on. And don’t you tell me that isn’t the best part. It is and you know it. It is a good thing that Shakespeare didn’t lace the unimportant parts with underlying meanings so we could have this wonderful piece of comedy for us to enjoy even now, over 400 years later.
13/15
3-meets all criteria
2-meets some criteria
1-meets one or no criteria
Do they address the three questions of a close reading--
What?
Why?
So What?
Yes
Does the author cite the text often in order to give evidence?
Does the author analyze the evidence sufficiently to explain their point?
Infrequently
Is the close reading free of grammatical errors such as comma splices and incomplete sentences? Is it a full page, single spaced?
Yes--a few small errors, see my comments