- Essay: A Midsummer Night's Dream -

Your assignment is to write a brief essay (approximately 750 words, or 3 pp.) analyzing Titania's speech to Oberon about the "little changeling boy" (2.1.120-137). Oberon wants him; Titania has him; and in this speech she says why she will not give him up. As her previous speech makes clear, much hinges on their "dissension" (2.1.116).

The essay should pay close attention to the linguistic features of the specific passage, and it should have a guiding idea or, as it's called in the trade, a thesis to organize it. To find your idea, read the speech carefully, making sure you actually understand, not only the individual words, but why the character is using these words rather than any others. Do any of the words evoke images (imagery)? Do any of the images have interesting emotional connotations? Are there metaphors? Does one metaphor or image link in an interesting way to any other metaphor or image?

When you've done this, you should know what's of interest to you and be able to write it as a thesis-statement to guide you in the rest of the essay. You might, for instance, have an idea about how the speech reveals Titania's character or her relationship with Oberon; or about the way it participates in the movement of the plot, including the relation between the human characters and the gods; or about its internal verbal pattern or energy. Whatever your guiding idea, you should let your reader know about it early on. And whatever idea you explore, you should draw your illustrative and supporting material from the text by as close, detailed, and sensitive analysis as you can: What does this speech say? How does it say it? Why does it say it this way (as opposed to some other conceivable way)? Why this image or that metaphor or these rhythms? Shakespeare's language is very rich: it yields lots of profit to readers who invest their attention in it.

For further information and advice, go to Handbook: See especially: Analysis, Imagery, Metaphor, Tense, Thesis- Conclusion-Evidence, Titles, Verse and prose