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The quote "If we shadows have offended" illustrates the connection between Theatre and Magic.  The word shadows .... 

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The quote "If we shadows have offended" illustrates the connection between Theatre and Magic.  The word shadows .... 

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Theatre can influence the audience’s feelings, comedy makes them laugh, tragedy makes them cry. Similarly, magic can alter ones’ feelings, love-in-idleness can make people fall in love madly with the first thing they see. A play in theatre is based on reality, audience is able to connect with the the plot line or the actors, eg, to laugh at their mistakes, to feel happy during the marriage. In watching a play, the audience believes and uphold the illusion of theatre, it is as if the audience is also under a spell.

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Lucy, Nicole, Agnes, Yanni
Before the play of Pyramus and Thisbe began, almost every character falls asleep in the forest. This suggests that it is possible that what happens afterwards was all the imagination of the characters or caused by the fairies’ magical powers. Magic plays a significant role in disrupting the rehearsals of the craftsmen’s play, which is going to be performed in a theatre. For example,  Puck turns Bottom into an asshead and causes the others to be scared and run away, this disrupts their rehearsal. After experiencing the magical incident of being turned into an asshead, Bottom awes at this and decides to write a ballad about it after the play “Pyramus and Thisbe”, showing that magic can affect theatrical ideas. In the theatre, the audience perceives magic as reality. The actors(theatre) and the fairies(magic) are both considered “shadows”, which means they are just projections of reality and not real. For example, when Theseus is watching the disastrous “Pyramus and Thisbe”, he comments “ the best in this kind are but shadows”, which means the actors, no matter good or bad, are just projections of the real world. On the other hand, Oberon and Puck call themselves shadow creatures. To link the magic world and the theatre, there is a parabasis in the last scene - Puck the fairy steps out of his role and addresses the audience directly as an actor, calling himself and the other actors “we shadows”, both showing farewell to the audience as an actor and apologising to the characters in AMND as a fairy.

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What are the links between Theatre and Magic in AMND?

The moon: supernatural powers

Theseus was complaining about the how long the old moon wanes

Eugeus accuses Lysander for putting spells on Hermia with the help of the moon

The fairies are related to Hecate, goddess of the moon

However the craftsmen's play turned the moon into a character and personified it

Shadows

Oberon is referred as the King of Shadows

Shadows are also used to refer to the actors (the best in this kind are but shadows)

Brings things back to normal

Although it brings confusion, it also helps resolve the problems caused by magic when Oberon casts the potion the second time

Is a significant part of the plot as it created comedy and balance

Once magic is combined with love, anything can happen

Titania falling in love with Bottom is queer as normally people wouldn’t fall in love with an ass

“Fourth wall” in theatre

“Fourth wall”-a term used to describe the separation between the drama and the audience

If we shadows have offended,Think but this, and all is mended,That you have but slumbered here.While these visions did appear. And this weak and idle theme,No more yielding but a dream

Here Puck breaks the fourth wall

Theatre and magic are both illusions, making people wonder what is real and what is not.

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A play is the illusion of the real world. A play within a play reinforces the idea of illusions

Actors are “shadows”, similar but not quite identical in a way; they are only projections of real men

“The best in this kind are but shadows”

“If we shadows have offended,”

The two layers not only creates comedy, but seeing the characters view their own illusions could possibly let the audience reflect on their real lifes just as the characters in the play

The magic love potion creates plot development for the play, creating chaos and conflict, merging the storylines into one big climax in the magic forest.

The fairies, with magic, knowledge and link to nature are more powerful than the athenians, and possibly are aware of beyond the fourth wall (Puck), but they also cannot escape the effects of love and emotions

Possibly showing how the audience can also be affected

It seems ironic that love and magic plays a huge role in the play and yet is called a “weak and idle theme”

Although we cannot rely on illusions, we can still learn from these parallel shadows.

Although people shouldn’t be blinded by illusion in love, we also need imagination to uphold illusions to let the “shadows” of reality seem real.

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1. Comedic effect

2. The magic that made the lovers irrational creates a series of comedic scenes, creating a comedic effect, contributing to the fact that this play is a comedy.

3. Doubling in AMND

4. Pyramus and Thisbe are likely to be played by the same set of actors who would have always played Titania and Oberon simultaneously. This already established that magic and theatre are often linked to one another

5. Theatre often mirrors reality, but magic is much more accepted in theatre, yet both are inextricably linked

1. Pyramus and Thisbe is often so unrealistic the audience would think there are other forces such as magic behind it.

2. Theatre itself aims to create situations in reality which are not probable.

3. The audience of AMND would question the link between what they are watching and the influence of magic as the play suggests that magic or supernatural forces have a part to play in theatre, which reflects the reality.

6. Parallelism between the craftsmen’s Pyramus and Thisbe and the lovers’ situations which were caused by magic

1. Both started with elopement and the presence of blocking figures which are parental figures

2. The lines in Pyramus and Thisbe often mirror the lines of the lovers (eg Pyramus’ overuse of interjections “O grim looked night ect” mirrors Helena’s reaction when she pursues Demetrius in the forest)

7. Emphasis of the moon’s presence during Pyramus and Thisbe

1. “Lunatic” the presence of the moon often suggests some supernatural and evil happenings that is related to some kind of madness

2. The madness of pyramus and thisbe is the irrational and impulsive lovers somewhat similar to romeo and juliet they do not make sure f the happenings around them before doing something “mad” like killing themselves, the moon is said to have these magic powers to drive people irrational and mad, like pyramus and thisbe, who killed themselves, their behaviour is unexplainable by reality and will often be related to magic

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Katrina Ho, Queency Leung, Charmaine Lau

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Katrina Ho, Queency Leung, Charmaine Lau

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The theatre creates an illusion without magic, the actors are supposed to maintain an illusion that what they are performing on stage is reality.
However, the craftsmen fail to do so, as they believe the illusion they portray on stage is so real that the nobles will take it literally.
Theatre and magic are similar in a way that they are both a kind of illusion. They make us believe in what is not real.
The “shadows” Puck mentions can both be referring to theatre and magic.
It can either mean the actors being shadows of a character and reality, or the fairies who have the power of magic, who are shadows of human beings.

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Group 4 (Miao Hoi Ching, Eleanor, Bertha)

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Group 4 (Miao Hoi Ching, Eleanor, Bertha)

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The main conflict of the play is that Lysander and Hermia can’t get married because his father Egeus doesn’t agree with their marriage; and by the law of Athens, the marriage of the daughter must be decided by the father. Even Shakespeare cannot go against the law. Therefore, the only reasonable solution is magic, as magic is unexplainable. The main conflict of the play is solved with the help of magic-the love spell. Magic caused the 4 lovers to fall in love with their rightful person and therefore resolved the conflict. The use of magic in theatre wouldn’t go against the core values of the audience. Also, it makes sure that the play ends as a comedy and has a happy ending. The element of magic adds to the comedy in theatre. All the comedic scenes of their insulting, Titania falling in love with Bottom wouldn’t have happened if magic wasn’t present. Magic is an important element of comedy that creates funny moments in the theatre and for the audience to laugh at. Magic in theatre allows the conflicts to be resolved, while providing a comedic element to the audience. Magic benefits both the characters on stage, while entertaining the audience with comedy.

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Group 7 (Zoe Chan, Janice Cheung, Natalie Leung)

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Group 7 (Zoe Chan, Janice Cheung, Natalie Leung)

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The theatre is a place that separates the theatrical world from reality, a place that allows magic and imagination, where actors in the play are like projections of reality. The magic involved, shows the unlimited imagination in Shakespeare’s world. In the magical forest, mythical creatures such as fairies exist, not only do they have magical powers to maintain peace in nature and reality, they are also able to play tricks on humans. For example, Puck applies magic to the Athenian lovers and Titania, causing confusion as the lovers could not resist magic. Demetrius and Lysander can’t help with falling in love with the first thing they see, Helena; and Titania is forced to fall in love with the assheaded Bottom. This reinforces the idea that in a theatre, where everything is known to be an illusion, anything can be possible, including the existence of magic. The plot does not have to be logical.

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Group 3 (Kylie Yeung, Wong Ka Yu, Kristie Sin)

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Group 3 (Kylie Yeung, Wong Ka Yu, Kristie Sin)

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Magic and theatre:

The theatre itself is a place for illusion as there is an invisible wall between the actors and the audience. Magic is used in the play, such as the love potion that was being used on the lovers, causing them to fall in and out of love.

The theatre adds support to the illusion of magic, or in other words, the fourth wall, and allows physical comedy along with stage directions in the theatre as Puck chases the lovers away by using magic and pretending to be Demetrius/Lysander, also resolving the conflict between the lovers with the help of the theatre.

By breaking the fourth wall, the actors are breaking the illusion of the play created by magic.

The magic in the play is a message to the audience that everything that happens within the play is just a dream and separates the illusion of the play from the reality of theatre.

In act five, the craftsmen break the fourth wall consistently to create comedic effect since the main conflict has already been resolved and magic is no longer needed. However, in the end, the fairies use the element of magic once again to give blessings to the new couple with the help of change in setting in the theatre.