Compare and Contrast one character from two Shakespeare Play

A detailed Summary of Compare and Contrast one character from two Shakespeare Play

Compare and contrast one character from each play that has gone through a transformation.

In Shakespeare's "The Taming of the Shrew" and " A Mid Summer Night's Dream" the transformation of Katherine revealed her good qualities while the transformation of Nick Bottom revealed non-redeeming qualities. The Oxford American Dictionary defines the concept "transform" as a change in appearance or character. Katherine experiences a change in character, while Nick Bottom experiences a change in appearance. This change the Bottom experienced, compliments the character he displays in "A Midsummer Night's Dream".

Katherine's transformation takes her from a reputed shrew to a role model and authoritative voice by the end of " Mid Summer Night' Dream". At the beginning of the play she is revered by the men of Padua. Gremio probably spoke for most of the men in Padua when he questions what he would do with Katherine. "To cart her rather; she is too rough for me" (Act 1.1 line 55). Carting the Shrew was common custom then. A disobedient wife would be placed in a cart and immersed into a pond or a river to teach her manners. By so doing, she would also suffer great humiliation when the community came to watch the activity and laugh. But ev

When Petruccio heard of Katherine's behavior he said, "I know she is an irksome brawling scold. If that be all I hear no harm" (Scene 11 lines 187-188) With this said, he decided to marry Katherine. When Petruccio first met Katherine, she strikes him in the face, and then challenges him. She declares that he would not strike her back if he were a gentleman (Act II.1 Lines 219-223). At this point Petruccio sees that he has a job carved out for him in "taming this Shrew". Katherine marries Petruccio in order to feel secure respected in her society.

It is possibly out of annoyance of Bottom's overconfidence in himself that Puck plays a trick on him, turning his head into one resembling that of an ass. It was this overconfidence that caused him to be blinded to the fact that he was wearing the head of an ass. When Quince saw him and exclaimed " O monstrous! O strange! We are haunted. Pray masters, fly, masters! Help!" he did not realize that something was wrong with him. His overconfidence led him believe that Titania was truly in love with him. He wasn't the least suspicious that order was out of whack. This is because everything seemed to be just the way he liked it.

The transformation of Bottom's head into that of an ass was a clever technique used by Shakespeare. By this time, many readers already thought Bottom's attitude was that of an ass. Therefore this transformation was not difficult for us to accept. There is also a message there from Shakespe

Some common words found in the essay are:
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Approximate Word count = 986
Approximate Pages = 4 (250 words per page double spaced)

Category: English