Gaiman vs. Shakespeare

Gaiman's text and Shakespeare's text are very different. For one, Gaiman's text is in the form of a comic. If this were a few months ago my views may be different, but after reading a few comics so far this semester I have gained more of a liking for them, so in this case I found Gaiman's text a lot more interesting than just reading Shakespeare's play script. Another thing that was different about Gaiman's text was the language that was used. Gaiman used more modern English, so obviously it was easier for me to understand. Though the concepts of Shakespeare's play were interesting and a lot of times just insane, it was often times hard for me to grasp those concepts and understand what exactly was going on, due to the Old English Language that he used. Both plays were comedic, which is why I was able to enjoy both, but once again the language in Shakespeare's version was much more difficult to interpret which made it a little less enjoyable because I was having to think about what exactly every line meant. I think everyone is entitled to their own opinion about the Gainan's interpretation and I'm sure many people out there think it is destruction of Shakespeare's original version. I, on the other hand enjoyed it quite thoroughly and I do think, it gave me somewhat of a better understanding of Shakespeare's original. For example, I found the whole love triangle with Lysander, Hermia and Demetrius to be quite difficult to keep up with at times. But, in Gaiman's version it was straightforward. This quote in particular, tells pretty much exactly what is going on with out all the confusion,

 

                        That one up there, Lysander, 

                        he loves her, Hermia, but her dad, 

                        wants her to marry the other

                        one, Demetrius, see?

 

Instead of having in interpret every line of Shakespeare's play in order to know what exactly is going on, in Gaiman's version it is a little more straight forward, and for people like me that dont understand Old English, it is much easier to grasp. 

 

I enjoyed both versions, but I found Shakespeare's version much more complex and difficult to interpret, where as Gaiman's version I was given pictures and it was written in words I could better understand.

ACT 1, Scene 1 

Helena

How happy some o'er other some can be!

Through Athens I am thought as fair as she.

But what of that? Demetrius thinks not so;

He will not know what all but he do know:

And as he errs, doting on Hermia's eyes,

So I, admiring of his qualities:

Things base and vile, folding no quantity,

Love can transpose to form and dignity:

Love looks not with the eyes, but with the mind;

And therefore is wing'd Cupid painted blind:

Nor hath Love's mind of any judgement taste;

Wings and no eyes figure unheedy haste:

And therefore is Love said to be a child,

Because in choice he is so oft beguiled.

As waggish boys in game themselves forswear,

So the boy Love is perjured every where:

For ere Demetrius look'd on Hermia's eyne,

He hail'd down oaths that he was only mine;

And when this hail some heat from Hermia felt,

So he dissolved, and showers of oaths did melt.

I will go tell him of fair Hermia's flight:

Then to the wood will he to-morrow night

Pursue her; and for this intelligence

If I have thanks, it is a dear expense:

But herein mean I to enrich my pain,

To have his sight thither and back again.

My interpretation of what it is Helena is trying to say:

Helena feels she is just as good as Hermia, but apparently Demetrius does not agree. Demetrius doesnt know Helena loves him, he is too caught up in and in love with Hermia. As Demetrius is busy admiring Hermia, Helena is admiring and in love with Demetrius. I think she is trying to say that Demetrius is only seeing Hermia's beauty and what is on the outside, rather than what she is like on the inside. The only judgment Demetrius has is what he sees of Hermia, and that is beauty for which he has fallen for. She speaks of the immaturity of boys and the fact that Demetrius is committing perjury. She talks about how Demetrius looks at Hermia, but he took oaths that he was only Helena's. As soon as he fell for Hermia, all his oaths and vows he made disappeared and soon meant nothing.  She says she is going to tell Demetrius that Helena is leaving to run away with Lysander to get married. She thinks if he finds out about Hermia's flight, Demetrius will come back to her.

Titania and Oberon

This play was not interesting to me in the slightest and I'm going to have to say I had no idea what was going on throughout the majority of this play. I read it and even watched it and both left me confused. I had a lot of trouble remembering all the characters, which kind of makes it difficult to keep up with what was going on and to examine the relationships between characters. One relationship that I sort of understood and found some what interesting was the relationship between Titania and Oberon. Oberon is the king of the fairies and Titania is the Queen, aka his wife. Titania kidnaps an Indian prince, who Oberon wishes to make his knight. This causes conflict with the relationship between Titania and Oberon because Titania refuses to give up the prince. Titania refuses to sleep with her husband, until he rids the idea of making the boy his knight. As a sort of revenge Oberon puts a spell on Titania, making her fall in love with a creature that is half human half donkey. Oberon tricks Titania, while under the spell, convincing her to give him the boy and she does willingly. When she awakes from the spell the two reunite happily. I thought it was interesting how the two just forgave each other after the arguments they had and after Oberon took the fairy prince to be his knight...Yeah but over all I was pretty confused with what was even going on and with who for most of the play. 

Research Paper Thesis

The thesis I will be basing my research on has to do with self image and how media effects people in a negative way. I will be looking at The Bluest Eye, The Dove Ad, Emerson's quote, and then some articles, videos and websites that I will find on my own to relate to this thesis.