As with every play we read this quarter, we started A Midsummer Night s Dream with only a text. Reading the script is the foundation ofShakespeare, and the least evolved of the ways that one can experienceit. There is no one to interpret the words, no body movement o!r voiceinflection to indicate meaning or intention. All meaning that a readerunderstands comes from the words alone. The simplicity of text providesa broad ground for imagination, in that every reader can come away fromthe text with a different conception of what went on. The words aremerely the puzzle pieces individuals put together to bring coherence andlogic to the play. Although we all read generally the same words, wecan see that vastly different plays arise depending on who interpretsthem. By interpreting the word-clues that Shakespeare wrote into thescript to direct the performance of the play, we were able to imaginegestures, expressions, and movements appropriate to the intention of theplaywright. An example of this can be seen in the different Romeo andJuliets: Luhrman clearly had a more modern vision after reading thescript than did Zeffirelli did only 18 years before. The liveperformance at the CalPoly theatre also carried !with it a verydifferent feel less intense, more child-like and sweet with nearly thesame words. Reading also affects our experience in that without thetext, we would most likely not be able to enjoy Shakespeare at all;having the text makes Shakespeare widely accessible (available for freeon the web) to all that desire it. Once the script is obtained, anyonecan perform Shakespeare even everyday, non-actor citizens put onShakespeare whether it be in parks, at school, or in a forest. My experience reading Shakepearean plays has shown me that readingis necessary and fundamental part of grasping the fullness of the works.I had wanted to read A Midsummer Night's Dream for quite some time.Besides being a play by Shakespeare, I believe my desire to...
