This paper looks at the many different views of love depicted in William Shakespeare's Midsummer Night's Dream. This play, like 20th century cubist art examines one issue by exposing many different sides and aspects. The Elizabethean era, like early 20th century was a time of great and rapid social change which fostered a different way of viewing familiar items and concepts.
A Cubist Perspective of Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream
by Ruthellen Cunnally
"The great cycle of the ages is renewed. Now Justice returns, returns the Golden Age; a new generation now descends from on high." - Virgil, Eclogues 1.5
As Virgil stated so many years ago, history is a cyclical phenomenon. The experiences of one age tend to be repeated in future generations. Knowing that, we should not be surprised to find the seeds of modern styles and philosophies sprouting in earlier ages.
Elizabethan England was a society undergoing major social changes. In religion the country had recently left the fold of Catholicism to establish the Church of England. While England during this time was a major world power, she also enjoyed a level of security thanks to her easily defended boundaries as an island nation with a powerful navy......
