Throughout scene two Shakespeare uses a "play on words" to intrigue the audience, which, I wish we would have seen this play because it seems like a good one. BUT, we notice right in the middle, when Moth is speaking, he begins to rhyme when talking about the "color of a woman."
If she be made of white and red,
Her faults will ne'er be known,
For blushing cheeks by faults are bred
And fears by pale white shown:
Then if she fear, or be to blame,
By this you shall not know,
For still her cheeks possess the same
Which native she doth owe.
A dangerous rhyme, master, against the reason of
white and red.
This rhyming is one of the ways Shakespeare changes the tone of the scene a little bit. He uses it to get across a point, which, if said in natural terms, may go over the jovial audience's head.
This is a great post, and I'm curious about why you chose a picture from Singing in the Rain. It seems a great fit because of the "Moses supposes his toes'es are roses, but Moses supposes erroneously..." Was that what you were going for, or was there another reason you chose it?
ReplyDeleteWow you really know your movies. I was actually looking for the scene where he does a back-flip through the wall. I was going for a clip where the show advances, but is still fun to watch. That is a good catch regarding play on words though.
ReplyDeleteOne of my favorite movies, and a good example of the goofiness that we caught in Act I Scene II.
ReplyDeleteOh, and here's where you can find the scene you were looking for: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FW02c5UNGl0
Thanks for the insightful post! I think Shakespeare faced a similar problem in his time that people writing novels or for film/theater face today: having to weave a lot of the spectacle and elements of pure entertainment into something while not infringing upon the intregity of the plot or meaningfulness of a scene. The first example of this that comes to mind is The Dark Knight. It has a very deep, complicated plot which makes the audience ask themselves profound and difficult questions (Should the innocent people on one ferry save their own lives by blowing up the other ferry, full of convicts and criminals?). But, at teh same time, there is the undeniable extravaganza of amazing special effects to keep everyone interested and engaged, especially the crowd who might not care as much for the intellectual aspects of it.
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