Friday, November 18, 2011

Epstein's Essay: Most Effective Example

In her essay, "A Midsummer Night's Dream," Norie Epstein offers us this thesis:

"Yet, upon closer examination, A Midsummer Night's Dream reveals, in disguised form, deep truths about our hidden emotional life, (189).

What evidence does Epstein offer us in her essay to prove that this thesis is, in fact, true?

Select the best quote from her essay that supports her thesis and tell us why this sentence is convincing.

11 comments:

  1. The quote or example that i believe to be the most effective and relates to the thesis of "A Midsummer Night's Dream reveals,in disguised form, deep truths about our hidden emotional life" is on page 172, end of the first paragraph, when Oberon sprinkles the juice on Titania.. and then the poem follows and basically says when she wakes she sees something gross and falls in love with it. This just shows how people react to their emotions and how Oberon did this out of jealousy and anger.

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  2. I think the best example of her thesis is the entire secong paragraph where she talks about how each of the lovers are interchangeable. It shows that even though there are no differences between Lysander and Demetrious or Helena and Hermia, Hermia, in her eyes, must have Lysander, Helena, in her eyes, must have Demetrious, and Demetrious, in his eyes, must have Hermia. That shows that love makes people blind to reason.

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  3. One of the best example is on page 171 where Norrie Epstein talks about the 'other visitors to the forest that night.' It reveals that others' perspectives and opinions can affect relationships from the outside. Shakespeare shows this through the mechanics and fairies and other 'other visitors' to the forest.

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  4. The best quote that supports this thesis is on page 173 the first paragraph "What does she (or he)see in him (or her)?" is taken to an extreme: Who among us, Shakespeare seems to ask, hasn't fallen for an ass and believed him (or her) a god?"
    This quote basically reveals that everyday people fall for people who aren't the best looking, but in their eyes is a "god." Someone might think an other is good looking and their friend might think him or her looks like a donkey. But in that person's eyes it really doesn't matter what they look like, it's all about who they are.

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  5. I agree with Kelly on the best quote supporting the thesis on page 173 "What does she (or he)see in him (or her)?" is taken to an extreme: Who among us, Shakespeare seems to ask, hasn't fallen for an ass and believed him (or her) a god?" I think that this supports the thesis because it tells us that people fall inlove and once they are inlove it doesn't matter what someone looks like and they love them for who they are. Like Kelly says, it doesn't matter what other people think because love is blinding and their opinions do not change the person's inlove.

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  6. i had the same quote as kelly. "What does she (or he)see in him (or her)? is taken to an extreme: Who among us, Shakespeare seems to ask, hasn't fallen for an ass and believed him (or her) a god?" from page 173. it explains how there are couples that you would never expect to be together and you kinda wonder how that happened. you think they must be like a god to the other person or else they wouldnt be together normally. in all honesty it only matters how you feel about the person and how you look at them. not what other people think.

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  7. I agree with Rob that the most effective quote would be "A Midsummer Night's Dream reveals,in disguised form, deep truths about our hidden emotional life" on page 172. It really tells you what the play is about but still leaves you with a sorta of mystery that you have to figure out yourself by reading it.

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  8. I think that the best quote to support the thesis appears on page 169 and 170. This is the whole second paragraph and it talks about how the characters are interchangable. It supports the thesis because it proves that even though the characters have their differences, they all relate and are based around the same idea.

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  9. I agree with Sam that the most effective quote is "But since we aren't under the lovers' spell, we see them with cool eyes of reason, and they all look alike to us." it says that we analyze it too much, but it makes us look at the truth about ourselves.

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  10. I also agree with kelly and mikayla with the quote on page 173"What does she (or he)see in him (or her)?" is taken to an extreme: Who among us, Shakespeare seems to ask, hasn't fallen for an ass and believed him (or her) a god?". this quote shows that people will not always fall in love with somebody just because of their looks, but becasue they love them for their personality. Even though many other people will think differently of that person, you see them in a much different way.

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  11. I think the best sentence that supports the thesis the most is on page 171. I agree with Garret that this is the only part that shows that other poeple may have something to do with relationships and in this case magic has to do with it. And this page really shows that.

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