The Role of Nick Bottom and the Significance of His Portrayal

The Role of Nick Bottom and the Significance of His Portrayal The significance and role of Nick Bottom is made prominent by Shakespeare. This is due to the fact that the play he is in is relevant not just to the text, but also to Shakespeare in terms of his personal life and in historical context. Nick Bottom is part of the mechanicals who are a group of six men who meet to rehearse and later perform a play. Five of the mechanicals are performers and one is a narrator. Nick Bottom plays Pyramus in this play. It is based around two characters that fall in love; however circumstances prevent them from seeing each other. The play is to be performed for Theseus and Hippolyta at their wedding. The†¦show more content†¦As a result a law was passed preventing acting from taking place on the streets, as outside theatre groups were of a poor standard. Shakespeare used this criticism in order to show that he didn’t look highly on amateur acting performing his ‘art’. This is emphasised by Shakespeare by the way in which he portrays the mechanicals, with their incompetent acting skills. In Act four, scene two, Bottom has a nightmare, it is the way that he deals with this nightmare which is not only crucial to understanding the character of Bottom, but also to the social commentaries that Shakespeare is making. He shows his fear but then turns it into a ballad, this illustrates the power of the text to take problems and fears and convert them into comedy. This is Shakespeare’s commentary on the nature of his work and its utility, of taking fear and making hilarity; yet another occasion when the character of Bottom shows his significance to the play. There are several reasons why the play performed by the mechanicals is significant, to the overall play, as well as providing an element of comedy. This is shown by the resemblance of the characters between the plays. Pyramus and Thisbe face parental disapproval in the play within a play, similarly to Hermia and Lysander. Both plays also have a recurrent theme of romantic confusion; Pyramus believes that Thisbe has been killed by the lion, and theShow MoreRelatedThe Great Gatsby By F. Scott Fitzgerald1840 Words   |  8 PagesGatsby, plays the role of the wealthy cultural icon, throwing grand parties while being adored by many. His intentions, however, resonate on a deeper level than simply rising above in social status. All that Gatsby does is based around winning the heart of his long time love, Daisy Buchanan. While Daisy is beautiful, her beauty is not what mesmerizes Gatsby, but her wealth. Gatsby being born into a poor family generated an obsession with wealth and status th at he has worked to attain his whole life. InRead MoreBrand Building Blocks96400 Words   |  386 Pagesunderstand its role in each context in which it is involved. Further, the relationships between brands (and subbrands) must be clarified both strategically and with respect to customer perceptions. Why is this brand complexity emerging? The market fragmentation and brand proliferation mentioned above have occurred because a new market or product often leads to a new brand or subbrand. Another driving force is cost: There is a tendency to use established brands in different contexts and roles because