Shakespeare Case

Shakespeare uses unique language throughout his plays that can be interpreted in many ways. This is one of his trademarks and sometimes they are not translated to movies that are made in modern time. It is very difficult for a movie to capture the same ambiguity because of all the intricate parts that play a role in films. One of Shakespeare's ambiguous scenes in Midsummer's Night Dream is when Theseus says: "Hippolyta, I wooed thee with my sword" (Shakespeare). This can be interpreted as Theseus won Hippolyta's love through his power and his fighting skills or sex. The movie version that does well in recreating this ambiguous scene is the 1909 silent version of "Midsummer's Night Dream" because it captures both interpretations.

To start, although it is difficult to recreate the scene without words, the gestures are what allow for the different interpretations of Shakespeare's lines. The movie version starts with not just Theseus and Hippolyta talking about their wedding, which is when Theseus said: "Hippolyta, I wooed thee with my sword" (Shakespeare), but the rest of the main characters as well. Therefore, from the start it is more difficult to see when Theseus is talking to Hippolyta because they are not isolated. However, it is possible to see the first interpretation, Theseus winning Hippolyta's love through his fighting skills. First, Theseus seems to be holding a scepter which can also been interpreted as a sword which adds strength to the first interpretation. Furthermore, throughout the scene Theseus is making strong hand gestures which shows what a powerful man he is. While he is making those gestures he is also directing everyone around and making decisions for others. Lastly, during the scene Theseus is holding the scepter in a fighting position just like a sword. All of the discrete gestures gives more strength to the first interpretation that Hippolyta fell in love with him because of his power and fighting skills.

Furthermore, the second interpretation, Theseus winning Hippolyta's love through sex, is much harder to see because the two are not alone. Since the first interpretation was about Theseus's power it did not matter that there were other people in the scene because he was able to show dominance over them, but for the second interpretation it causes problems because they are not as sexual while around others. Therefore, the smallest