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A Midsummer Nights Dream is one of Shakespeares earlier comedies and as with his others, he appeals to a very broad audience. In doing so, he relies upon his audience to use their imagination in obligatory ways. For example, Shakespeare simply adds a line "it is night" into his character's dialogue and the audience, upon hearing these words, is expected to "see" the darkness on stage. Utilizing this technique many times over in his plays, Shakespeare offers up the impression that he anticipates his audience's ability to use their imagination with comparative ease. In contrast, the rude mechanicals consisting of Bottom the weaver and an assembly of his friends, go into the woods to rehearse their own play (Pyramus and Thisbe) and seem to repeatedly miscalculate their audiences ability to make use of imagination.
Subsequently, Act III Scene I opens with the rude mechanicals discussing the ability of the audience to handle the character Pyramus getting killed with a sword. They do not think that the audience will be able to tolerate it, especially the ladies in the audience Therefore, the rude mechanicals solution to this difficulty is to change the scene by writing in a prologue. Bottom says, "Write me in a prologue, and let the prologue seem to say we will do no harm with our swords and that Pyramus is not killed; indeed for the more better assurance, tell them that I , Pyramus, am not Pyramus, but Bottom the weaver. This will put them out of fear." (.1. 15-1)
In contrast, Shakespeare feels no such need to coddle his audience. Shakespeare's characters uninhibitedly execute all sorts of slaughter, carnage and assassination and never once turns to the audience to say - "Oh, I am just an actor, therefore, do not be alarmed by the events on stage." It would ruin the performance and the fun, such is what happens to the rude mechanicals later when the audience is less than delighted with their performance.
Likewise, the rude mechanicals run into a predicament when they realize that there is a part in the play that requires moonlight. Unfortunately they lack the belief that the audience will be able to go along with this idea without actually seeing moonlight, so they look for a physical prop to illustrate this. One of the rude mechanicals, Snout says, "Doth the moon shine that night we play our play?" (.1) Consequently when they look at a calendar they are elated to find that the moon indeed will be out that night to light their play.
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Shakespeare, instead of depending on props at all to support his assertion of time or place, simply provides a note of this in his actors' conversations or actions. They say things like, "It is dark." or act like they are sleeping to portray night time, or to show a place characters merely make mention of it, "I am in Egypt." Another example of this is the rude mechanicals rehearsing their play in the woods. Shakespeare lets his audience know this (the stage never changes) when Quince says, "Pat, pat; and here's a marvelous convenient place for our rehearsal. This green plot shall be our stage, this hawthorn brake our tiring-house and we will do it in action as we will do it before the duke."(.1.1-5) In this way Shakespeare persuades the audience with a few choice descriptions to glimpse this wood, so green and with a thicket and trees, and not just any thicket but a hawthorn which creates a excellent picture in the spectators mind.
Again, in such a way Lysander says to Hermia early in the play when she is upset , "How now, my love? Why is your cheek so pale? How chance the roses there do fade so fast."(1.1) I can picture Hermia's paleness even today as I read the play without having to actually see it on her face. Similarly, in act II there is a narrative of the seasons that is incredibly vivid, "The seasons alter hoary-headed frosts Fall in the fresh lap of the crimson rose, And on old hiems thin and icy crown An odorous chaplet of sweet summer buds"(.1.107-110) These are visual descriptions in which everyone can relate. All have experienced the change of seasons and as a result, the audience within their imagination, becomes a part of the play encountering the seasons with the actors while gazing at the same plain stage.
In much the same way the rude mechanicals believe that the audience will experience the actions on stage as actual events and in view of this fact they seek to tone down the proceedings on stage. There is a lion in the play which Bottom and the rude mechanicals believe if he roars too loudly it will frighten audience and so they decide to restrain it. Bottom says, "I grant you, friends, if you should frighten the ladies out of their wits thy would have no discretion but to hang us, but I will aggravate my voice so that I will roar you as gently as any suckling dove." (.1.65-68) Furthermore, in this same line of thinking, both Shakespeare and the rude mechanicals belief in their audience's capacity for imagination is so strong they have no trouble considering the audience ability of envisioning a man dressed in woman's clothing, wearing a mask as an genuine woman .
As mentioned earlier, Shakespeare relies completely upon his audience to use their imagination to follow descriptions which generate images that they must accept to achieve any sort of believability in the play itself. In contrast, the rude mechanicals suspect that they must carry the audience to the image using physical elements conveyed on stage. They do not have as much faith in the audience's ability to think for themselves or suspend their disbelief for a moment to wander across a grassy meadow with an actors narrative.
Works Cited
Shakespeare, William. A Midsummer Night's Dream. Gen. Ed. Stephen Greenblatt. New York. W W Norton & Company, 17.
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