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2.
Elizabethan Posture
Theseus sits on a
chair, whilst Lysander and Hermia kneel before him in a sort
of "Elizabethan" or western manner. When compared with the
patrons and "hostesses" still sitting around in the bar and
watching them, Hermia and Lysander may seem out of place
kneeling on the floor. Yet it should be noted that, along
with Philostrate, Hermia had been sitting at a table among
the other bar patrons at the beginning of the play proper.
Both have been summoned into the play-action at a signal (a
snap of the fingers) from Puck-Barman. Note that Puck/barman
is squatting on the bar, as if watching actors "acting". The
lovers' quaint way of kneeling, then, works to distinguish
the world of the play from the world of the bar.
See also:
School 3.
Egeus & Lysander
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