Shakespeares A Midsummer Nights Dream - Research Paper Example

of the of the English Literature ic and Modern)   Submitted Analysis and Literary Criticism of Shakespeare’s “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” Introduction William Shakespeare’s ‘A Midsummer Night’s Dream’ is arguably one of his best known comedies. Although the plot of this play is based on a whole lot of errors regarding fortunate and unfortunate elements, in this play Shakespeare has used the tool of fairy magic first to confuse things further and then to get them right in the end. Through it all, Shakespeare tries to prove that the course of love does indeed never run smooth and we should be prepared to lose our love before we can ever dream of finding it again. In other words, it is better to set the one we love free and see if he or she does indeed come back to us or not- that is the test of true love. Discussion Shakespeare’s tone in writing this comedy is purposely set very light. He wants the audience to regard it as nothing more than a midsummer night’s dream- hence the name. Though the plot reminds readers of The Two Gentleman of Verona, All’s Well that Ends Well and Much Ado about Nothing in their similarity regarding misidentification and resulting errors, Shakespeare does not want any kind of heavy handedness being associated with the script here. The entire script-despite its few stern and dramatic moments- as when Demetrius, Lysander and Hermia are brought into the court to face Theseus by Hermia’s irate father Egeus-can be thought to be that of light and flowery prose. A linguist would even estimate that the choice of words is simpler than Shakespeare has used in other plays, and comedies in particular. As the plot thickens, we get to those bumbling moments in the forest where Puck wreaks havoc to Oberon’s original plans and the beautiful Titania falls in love with Bottom who has been transformed into an ass. Shakespeare thus proves that love is blind- it relies not on the senses but the mind. It cannot be explained by logic, only felt. Due to Puck’s mishandling of the entire affair, Titania has fallen in love with Bottom, Lysander and Demetrius with Helena, and Hermia has been left out in the cold. Of course, Puck works his magic again and corrects things by making Lysander fall in love with Hermia. But the entire point of the play can be summed up in the argument that it sometimes takes more than logic and emotion to change the state of things- it takes a little magic or aid from a superpower-even Providence. In Midsummer Night’s Dream, there is also a lot of contrast in Shakespeare’s characters- from the beautiful Titania to the grotesque Bottom, the confidence of Bottom despite his ugliness and the hesitation of Helena despite her beauty. Puck loves to play pranks while others become its victims. On the whole the fine juxtaposition of events and characters makes this into one of Shakespeare’s most beloved comedies. In ‘A Midsummer Night’s Dream-Relating Ethics to Mutuality’, William Hawley comments upon the question of ethics that have to be solved within the context of the play. While busy with his own wedding celebrations, Theseus is interrupted with the case of Hermia, Lysander and Demetrius. Helena is absent. However it is clear that while Demetrius loves Hermia, the girl is herself in love with Lysander and therefore refuses to accede to her father’s wishes, although Demetrius loves her too. As disobeying her father would result in her being sent to a convent or being executed, Hermia and Lysander both plan to elope and get married at the house of Lysander’s aunt. But later as Helena comes to know of the plot, she tells Demertrius, hoping to regain his love. As these characters get lost in the forest, their fates become intertwined with a group of fairies led by Oberon and Titania, who are themselves at odds regarding the fate of a young Indian prince given to them by his mother. Amid their squabbling, as all are asleep, Oberon instructs Puck to spray Titania with the love potion- while asking him to do the same for Demetrius who he has seen mistreating Hermia. However as fate would have it, Puck inadvertently sprays Lysander who falls in love with Helena upon awakening. Now both men are in love with Helena, much to Hermia’s chagrin. We have a duality of two men in love with the same woman, while one stands alone. Thus we have Hermia’s stated vexation with Demetrius: ‘‘The more I hate, the more he follows me,’’ now echoed in Helena’s lament: ‘‘The more I love, the more he hateth me’’ (Act 1, Scene 1, v 198–99). Moreover, even supernatural intercession does not excuse the lovers’ ethical lapses, which will not be attributed to magic. There is no mystical charm that provokes Helena to debase herself before Demetrius: ‘‘Use me but as your spaniel: spurn me, strike me’’ (Act 2, Scene 1, v 205). Helena’s passivity is hardly more attractive than Demetrius’ inconstancy. By the same token, Lysander’s plain-spoken affection for the willing Hermia gives him no defense against a potion that inspires him to pursue Helena beyond all reasonable bounds of restraint Thus these characters are defined less by customary social roles than by the relations circumscribing them. Puck does not change their morals, he merely redirects the attraction felt by each for the other. Lysander insults Demetrius as being ‘‘spotted and inconstant,’’ but the elixir Puck administers merely instills a longing for love (Act 1, Scene1, v 110). Commenting on class differentiation in the context of ‘A Midsummer Night’s Dream’ Rebecca Ann Bach contends that it is a play that reduces men to animals. The animalistic nature of man is clearly portrayed in most of the characters, as grounded workmen are compared to lowly animals. Children, Jews and Africans are also regarded as beings lower on the totem pole of respect. For example Queen Hippolyta states: ‘Here come two noble beasts, in a man and a Lyon’(Act 5, Scene 1, v108-125). Whether she is referring to their temperament or social status, she is clearly distinguishing between them. In those times, Ethiopians and people of dark skins were also placed lower on the totem pole. A possible exception was tolerated if the person in question exhibited some dramatic or musical talent. Quince is compared to a ‘rough colte’ and a noisy child who makes ungoverned noises. Later, Flute compliments Pyramus’ beauty and calls him a sharp youth and a good-looking Jew, while Flute also compares Pyramus to a reliable horse. In those times, wild women with minds of their own were often compared to uncontrollable horses. The racial/religious slur on Jews embedded in Flute’s speech anticipates the series of slurs that Lysander uses to dismiss Hermia: ‘Away, you Ethiop’; ‘Hang off, thou cat, thou bur: vile thing, let loose; /Or I will shake thee from mee like a serpent’; ‘Out, tawny Tartar, out’. This series of slurs like Flute’s speech connects racialized human animals with nonhuman animals. When Hermia is undesirable she is a dark-skinned foreigner, and she is also a cat and a ‘vile thing’. Commenting on Lysander’s slurs, Kim Hall suggests that in A Midsummer Night’s Dream, ‘blackness is associated with femaleness, foreignness, political upheaval and chaos’ (Hall, 23). Bruce Boehrer has noted that plays in Shakespeare’s time often portrayed men as animals in respect of their nature and characteristics. The play is also noteworthy for its rendition of a play within a play as an ethical device. Here the workmen or play actors are commenting on nature in general but also give an insight into how the dilemmas that the play creates can be solved. In this respect Shakespeare’s ‘A Midsummer Night Dream’ cannot fail to leave an indelible mark on its audience. Shakespeare’s treatment of love in this play is thus in marked contrast to that in Romeo and Juliet, a tragedy in which both lovers commit suicide. Here we see the lighter side of love, with all the confusions ironed out in time for a suitable ending. The tone of the play remains light and apologetic to the end where the narrator begs the forgiveness of the audience if he has inadvertently hurt any feelings or if they did not enjoy the play. He encourages them to forget the whole thing and dismiss it as a dream, just as the main characters marvel at the change in themselves overnight as they awake from their final reverie in the forest. Conclusion We have thus seen that William Shakespeare’s ‘A Midsummer Night’s Dream’ while meant to be a light comedy nevertheless makes a serious comment on the nature of love and ethical behavior, and that though the course of love does not run smooth, it must in the end conquer all. That is its rightful place in society. Works Cited Bruce Boehrer. Shakespeare Among the Animals: Nature and Society in the Drama of Early Modern England .New York: Palgrave, 2002. Kim Hall. Things of Darkness: Economies of Race and Gender in Early Modern England. Ithaca: Cornell University Press, 1995, p. 23. Rebecca Ann Bach. The Animal Continuum in A Midsummer Night’s Dream. Textual Practice, Volume 24, Issue 1, pp 123-147. William Shakespeare. A Midsummer Night’s Dream. (Robert A. Foakes, ed). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2003. William M. Hawley. A Midsummer Night’s Dream-Relating Ethics to Mutuality. The European Legacy, Volume 15, Issue 2, 2010, pp 159-169. Read More