A On A Midsummer Nights Dream - Case Study Example

May 3, A Study On A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Concentrating On The Idea Of Dreams Being The Reason For Supernatural Events, And The Dreams Being The Cause Of Repressed Desires Or Wish Fulfillment. Use Freud On Dreams To Analyze Dreams. The comedy “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” by William Shakespeare is a fanciful work with elements paralleling ideas proposed by Freud in “On Dreams”. The play begins with the nuptial of the Duke of Athens, Theseus and the Queen of Amazons, Hippolyta. Theseus is joyous with the prospect of the impending nuptial whereby it is interrupted by a vexing situation brought on by four Athenian young lovers, Hermia, Lysander, Demetrius and Helena. Hermia and Lysander are in love. Helena loves Demetrius but Demetrius has eyes only for Hermia. The situation is compounded by Egeus, the father of Hermia, who wishes Hermia to wed Demetrius and threatens her with death as penalty for disobeying a parent according to Athenian law. Theseus’s persuasions fail to move Hermia whereby Theseus proposed to Hermia: Take time to pause; and, by the nest new moon--/ The sealing-day betwist my love and me, / For everlasting bond of fellowship – / Upon that day either prepare to die / For disobedience to your father’s will, / Or else to wed Demetrius as he would; Or on Diana’s altar to protest /For aye austerity and single life. Theseus’s decision to stall is a latent manifestation that this seemingly insurmountable odd will somehow be resolved and everyone is restored to their rightful places with their lovers. After giving this admonition to Hermia, Theseus exits. This is when the dream instigator ignites in an attempt to thwart off the obstacles by fleeing and pursuing what is truly desirable. The first flight is seen in Lysander planning to elope with Hermia, to escape the laws of Athens and pursue a life together. The second flight is Demetrius on the trail of Hermia after Helena betrays the couple’s plans. Blinded by love for Hermia, Demetrius takes flight. Helena, utterly devoted to Demetrius, compares herself to a spaniel and follows doggedly. The star crossed lovers who converge in the forest are completely displaced, far from Athens and deep in fairyland. The unfulfilled wishes of the lovers have condensed to manifest a litany of fairy characters, Oberon, King of the Fairies, Titiania, Queen of the Fairies, Oberon’s servant Puck and Titania’s train of fairies. Like the lovers, Oberon also has an unfulfilled wish. He is at angst with the Fairy Queen over a changeling, whom he wants for a henchman. The Fairy Queen adamantly refuses his request and Oberon devises a plan to make an “ass” out of Titania for her outright refusal. Oberon instructs Puck to find a flower whose juice when applied to the eyes of the unwary, will fall in love with the first thing the eyes look upon. Feeling slighted by the Queen, Oberon wishes the Queen to fall in love with beastly creatures. At the same time, Oberon overhears the entreaties made by Helena to Demetrius proclaiming her love and how the words fall deaf on Demetrius. Oberon takes pity on Helena and instructs Puck to put drops of the flower’s juice on an Athenian youth. Seeing the sleeping Hermia and Lysander in the forest, Puck mistakes Lysander for Demetrius. As Helena passes through the forest, she chances upon Lysander and wakes him. Lysander falls madly in love with Helena upon waking up. Realizing the mistaken identity, Oberon instructs Puck to put the flower juice on Demetrius eyes. He too falls madly in love with Helena. The lovers pursue each other in the forest, each experiencing in turn unrequited love, requited love, spurned love and mutual love. Helena has been tormented by her unrequited love of Demetrius and spurned by him. Demetrius faces the same fate with Hermia, his love unrequited and spurned by Hermia. Hermia and Lysander are enamored in requited, mutual love. Hermia also has the adoration of both Demetrius and Lysander. With the interference of Oberon and the dream he induces with the magical flower, there is a complete role reversal. Hermia is now spurned by her true love, Lysander. Demetrius, who has been infatuated with Hermia is now madly in love with Helena. Helena feels mocked by all these utterances of love. Oberon has also applied the juice to the sleeping Titania, when wakened has fallen in love with one of the amateur actors, whose head Puck has changed into an Ass. Oberon’s wish to make an “ass” out of the Queen has indeed manifested. Oberon has also received what he desires, the Indian changeling from the Queen. With his wish fulfilled, Oberon proceeds to undo the mistaken identity of the lovers. He reverses a potion on Lysander’s eyes so he can go back to his true love, Hermia. He lets the flower’s magic stay with Demetrius to requite Helena’s love. Theseus and Hippolyta appear on a morning hunt and find the slumbering youths. After waking them up, Theseus finds that all is well as he wishes them to be. Theseus seems assured of the outcome. Does Theseus have the power to predict the future? The dreams in the forest are in fact unfulfilled wishes in disguise but the collective wishes are so strong to have conjured up the fairies and even bring about the desired outcome as everyone should like it to occur (Freud p26). The rivals Lysander and Demetrius seem to have the same agenda, that to win Hermia’s hand. Both of them suffer unfulfilled wishes and repressed desires. Lysander has the heart of Hermia but not the blessings of Hermia’s father. Demetrius has the favor of Hermia’s father but not the love from Hermia. In Oberon’s induced dream, the repressed desires have manifested the exact polar opposites, Lysander has forsaken his true love Hermia and in this dreamy state, believing he is in love with Helena instead. Demetrius who has spurned Helena all this time suddenly finds her the fairer “nymph”. The absurdity of the scenario is the repressed desire of Lysander and Demetrius made manifest. With Lysander falling out of love with Hermia, Hermia will be safe from death and cloister by defying her father and Hermia may accept Demetrius. With Demetrius falling out of love with Hermia, Hermia would be free from her father’s leash and he may accept Lysander in due course (Freud p19). The repressed desire is clearly not the most desirable outcome and “the peculiarities of the content is repugnant to the waking thought” (Freud p2). This explains why the dreams in the forest are almost completely forgotten upon waking up. This happy outcome is ultimately what everyone wishes. Works Cited Freud, S. The Standard Edition of the Complete Psychological Works of Sigmund Freud, Volume V (1900-1901): The Interpretation of Dreams (Second Part) and On Dreams, 629-686. 1901. Print Read More