Does Shakespeare make any serious points in A midsummer nights dream,or is it just a comedy’shakespeares play, A midsummer nights dreamis a comedy which also deals with some serious issues. The play was written inShakespearean times as a comedy.
The play was written to entertain two verydifferent groups of people. The upper class, and the lower class citizens, Twodifferent levels of theater had to be written to entertain them both. Anentertaining and comical part, for both groups, would have been the use offairies and mystical magic in the play. In those days most grown adults werevery superstitious and believed in such things. The fairies and magic broughtcomedy to the play because, although the people were superstitious, they alsoknew the spirit characters in the play were fanciful and fictional.
Shakespeareused these characters to bring mischief to the story which caused many of thecomical incidents that happened through the play. The most mischievous and therefor the most comical and entertaining spirit was Oberons servant Puck. Puckwas quick tongued and meddling. He was also quite famous for being so.
Puckcreated a great deal of trouble when, trying to follow Oberons orders, hemistakes Lysander for Demetrius. It is comical that this simple mistake, whichwas hardly his fault, causes such a mess of all the relationships in the play. “What hast thou done? Thou hast mistaken quite. And laid the love juice onsome true loves sight.
” Oberon An event in the play, which was written ascomedy appealing to the lower class, was the happenings which lead the fairyqueen, Titania, to fall in love with a man that has been enchanted and looks allthe world like an ass. Oberon drops love potion into Titanias eyes whichmakes her fall for a man that Puck has prepared. “My mistress with a monsteris in love” “When in that moment it came to pass, Titania waked andstraightway loved an ass” Act 3, scene 2. The scene where the fairy queentakes the ass to bed is most entertaining to the lower class because they were alittle less educated and most of the clever humor went straight over theirheads.
It was also comical because the ass was so ugly and the queen was sobeautiful, and as everyone knows, only the charming, handsome men get thebeautiful women. “My Oberon! What visions have I seen! Methought I wasenamoured of an ass!” Titania. The man didnt realize that the queen wascharmed, and was vain enough to believe all the wonderful things she said abouthim. This was funny because everyone always like to have a laugh at people whothink so highly of themselves. In the play there are a group of actors thatgreatly contribute to the comedy of this play.
We laugh at things that appearhopeless. And these poor towns folk come actors, are just that. One of theactors is shy, the other is a man trying to play a woman and another is ahopeless over actor who wants to steal the spot light. They all make fools ofthem selves in order to impress Theseus and his court at his wedding banquet. The over simplicity of their production makes to be very entertaining. Despitethe humor in A midsummer nights dream, Shakespeare also deals with manyserious issues in this play.
One of these is that love is blind. This is evidentin many of the relationships between the characters in the play. Both Hermia andHelena fall in love blindly, that is that they fall in love with the leastlogical person. Hermia is in love with Lysander despite the fact that her fatherwould rather her die than to marry him. It would be most logical for her to loveDemetrius and live happily ever after, but that is rarely the way love goes. Helena fell in love with Demetruis who was so in love with Hermia, he barelyeven noticed that Helena existed.
If it wasnt for the magical happening inthe forest that night, it would have been unlikely that these characters wouldhave ended up as happy as they did. “hings base and vile, holding no quantity,Love can transpose to form and dignity. Love looks not with the eyes but withthe mind; And therefore is winged Cupid painted blind. ” Helena, Act 1, scene 1A instance in Shakespeares play where the theme love is blind is muchmore literal is the act between Titania and the ass. When Titania fell in lovewith Bottom, despite the ugly exterior, she still thought him the most gorgeouscreature alive.
Most of the characters in the play were in love, but that lovewas not always returned. Helena and Demetrius are the best example of this. Helena was rejected by Demetrius time and time again, but this just made herlove him more. ” I love thee not, there for pursue me not!” DemetriusDemetrius, on the other hand, was madly in love with Hermia. Although she wantednothing to do with him because she was so in love with Lysander.
And all thisrejection was even before the meddlesome fairies had a hand in it. When Puckplaced the love potion on Lysanders eyes, things just got worse. Lysanderrejected Hermias love and both he and Demetrius aimed their affections atHelena, leaving poor Hermia feeling betrayed. Hermia thought that the two menwere teasing her and denied both of them her love.
Another is marital problems,this is a serious problem that still occurs today. In A midsummer nightsdream, Oberon and Titania arent officially married, but they may as wellbe. They fight like Husband and wife. This is mainly due to Oberons jealousyover a child he thinks might be Titanias. “What jealous Oberon! Fairies,skip hence; I have forsworn his bed and company. ” Titania In the time the playwas written, there werent any marriage councilors and therefore Oberon usedmagic to patch things up.
These and more aspects of relationships are veryrealistic and serious points that Shakespeare explores in this play. Shakespeares play A midsummer nights dream has been well written soas it combines in an entertaining way, both humor and serious issues.
