A Midsummer

Night’s Dream

ANALYSIS OF THE PLAY

• In the midst of the winter of 1595 – 1596, Shakespeare visualized an ideal summer, and he compose A Midsummer Night’s Dream, probably on commission for a noble marriage, where first it was played.

• Its characters, Theseus and Hippolyta belong to ancient myth and legend. The lovers – Hermia, Helena, Lysander, and Demetrius – are of no definite time or place, since all young people in love notoriously dwell in a common element. The fairies – Titania, Oberon, Puck, and Bottom’s four chums – emerge from literary folklore and its magic. And finally, the “mechanicals” are English rustic artisans – the sublime Bottom, Peter Quince, Flute, Snout, Snug, and Starveling – and so come out of Shakespeare’s own countryside, where he grew up.

• From the title, we do know that it is, at least in part, a dream. Whose dream? One answer is: Bottom’s dream, because he is the protagonist of the play. Puck’s epilogue, however, calls it the audience’s dream. Another answer is: it could be anyone’s dream or any night in midsummer, when the world is largest.

• Bottom is Shakespeare’s Everyman, a true original clown rather than a fool or jester. He is a wise clown. There is no darkness in him, even when he is caught up in an enchanted condition.

• Puck, Bottom‘s antithesis, is a mischief maker at best. Puck’s alternate name in the play is Robin Goodfellow. The word puck originally meant a demon out for mischief or a wicked man, and Robin Goodfellow was once a popular name for the Devil.

• The Puck – Bottom contrast helps define the world of the Dream. Bottom, the best sort of natural man, is subject to the pranks of Puck, helpless to avoid them. Though the Dream is a romantic comedy, and not an allegory, part of it suggests that Bottom and Puck are invariable components of human.

• In Act III, Oberon mentioned about the flower love-in-idleness; “fair vestal, throned by the west”; whom Shakespeare refers to as Queen Elizabeth I. One function of the fairy vision is to constitute Shakespeare’s largest and most direct tribute to his monarch during his lifetime. Elizabeth’s choice of chastity opens up erotic possibilities for others, but at the high cost of accident and arbitrariness replacing her reasoned choice.

Perchance to Dream: Some facts about A

Midsummer Night’s Dream

• In traditional folklore, the fairy queen has no name. Shakespeare took the name Titania from Ovid's Metamorphoses, where it is an appellation given to the daughters of Titans.

• Cobweb is given her name because of how fragile a cobweb – reminding us how fragile this fairy is.

• Sweet Peaseblossom is given her name because peaseblossom the flower is a symbol of sweetness.

• Mustardseeds are very small so we know how tiny and vulnerable this fairy is.

• Oberon (also spelled Auberon) is a legendary king of the fairies in medieval and Renaissance literature.

• A Midsummer Night’s Dream is set in Greece, in a wood just outside Athens. Athens is one of the oldest named cities in the world. It also has been continuously inhabited for over 4000 years, becoming the leading city of Ancient Greece in the first millennium BC. Its cultural achievements during the 5th century BC laid the foundations of western civilization.

• British Astronomer William Herschel named the two moons of Uranus he discovered in 1787 after characters in the play, Oberon and Titania.

Characters of the Play

1. Theseus- duke of Athens- a hero from Greek mythology*his presence gives the readers idea that

the play takes place in a mythical Greek past.

- about to marry the conquered Amazon queen, Hippolyta

- confident, authoritative and benevolent 2. Hippolyta- queen of the Amazons- engaged to marry Theseus- although she is marrying Theseus

because he defeated her in combat, she does not act at all like an unwilling bride

3. Egeus- a respected noble man in Theseus’s

court- complains to Theseus about his

daughter, Hermia, who refuses to marry Demetrius, his choice for her

- asks Theseus to impose death penalty on her if she refuses to marry Demetrius

4. Hermia- Egeus’s daughter- a beautiful young woman of Athens- Demetrius and Lysander are in love

with her- strong-willed and independent- Hermia’s childhood friend

5. Lysander- a young nobleman of Athens- he is in love with Hermia- believes that “love must conquer all

obstacles”- persuades Hermia to run away from

home with him into the forest

6. Demetrius- a young nobleman of Athens- used to love Helena, but after she

fell in love with him, he changed his mind and pursued Hermia

7. Helena- a young woman of Athens- she is madly in love with Demetrius- tends to speak in a self-pitying tone 8. Robin Goodfellow- a mischievous fairy who delights in

playing pranks on mortals- sometimes referred to as Puck- Oberon’s jester- responsible for many of the

complications that propel the play

9. Oberon- king of fairies- begins the play at odds with his

wife, Titania, because she refuses to relinquish control of a young Indian prince whom he wants for a knight

10. Titania- queen of fairies- resist attempts of her husband,

Oberon, to make a knight out of the young Indian prince whom she has taken

•

11. Bottom- overconfident weaver chosen to

play Pyramus in a play a group of craftsmen decided to put on for Theseus’s wedding celebration

- full of advice and self-confidence- frequently makes silly mistakes and

misuses language 12. Mechanicals- a group of craftsmen preparing a

play for Theseus’s marriage celebration

- includes: Peter Quince, Francis Flute, Robin Starveling, Tom Snout, Snug, and Bottom

SUMMARY

ACT 1• Theseus, the Duke of Athens, is preparing for a large festival to mark his marriage to

Hippolyta, Queen of the Amazons. Egeus, a nobleman, arrives at Court accompanied by his daughter Hermia, the man she loves (Lysander), and the man he has chosen for her to marry (Demetrius). He begs Theseus for the ancient Athenian right to either make his daughter marry Demetrius or have the power to kill her. Theseus offers Hermia two options: she must marry Demetrius or join a nunnery.

• Lysander makes a plan for him and Hermia to go off into the woods the next night so that they can get married at his aunt's house outside Athens which she agreed upon. Helena arrives and laments the fact that Demetrius only has eyes for Hermia, even though she loves him far more than Hermia ever could. Lysander tells her not to worry since he and Hermia are sneaking away that night. Helena, now alone, decides she will tell Demetrius about Hermia's plans because that might make him start to love her again.

• The Mechanicals (workmen) are gathered to start rehearsing a play which they hope will be chosen as part of the celebrations for the royal wedding. Their leader Peter Quince hands out the parts for the play, which is based on the legend of Pyramus and Thisbe, and is meant to be a comedy and a tragedy at the same time. Nick Bottom enthusiastically wants to play all the parts! They all agree to meet in the woods outside of the city the next night to rehearse.

ACT 2• Puck appears with another fairy and reveals that his master, Oberon the king of the fairies, has had a major

argument with his wife Titania over the guardianship of a little Indian boy. Titania has him and jealous Oberon wants him. Oberon and Titania appear with their attendants and continue their quarrel. But Oberon is determined to have the boy and makes a plan to have his revenge on Titania. He sends Puck off to find a flower which produces a magic juice. He says he will streak this on Titania’s eyes while she sleeps so that when she wakes she will fall in love with the first thing she sees. He hopes it will be a lion, bear, wolf, bull or monkey. He will cure her only when she surrenders the Indian boy to him.

• Demetrius arrives, followed by lovelorn Helena. She adores him but he is having none of it. He says all sorts of nasty things to her then sets off into the woods with Helena not far behind. Oberon has watched their conversation and tells Puck that when he has got the magical flower he must use it on the “disdainful youth” (meaning Demetrius) so that he may wake up and fall in love with the “sweet Athenian lady” (meaning Helena.) Puck promises to do Oberon’s bidding.

• Titania gathers her fairies around her and they sing a lullaby. When she is asleep, Oberon squeezes the flower juice on Titania’s eyes.

• Lysander and Hermia come along and, feeling tired, they curl up for a sleep some distance apart. When Puck finds them he assumes Lysander to be Demetrius and streaks the magic juice on his eyes before returning to Oberon.

• Demetrius runs on, pursued by an increasingly desperate Helena. Lysander wakes up and, seeing Helena first, declares his love for her. Helena can’t understand his change of heart and thinks he is making fun of her. When Hermia wakes up the others have gone and she says she has had a nightmare and sets off to find Lysander.

ACT 3• The workmen are ready to rehearse. Bottom suggests Quince write a prologue so that their audience will

understand that no real killing takes place during their play and that the lion is not a real lion. Quince outlines how they will represent the moon and the wall with the chink in it through which the lovers, Pyramus and Thisbe, will talk. Puck is surprised to find the men so near the sleeping fairy queen and plots some fun at their expense. While Bottom is offstage Puck transforms him into an ass and when he comes back all his friends are frightened and run away. Bottom’s singing wakens Titania…who, because of Oberon’s magic, is instantly in love with him. She thinks he is wise and beautiful and asks him to sing again. She then gets her fairy band to wait on him, feeding him with tasty morsels and leads him off into her bower.

• A delighted Puck reports to Oberon that his mistress is love with a monster and the fairy king is extremely pleased, saying his plan couldn’t have worked out any better. He wants to know whether Puck managed to lace the Athenian boy’s eyes with the love potion and Puck confirms that he did. Just then Demetrius appears, being horrible to Hermia. Unhappy Hermia finally goes away and Demetrius lies down to sleep. Oberon realizes that Puck put the juice on the eyes of the wrong Athenian. He tells Puck to find Helena and fetch her to him so that he can put things right. He meanwhile squeezes the flower on Demetrius’s eyes. Speedy Puck returns to say that Helena and Lysander are at hand. Oberon tells him to stand aside, realizing that the noise of Lysander’s wooing and Helena not believing him will waken Demetrius. It does! Demetrius is immediately under Helena’s spell. There is lots of squabbling between all four young people about who loves who.

• Oberon is furious at Puck for the muddle he has made and commands that he arrange for Lysander to be separated from the others so that he can crush the herb into his eyes and cause him to think that everything has been a dream. He sets off to find Titania and ask for the little Indian boy. In return he will release her from the spell so she is no longer in love with Bottom. Puck does as Oberon commanded and while the lovers are asleep he squeezes the juice on Lysander’s eyes, reciting a magic spell to make him fall in love with Hermia again.

ACT 4• Titania and her fairies are making a fuss of Bottom until she sends the fairies away

and falls asleep with Bottom. Oberon tells Puck that Titania has handed over the little Indian boy so he will undo the magic and Bottom will go back to Athens thinking the events of the night have been just a dream. When Titania wakes up she and Oberon are reunited in love. They dance but when Puck says he hears the morning lark they take flight with Titania wanting to know what has happened.

• Theseus, Hippolyta and the rest of the royal court arrive in a hunting party and discover the sleeping Lysander, Demetrius, Helena and Hermia. Huntsmen sound their horns, which wake the quartet. Lysander speaks up but Egeus interrupts to demand justice. Demetrius explains what has been going on, how they have all been falling in and out of love. Now Demetrius loves Helena and Lysander loves Hermia. Theseus over-rules Egeus and says that the couples will be married alongside himself and Hippolyta. Happily they all leave for Athens.

• Now it is Bottom’s turn to wake up. He tells us that he had had a vision and that he will ask Peter Quince to write a ballad about it so that he can sing it at the end of the play before the Duke.

ACT 5

• At court, Hippolyta and Theseus are discussing the strange story of the night which the lovers have told them. The quartet then arrive and Theseus wants to know what entertainment has been arranged to while away the hours until bed time. Philostrate reads out a list of possible plays, including Pyramus and Thisbe, which he says is the effort of the hard-working men of Athens. Theseus picks that one, even though Philostrate warns against it.

• With a flourish of trumpets Peter Quince enters to recite the prologue. The play is performed and Bottom as Pyramus steals the show - despite the best efforts of his supporting cast. But Theseus begs them not to deliver an epilogue! After the play there is a dance and at midnight the royals and lovers go to bed because it is “almost fairy time”. The fairies to end the play as Titania and Oberon dance and cast their magic spell and blessing over the marriage beds of the royal couple and the lovers.

Famous Lines and Quotations

• "The course of true love never did run smooth". Quote (Act I, Scene I).

• "Love looks not with the eyes, but with the mind, and therefore is winged Cupid painted blind". Quote (Act I, Scene I)

• My heart Is true as steel. A Midsummer Night’s Dream Quote. Act ii. Scene. 1.

• The iron tongue of midnight hath told twelve;Lovers, to bed; 'tis almost fairy time.

—After the play is over, Theseus announces that it is past midnight.

• Cupid is a knavish lad,Thus to make poor females mad.

—Puck's comment on the bedraggled Hermia, as she gives up the pursuit of Helena and Lysander.

• Lord, what fools these mortals be!—Puck's gleeful comment on the fallings in

and out of love of Helena, Hermia, Lysander, and Demetrius.

• my heart / Is true as steel—Helena's description of the strength of her

unswerving love for Demetrius.

• So quick bright things come to confusion.—Lysander again speaks to Hermia of the

fragility of happiness. ("Confusion" means darkness and destruction.)

• But earthlier happy is the rose distilledThan that which withering on the virgin thornGrows, lives, and dies in single blessedness.

—Theseus' reminder to Hermia that here on earth married women are happier than unmarried ones.