WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE - THE COMEDIES A MIDSUMMER NIGHTS DREAM -HANDOUTI.

. OVERVIEW A Midsummer Night's Dream is a romantic comedy by William Shakespeare written sometime in the 1590s. It portrays the adventures of four young thenian lovers and a group of amateur actors! their interactions with the "uke and "uchess of thens! #heseus and $ippolyta! and with fairies who inhabit a moonlit forest. #he play is one of Shakespeare%s most popular works for the stage and is widely performed across the world. #here is no known source for the plot of A Midsummer Night's Dream! although individual elements can be traced to classical literature& for e'ample! the story of (yramus and #hisbe is told in )vid%s Metamorphoses and the transformation of *ottom into an ass is descended from puleius% The Golden Ass. +ysander was also an ancient ,reek warlord while #heseus and $ippolyta were respectively the "uke of thens and -ueen of the ma.ons. In addition! Shakespeare could have been working on Romeo and Juliet at about the same time that he wrote the Dream! and it is possible to see (yramus and #hisbe as a comic reworking of the tragic play. further! seldom noted source is The Knight's Tale in /haucer%s /anterbury #ales. Some have theori.ed that the play might have been written for an aristocratic wedding 0numerous such weddings took place in 15912! while others suggest it was written for the -ueen to celebrate the feast day of St. 3ohn. $owever! no concrete evidence e'ists to support either theory. II. PLOT SUMMARY #he play features three interlocking plots! connected by a celebration of the wedding of "uke #heseus of thens and the ma.onian 4ueen $ippolyta. In the opening scene! $ermia refuses to comply with her father 5geus%s wish for her to marry his chosen man! "emetrius. In response! 5geus 4uotes before #heseus an ancient thenian law whereby a daughter must marry the suitor chosen by her father! or else face death or lifelong chastity worshipping "iana as a nun. $ermia and her lover +ysander therefore decide to elope by escaping through the forest at night. $ermia informs her best friend $elena! but $elena has recently been re6ected by "emetrius and decides to win back his favour by revealing the plan to him. "emetrius! followed doggedly by $elena! chases $ermia. $ermia and +ysander! believing themselves safely out of reach! sleep in the woods. 7eanwhile! )beron! king of the fairies! and his 4ueen! #itania! arrive in the forest outside thens. #itania tells )beron she plans to stay there until after attending #heseus and $ippolyta%s wedding. )beron and #itania are estranged because #itania refuses to give her Indian page8boy to )beron for use as his 9knight9 or 9henchman!9 since the child%s mother was one of #itania%s worshippers. )beron seeks to punish #itania%s disobedience and recruits the mischievous (uck to help him apply a magical 6uice from a flower called 9love8in8idleness!9 which makes the victim fall in love with the first living thing he sees when he awakens. $e instructs (uck to retrieve the flower! so that he can make #itania fall in love with some vile creature of the forest. )beron applies the 6uice to #itania in order to distract her and force her to give up the page8boy. $aving seen "emetrius act cruelly toward $elena! )beron orders (uck to spread some of the 6uice on the eyelids of the young thenian man. Instead! (uck accidentally puts the 6uice on the eyes of +ysander! who then falls in love with $elena. )beron sees "emetrius still following $ermia and is enraged. When "emetrius decides to go to sleep! )beron sends (uck to get $elena while he charms "etmetrius% eyes. "ue to (uck%s errors! both lovers now fight over

$elena instead of $ermia. $elena! however! is convinced that her two suitors are mocking her! as neither loved her originally. #he four pursue and 4uarrel with each other most of the night! until they become so enraged that they seek a place to duel each other to the death to settle the 4uarrel. )beron orders (uck to keep the lovers from catching up with one another in the forest and to re8charm +ysander for $ermia! to prevent them all from killing each other. 7eanwhile! a band of lower8class labourers 09rude mechanicals9! as they are famously described by (uck2 have arranged to perform a crude play about (yramus and #hisbe for #heseus% wedding! and venture into the forest! near #itania%s bower! for their rehearsal. :ick *ottom! a stage8struck weaver! is spotted by (uck! who transforms his head into that of an ass. #itania is awoken by *ottom%s singing! and she immediately falls in love with him. She treats him as if he is a nobleman and lavishes attention upon him. While in this state of devotion! she encounters )beron and casually gives him the Indian boy. $aving achieved his goals! )beron releases #itania and orders (uck to remove the ass%s head from *ottom. #he magical enchantment is removed from +ysander but is allowed to remain on "emetrius! so that he may reciprocate $elena%s love. #he fairies then disappear! and #heseus and $ippolyta arrive on the scene! during an early morning hunt. #hey wake the lovers and! since "emetrius doesn%t love $ermia anymore! #heseus over8rules 5geus%s demands and arranges a group wedding. #he lovers decide that the night%s events must have been a dream. fter they all e'it! *ottom awakes! and he too decides that he must have e'perienced a dream 9past the wit of man.9 In thens! #heseus! $ippolyta and the lovers watch the mechanicals perform 9(yramus and #hisbe.9 It is ridiculous and badly performed but gives everyone pleasure regardless! and after the mechanicals dance a *ergomask 0rustic dance2! everyone retires to bed. ;inally! as night falls! )beron and #itania bless the house! its occupants! and the future children of the newlyweds! and (uck delivers a solilo4uy to the audience. III. THEMES PATRIARCHY MALE DOMINATION IN SOCIETY 7ale dominance is one thematic element found in 7idsummer :ight%s "ream. Shakespeare%s comedies often include a section in which females en6oy more power and freedom than they actually possess<citation needed=. In 7idsummer :ight%s "ream! $elena and $ermia escape into the woods for a night where they do not fall under the laws of #heseus or 5geus. >pon their arrival in thens! the couples are married. 7arriage is seen as the ultimate social achievement for women while men can go on to do many other great things and gain societal recognition <?=. In his article! 9#he Imperial @otaress!9 +ouis 7ontrose draws attention to male and female gender roles and norms present in the comedy in connection with 5li.abethan culture. In reference to the triple wedding! he says! 9#he festive conclusion in 7idsummer :ight%s "ream depends upon the success of a process by which the feminine pride and power manifested in ma.on warriors! possessive mothers! unruly wives! and willful daughters are brought under the control of lords and husbands9 <A=. $e says that the consummation of marriage is how power over a woman changes hands from father to husband. #here are points in the play! however! when there is an absence of patriarchal control. In his book! (ower on "isplay! +eonard #ennenhouse says the problem in 7idsummer :ight%s "ream is the problem of 9authority gone archaic9 <5=. #he thenian law re4uiring a daughter to die if she does not do her father%s will is outdated. #ennenhouse contrasts the patriarchal rule of #heseus in thens with that of )beron in the carnivalistic ;aerie world. #he disorder in the land of the faeries completely opposes the world of thens. $e states that during times of carnival and festival! male power is broken down. ;or e'ample! what happens to the four lovers in the woods as well as *ottom%s dream represents chaos that contrasts with #hesus% political order. $owever! #heseus does not punish the lovers for their disobedience. ccording to

#ennenhouse! by forgiving of the lovers! he has made a distinction between the law of the patriarch 05geus2 and that of the monarch 0#heseus2! creating two different voices of authority. LOVE +ove is another theme found in 7idsummer :ightBs "ream. "avid *evington specifically looks at what he refers to as the dark side of love. $e writes that the fairies make light of love by mistaking the lovers and by applying a love potion to #itaniaBs eyes! forcing her to fall in love with *ottom as an ass <C=. #here are many dark sides of love that occurs in 7idsummer :ightBs "ream. $ippolyta is DwooBdE by a sword instead of being given Dlove8tokensE in the same way +ysander has won $ermiaBs love 01.1.1C8A02<F=. What is even more disturbing is the possible outcome that could have taken place at the forest. Shakespeare borrows the myth of (yramus and #hisbe from )vidBs 7etamorphoses! transforming it into a play that is performed at the end and using ideas of the myth for the entire play. +ike (yramus and #hisbe! $ermia and +ysander escape to the forest to avoid the tyranny of $ermiaBs father. In the forest! both couples are met by problems and assume that a partner is dead at some point. $ermia and +ysander are both met by (uck! who provides some comedic relief in the play by confusing the four lovers in the forest. "espite the darkness and difficulty that obstructs the love in 7idsummer :ightBs "ream! it is still a comedy as *enedotto /roce indicates. $e writes! Dlove is sincere! yet deceives and is deceived& it imagines itself to be firm and constant! and turns out to be fragile and fleetingE <9=. #his passage! like the play 6u'taposes one idea ne't to another. #he play is a comedy! yet it harbors serious ideas. t the end of the play! $ermia and +ysander! happily married! watch the play about the unfortunate lovers! (yramus and #hisbe! and are able to en6oy and laugh about the play! not reali.ing the similarities between them. lthough their story is very similar to that of (yramus and #hisbe! it does not end in tragic death <10=. $ermia and +ysander are both oblivious to the dark side of their love. #hey are not aware of the possible outcome that could have taken place at the forest. $ermia and +ysander do not see themselves in (yramus and #hisbe. DECONSTRUCTION OF IDENTITY nother theme found in 7idsummer :ightBs "ream is the loss of individual identity! usually for the sake of love or some other force. #his theme affects both the characters in the play as well as the overall mood of the story. s 7aurice $unt! /hair of the 5nglish "epartment at *aylor >niversity! points out! it is the blurring of the identities of fantasy and reality that make possible Dthat pleasing! narcotic dreaminess associated with the fairies of the playE <11=. *y emphasi.ing this theme even in the setting of the play! Shakespeare prepares the readerBs mind to accept the fantastic reality of the fairy world and its magical happenings. #his also seems to be the a'is around which the plot conflicts in the play occur. $unt suggests that it is the breaking down of individual identities leads to the central conflict in the story<1?=. It is the brawl between )beron and #itania! based on a lack of recognition for the other in the relationship! that drives the rest of the drama in the story and makes it dangerous for any of the other lovers to come together due to the disturbance of :ature caused by a fairy dispute <1A=. Similarly! this failure to identify and make distinction is what leads (uck to mistake one set of lovers for another in the forest and place the 6uice of the flower on +ysanderBs eyes instead of "emetriusB. @ictor Giernan! a 7ar'ist scholar and historian! writes that it is for the greater sake of love that this loss of identity takes place and that individual characters are made to suffer accordinglyH DIt was the more e'travagant cult of love that struck sensible people as irrational! and likely to have dubious effects on its acolytesE <1I=. $e believes that identities in the play are not so much lost as they are blended together to create a type of ha.e through which distinction becomes nearly impossible. It is driven by a desire for new and more practical ties between characters as a means of coping with the strange world within the forest! even in relationships as diverse and seemingly unrealistic as the brief love between #itania and *ottom the ssH DIt was the tidal force of this

social need that lent energy to relationshipsE <15=. "avid 7arshall! an aesthetics scholar and 5nglish (rofessor at the >niversity of /alifornia 8 Santa *arbara! takes this theme to an even further conclusion! pointing out that the loss of identity is especially played out in the description of the mechanicals their assumption of other identities. In describing the occupations of the acting troupe! he writes D#wo construct or put together! two mend and repair! one weaves and one sews. ll 6oin together what is apart or mend what has been rent! broken! or sunderedE <11=. In 7arshallBs opinion! this loss of individual identity not only blurs specificities! it creates new identities found in community! which 7arshall points out may lead to some understanding of ShakespeareBs opinions on love and marriage. ;urther! the mechanicals understand this theme as they take on their individual parts for a corporate performance of (yramus and #hisbe. 7arshall remarks that D#o be an actor is to double and divide oneself! to discover oneself in two partsH both oneself and not oneself! both the part and not the partE <1C=. $e claims that the mechanicals understand this and that each character! particularly among the lovers! have a sense of laying down individual identity for the greater benefit of the group or pairing <1F=. It seems that a desire to lose oneBs individuality and find identity in the love of another is what is 4uietly moving the events of 7idsummer :ightBs "ream. It is the primary sense of motivation and is even reflected in the scenery and mood of the story. EXCERPTS FROM THE PLAY [ACT I, SCENE I]
EGEUS Full of vexation come I, with complaint Against my child, my daughter Hermia. Stand forth, Demetrius. My no le lord, !his man hath my consent to marry her. Stand forth, "ysander# and my gracious du$e, !his man hath ewitch%d the osom of my child& !hou, thou, "ysander, thou hast given her rhymes, And interchanged love'to$ens with my child# !hou hast y moonlight at her window sung, (ith feigning voice verses of feigning love, And stolen the impression of her fantasy (ith racelets of thy hair, rings, gawds, conceits, )nac$s, trifles, nosegays, sweetmeats, messengers *f strong prevailment in unharden%d youth# (ith cunning hast thou filch%d my daughter%s heart, !urn%d her o edience, which is due to me, !o stu orn harshness# and, my gracious du$e, +e it so she& will not here efore your grace ,onsent to marry with Demetrius, I eg the ancient privilege of Athens, As she is mine, I may dispose of her# (hich shall e either to this gentleman *r to her death, according to our law Immediately provided in that case. THESEUS (hat say you, Hermia- e advised fair maid# !o you your father should e as a god& *ne that composed your eauties, yea, and one !o whom you are ut as a form in wax +y him imprinted and within his power !o leave the figure or disfigure it. Demetrius is a worthy gentleman. HERMIA

So is "ysander. THESEUS In himself he is& +ut in this $ind, wanting your father%s voice, !he other must e held the worthier. HERMIA I would my father loo$%d ut with my eyes. THESEUS .ather your eyes must with his /udgment loo$. HERMIA I do entreat your grace to pardon me. I $now not y what power I am made old, 0or how it may concern my modesty, In such a presence here to plead my thoughts& +ut I eseech your grace that I may $now !he worst that may efall me in this case, If I refuse to wed Demetrius. THESEUS 1ither to die the death or to a /ure For ever the society of men. !herefore, fair Hermia, 2uestion your desires& )now of your youth, examine well your lood, (hether, if you yield not to your father%s choice, 3ou can endure the livery of a nun, For aye to e in shady cloister mew%d, !o live a arren sister all your life, ,hanting faint hymns to the cold fruitless moon. !hrice' lessed they that master so their lood, !o undergo such maiden pilgrimage& +ut earthlier happy is the rose distill%d, !han that which withering on the virgin thorn 4rows, lives and dies in single lessedness.

[ACT II, SCENE I]

OBERON Ill met y moonlight, proud !itania. TITANIA (hat, /ealous * eron5 Fairies, s$ip hence# I have forsworn his ed and company. OBERON !arry, rash wanton# am not I thy lordTITANIA !hen I must e thy lady# ut I $now (hen thou hast stolen away from fairy land, And in the shape of ,orin sat all day, 6laying on pipes of corn and versing love !o amorous 6hillida. (hy art thou here, ,ome from the farthest Steppe of India+ut that, forsooth, the ouncing Ama7on, 3our us$in%d mistress and your warrior love, !o !heseus must e wedded, and you come !o give their ed /oy and prosperity. [ACT II SCENE I] DEMETRIUS I love thee not, therefore pursue me not. (here is "ysander and fair Hermia!he one I%ll slay, the other slayeth me. !hou told%st me they were stolen unto this wood& And here am I, and wode within this wood, +ecause I cannot meet my Hermia. Hence, get thee gone, and follow me no more. HELENA 3ou draw me, you hard'hearted adamant& +ut yet you draw not iron, for my heart Is true as steel# leave you your power to draw, And I shall have no power to follow you. DEMETRIUS Do I entice you- do I spea$ you fair*r, rather, do I not in plainest truth !ell you, I do not, nor I cannot love youHELENA And even for that do I love you the more. I am your spaniel& and, Demetrius, !he more you eat me, I will fawn on you# 8se me ut as your spaniel, spurn me, stri$e me, 0eglect me, lose me& only give me leave, 8nworthy as I am, to follow you. (hat worser place can I eg in your love,'' And yet a place of high respect with me,'' !han to e used as you use your dogDEMETRIUS !empt not too much the hatred of my spirit& For I am sic$ when I do loo$ on thee. HELENA And I am sic$ when I loo$ not on you.

[ACT II, SCENE II]

LYSANDER 9Awa$ing: And run through fire I will for thy sweet sa$e. !ransparent Helena5 0ature shows art, !hat through thy osom ma$es me see thy heart. (here is Demetrius- *, how fit a word Is that vile name to perish on my sword5 HELENA Do not say so, "ysander& say not so (hat though he love your Hermia- "ord, what though3et Hermia still loves you# then e content. LYSANDER ,ontent with Hermia5 0o& I do repent !he tedious minutes I with her have spent. 0ot Hermia ut Helena I love# (ho will not change a raven for a dove!he will of man is y his reason sway%d& And reason says you are the worthier maid. !hings growing are not ripe until their season So I, eing young, till now ripe not to reason& And touching now the point of human s$ill, .eason ecomes the marshal to my will And leads me to your eyes, where I o%erloo$ "ove%s stories written in love%s richest oo$. HELENA (herefore was I to this $een moc$ery orn(hen at your hands did I deserve this scornIs%t not enough, is%t not enough, young man, !hat I did never, no, nor never can, Deserve a sweet loo$ from Demetrius% eye, +ut you must flout my insufficiency4ood troth, you do me wrong, good sooth, you do, In such disdainful manner me to woo. +ut fare you well# perforce I must confess I thought you lord of more true gentleness. *, that a lady, of one man refused. Should of another therefore e a used5 [ACT III, SCENE I] TITANIA 9Awa$ing: (hat angel wa$es me from my flowery ed9;: I pray thee, gentle mortal, sing again# Mine ear is much enamour%d of thy note& So is mine eye enthralled to thy shape& And thy fair virtue%s force perforce doth move me *n the first view to say, to swear, I love thee. BOTTOM Methin$s, mistress, you should have little reason for that# and yet, to say the truth, reason and love $eep little company together now'a'days& the more the pity that some honest neigh ours will not ma$e them friends. 0ay, I can glee$ upon occasion. TITANIA !hou art as wise as thou art eautiful. [ACT III, SCENE II]

OBERON (hen they next wa$e, all this derision Shall seem a dream and fruitless vision, And ac$ to Athens shall the lovers wend, (ith league whose date till death shall never end. (hiles I in this affair do thee employ, I%ll to my 2ueen and eg her Indian oy& And then I will her charmed eye release From monster%s view, and all things shall e peace. PUCK My fairy lord, this must e done with haste, For night%s swift dragons cut the clouds full fast, And yonder shines Aurora%s har inger& At whose approach, ghosts, wandering here and there, !roop home to churchyards# damned spirits all, !hat in crossways and floods have urial, Already to their wormy eds are gone& For fear lest day should loo$ their shames upon, !hey willfully themselves exile from light And must for aye consort with lac$' row%d night. OBERON +ut we are spirits of another sort# I with the morning%s love have oft made sport, And, li$e a forester, the groves may tread, 1ven till the eastern gate, all fiery'red, *pening on 0eptune with fair lessed eams, !urns into yellow gold his salt green streams. +ut, notwithstanding, haste& ma$e no delay# (e may effect this usiness yet ere day. [ACT V, SCENE I] THESEUS More strange than true# I never may elieve !hese anti2ue fa les, nor these fairy toys. "overs and madmen have such seething rains, Such shaping fantasies, that apprehend More than cool reason ever comprehends. !he lunatic, the lover and the poet Are of imagination all compact# *ne sees more devils than vast hell can hold, !hat is, the madman# the lover, all as frantic, Sees Helen%s eauty in a row of 1gypt# !he poet%s eye, in fine fren7y rolling, Doth glance from heaven to earth, from earth to heaven& And as imagination odies forth !he forms of things un$nown, the poet%s pen !urns them to shapes and gives to airy nothing A local ha itation and a name. Such tric$s hath strong imagination, !hat if it would ut apprehend some /oy, It comprehends some ringer of that /oy& *r in the night, imagining some fear, How easy is a ush supposed a ear5