Midsummer Night’s Dream Essay

‘A Midsummer Night’s Dream’ of Shakespeare is an example of harmony emerging and prevailing from chaos. The usual Shakespearean happy ending makes it a classical journey from hatred, mischief, and competition, to love peace and submission. The story and especially the ideology hidden behind the story can be interpreted in many ways.

Article 1:

According to Camille Wells Slights, different ideas and people can merge together to give a story. Different ideas and ideologies can also similarly come together to give a happy ending. This signifies that this harmony is thus not achieved by ‘triumph of passionate youth over oppressive age’, neither by powerful dictating the weak but instead by agreement in reason and love. The compassion of Theseus is a dominant example of submission to loving. For Example, when Egeus demands from Theseus justice against the lovers, although compelled by law, he rules in favor of the lovers.

This also leaves a message that the emergence of harmony from chaos doesn’t only require diversity but mutuality as well. This social harmony depends upon not what is true but what can be perceived. The objective is thus taken away from why Hermia and Helen should like Lysander and Demetrius and settled at the fact that they do not love the same girl anymore and harmony achieved at this settlement. They could not have achieved their sense of community, which is the way they stood together as a group unless; they did not have a common perception about the events in the woods. The individual accounts are although meaningless, but when combined they tell a constant story. Just like their love was fruitless until commonly shared. The play ‘The most lamentable comedy and the cruelest death of Pyramus and Thisby’ signifies the prevalence of order and status quo. The­seus is mistaken when perceives actors’ performance as a sign of love and duty to the ruler, whereas they too are dominated by the desire of economic prosperity.

Article 2:

Linda Bamber takes a very different approach to interpret Shakespeare’s ‘A Midsummer Nights Dream’. According to her, it’s an epic story of male dominance. Hermia in revolt to male dominance and efforts to bend her against her will leaves for the woods, where male power does not extend. This venture into the wild is portrayed as a holiday, an escape from the reality of life. The second case is of Oberon the king, his world although far away and different from humans is also troubled by his wife Titania. The story thus revolves around how rebellion by the feminine, causes trouble, and men see to it that order is restored.

Women are thus highlighted as the origin of unrest and disorder, whereas man the ‘rightful rulers’ are called the restorers of this order. The story thus results in such a happy ending where Titania is conquered and bent to Oberon’s power, resulting in ‘peace and tranquility’. This also highlights the ‘return from the holiday’, thus according to Linda Bamber in this play, a holiday is a woman’s disobedience which no matter how strong is just unrealistic and meaningless, the real-life is back to natural order with men are the rulers. The story revolves around the love and compassion that a woman can show both in love and hate, especially in love. The commentary ignores this credit given by Shakespeare to women.