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A Midsummer Night’s Dream
his relationship with Oberon express the idea that timberland is place of fantasy, where anything goes. Puck does everything that Oberon asks of him and in doing so is the cause for most of the chaos between the four lovers in the forest. Also as he toys with Bottom, one of the actors and Titania the queen, we see that not a soul is exempt from the tomfoolery of Puck. As he turns bottom into a man with the face of a donkey, and then enchants Titania to fall madly in love with this creation, Puck though his actions implies that the world of the fairies is a land where dreams are a reality and where humorous manipulation is prevalent. Though Shakespeare characterizes each of the other characters in depth, his development of Puck is key in creating the atmosphere of fantasy surrounding the forest. The language of the characters also helps to deepen characterization. As king Oberon speaks in rhymed couplets and the lovers speak in prose, a contrast can be seen. The rhymed couplets of Oberon, or the fairies, show the importance of fantasy which lives in the forest. The prose of the lovers is more rational and more common in the world of reality or Athens. The language of the characters is means of contrasting the world of reality and the world of fantasy.
Shakespeare constructs the play into five acts and in doing so helps expose the contrast between reality and fantasy. The first act takes place in the world of reality, Athens and the following acts switch between this world and the world of fantasy, the forest. Each act is a means to separate the two worlds and show that they are inherently different. The reader can easily see when the actions switches from reality to fantasy. In this way the reader can also have an easier time examining the thoughts or emotions felt by the characters at different times in the two separate settings.
Themes play a key role in A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Shakespeare expresses a multitude of themes throughout the five acts. One of the most evident themes found in the work is the theme of “dreams.” The forest is key in developing this theme, as the lovers are put though a gauntlet of magical chaos, they feel as if they are dreaming. As the characters try to explain the bizarre happenings in the forest, they continually elude to the idea of it all being a dream. The theme of dreams implies the power of dreams as a means to explain the unknown. One other prevalent theme found in the play is the idea that love can overcome difficulty. “The course of love never did run smooth,” this line exemplifies the trouble which the lovers face in finding true love. As the fairies continually fool with the emotions of the lovers, each lover is faced with the task of overcoming the intruders to find love [next page]