A Midsummer Night''s Dream
A Midsummer Night’s Dream is perhaps Shakespeare’s strangest
play – it can neither be categorized as a conventional tragedy (Romeo & Juliet), a historical tragedy (Macbeth, Julius Caesar) or a romantic comedy (The Merchant of Venice, Twelfth Night). The play is not only difficult to categorize, it is impossible to describe.
Once in a while, even the greatest of writers may be allowed to experiment, or to indulge themselves. If Shakespeare were not Shakespeare, with a reputation to defend, one would be tempted to say that this play is the result of self-indulgence.
Perhaps the most uncharitable view would be to regard “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” not as a distinct play, but as two incomplete plays which the playright has fused together to achieve the desired length. If Shakespeare must be judged, it is by the standards which the playright has himself established. The storyline is disjointed, and there is little or no development of character. Perhaps Shakespeare just had an off-day, or perhaps the play was meant to be performed on stage for entertainment value alone.
In the main story line, Lysander and Hermia are in
love, but Hermia’s father (Egus) wishes to marry her off to Demetrius instead. Helena, Demetrius’s former love, still desires Demetrius, but he seems to be infatuated with Hermia and will not have anything to do with her. Lysander and Hermia make
plans to flee Athens, but Helena gets to know of their plans.
This is a promising enough premise, but Shakespeare fails to develop the storyline or the characters any further. In fact, it appears that Shakespeare had prepared the outline of a plot, but lost interest in it later on. Indeed, he literally resorts to a device that may be described as “deus ex machina” – that is the intervention of the gods – to resolve an issue that were best resolved by human hands.
In the secondary story line, Oberon (the king of the fairies) has had a quarrel with his queen Titania. Assisted by the fairy Puck, Oberon devices a potion that will make his queen fall in love with the first person she sees when she wakes.
The problem arises when the the two worlds – or the two storylines – collide in a wood near Athens. Puck uses the love potion on the humans instead, and the result is temporary insanity, described by Shakespeare as “A Midsummer Night’s Dream”.
Perhaps Shakespeare meant this play to be a commentary on the fickleness of love, or on the temporary nature of infatuation. Perhaps Shakespeare was constrained by the social conventions of that time, and could not explore the subject in depth, or with the frankness that he would have wished. Whatever may be the reason, one cannot escape the sensation of incompleteness or dissatisfaction after reading this play; a feeling that somehow an opportunity has been missed by resorting to other-worldly creatures in explaining our desires and actions.
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