A Midsummer Night’s Dream, one of Shakespeare’s most beloved comedies, is
generally thought of as a sparkling romantic farce. However, while the play is lovely
and comic, it also has a strong trace of darkness and cruelty, a sinister underside
that is inextricable from its amorous themes. Midsummer may end with a series of
happy weddings, but along the way it clearly depicts how male-female relationships
can involve a great amount of cruelty, with the potential to spread discord throughout
society.
Nearly all the male characters threaten their female counterparts with violence
at some point in the play. Theseus, for example, won Hippolyta not through
seduction or courtship but by military conquest, having vanquished the Amazons,
her tribe of woman warriors. He says to her in the opening scene, “I wooed thee
with my sword, And won thy love doing thee injuries,” drawing an explicit connection
between love and assault. Later in the same scene, Egeus publicly threatens to kill
Hermia, his daughter, if she does not consent to marry Demetrius. Oberon, for his
part, does not put Titania at risk of true physical danger, but he does brainwash her
with a love-potion for the express purpose of humiliating and humbling her.
Lysander may be the only male who does not consciously seek to harm his mate.
But even so, Hermia cannot escape peril. Just after the bewitched Lysander
abandons her, she wakes from a nightmare, trembling with fear as she describes
how she dreamt she saw “a serpent [eat her] heart away.” Though Lysander isn’t in
control of his own actions at this moment, Hermia’s subconscious still registers his
desertion as an act of violation.
The female characters in the play, particularly Helena and Hermia, end up
internalising much of this violent behaviour. In the most vicious exchange in the play,
Demetrius bluntly tells the lovesick Helena that he does not love her and that he is
“sick” when he looks at her. He warns her that he will “do [her] mischief” in the woods
—a far more menacing promise when we realise that mischief had a much stronger
connotation in the period, meaning something closer to “harm” or “evil” than
“naughtiness.” Helena, however, is undeterred. She accepts the aggression directed
at her and turns it into an argument for her stamina, pleading with him to treat her
like his “spaniel,” since the more he “beat[s]” her, the more she will “fawn” on him.
Eventually, the two young women fall victim to the hostility in the air and turn on one
another. Their confrontation in Act III, scene ii is often played as a comic catfight, but
that ignores the poignancy of Helena’s speech, in which she pleads with her “sister”
not to “rend [their] ancient love asunder” by conspiring with the men to shame her.
Hermia, however, does not listen, and the two dissolve into a torrent of mutual
abuse. Even at the end of the play, when the couples are paired off harmoniously, it
is unclear whether the women’s intimate friendship will ever be repaired.
Throughout the play, romantic strife is portrayed as a force that can spread, like
a contagion. At one point, the whole earth becomes infected. When the sparring
fairy monarchs, Titania and Oberon, confront each other in Act II, scene i, Titania
describes a tumultuous world filled with sickly clouds and rotting vegetation. She
insists that this chaos has sprung from her and Oberon’s quarrel, and that they are
the “parents” of the planet’s current state of turmoil.
A Midsummer Night’s Dream ends with several happy (if magically-induced)
weddings, but even the joy of the closing celebration does not completely banish the
play’s threatening undercurrent. The nuptials are commemorated with a clownish
performance, but significantly, the craftsmen’s theme is a gruesome one: a romantic
couple that meets a violent and tragic end. In addition, the blessings offered by Puck
and Oberon seem to evoke more terror than good will. Oberon offers the more
traditional blessing, wishing the couples fertility and lasting love. However, he also
mentions “blots of nature,” such as harelips and other deformities, calling attention to
the dangers that can befall vulnerable children even as he wards them away. Puck,
for his part, spends most of his speech describing all the horrible things that lurk
outside the wedding chamber door, such as hungry lions and ghosts from “gaping”
graves. In the end, we don’t know if the newlyweds are inside experiencing the flush
of matrimonial bliss or if the discord that has been bubbling up throughout the play
has unsettled them: As Puck closes the door against the terrible creatures of the
night, he shuts the audience out, as well. With the ultimate fate of our protagonists
so ambiguous, A Midsummer Night’s Dream-cannot properly be called a romantic
comedy.
2. All is well that ends well. Discuss with reference to the play, “A Midsummer Night’s
Dream.” [25]
"All's Well That Ends Well" is a famous saying that encapsulates the resolution of
conflicts or challenges in a positive light, emphasizing the importance of a
satisfactory conclusion. In Shakespeare's play "A Midsummer Night's Dream," this
sentiment is echoed in various ways:
1. **Marriage and Reconciliation:** The play concludes with multiple marriages,
bringing together the lovers who were previously entangled in confusion and conflict.
Hermia and Lysander, Helena and Demetrius, and Theseus and Hippolyta all find
happiness and resolution in marriage.
2. **Fairies' Intervention:** The magical intervention of Oberon, Titania, and Puck
contributes to the resolution of conflicts among the mortal characters. Through their
manipulation of events in the forest, they ultimately bring about a harmonious
conclusion, where misunderstandings are cleared, and love triumphs.
3. **The Play Within the Play:** The performance of "Pyramus and Thisbe" by the
Mechanicals, although comically flawed, serves as a theatrical resolution within the
play. Despite its shortcomings, the performance brings joy and laughter to the
characters and the audience, reinforcing the theme that all is well when laughter and
joy prevail.
4. **Forgiveness and Understanding:** Characters like Egeus, who initially opposes
Hermia's choice of marriage, ultimately relents and accepts her decision. This
demonstrates a willingness to let go of rigid expectations and embrace reconciliation
and understanding.
Overall, "A Midsummer Night's Dream" exemplifies the idea that despite the trials
and tribulations characters face, as long as conflicts are resolved,
misunderstandings clarified, and harmony restored, all truly is well in the end.
