A Midsummer Night’s Dream Theme

A Midsummer Night's Dream is one of the William Shakespeare's comedy plays which is so profound in literally elements. The Duke of Athenian and Hippolyta, the four Athenian lovers and the actions surrounding these characters are the major components of the play. These comprise of the events of young lovers from Athens as well as a group of six inexperienced performers who are influenced and directed by the fairies who dwell the woodland where a substantial part of the play's setting takes place. One of the literary works that are prominent in the William Shakespeare play. Themes are quite essential and, in most cases, universal ideas reconnoitered in literary works such as narratives, songs, and poems. In this play, the themes are fundamental to the plot and structure development where Shakespeare is able to bring out relevant issues through them. It is therefore quite imperative to explore the important themes and how the characters facilitate the founding of themes.

One of the most widespread themes in the play is love. Time causes individuals to change their view concerning the people they perceived as attractive. At one stage in the play, the story of the four Athenian young lovers proclaim that even though ""the course of true love never did run smooth"" (Shakespeare Edited by Bevington I.I.134), portraying that true love is triumphant in the end, conveying happiness as well as harmony. On the other hand, at another stage, the audience may be compelled to make a consideration what a seemingly unreasonable and fanciful thing love is, at best when experienced amongst young people.

The other important theme in the play is the theme of magic. The magic from the fairies that present majority of the weirdest, as well as hilarious occasions in the plot, is another component key to the whimsical atmosphere of the play. Shakespeare makes use of magic both to exemplify the nearly unnatural strength of love (with love potion as the embodiment) in addition to establishing a strange world. Even though the abuse of magic results to muddily affairs, as when Puck erroneously smears the love potion to the eyelids of Lysander, magic, in the end, gives solution to the tensions in the through reestablishing love to equilibrium between the four Athenian youths.

The relationship between Hernia and Lysander plays an important role in developing the theme of love in the play. In the beginning, Demetrius tries to woo Hernia, but she refuses to marry him. Theseus is informed by Egeus that Hermia declines on entering into marriage with Demetrius, desiring in its place to get married to Lysander. He requests for the appropriate time to give Hermia a death punishment if she does not obey. Theseus holds to the traditional requirement and instructs that Hermia's sole duty is to give in to her father's will, and issues her with threats to abjure forever the society of men or to can become a nun You can endure the livery of a nun (Shakespeare Edited by Bevington I.I.70). So it is ordered, get married to the person her father desires. Lysander disapproves, but the law overrules the decision. Lysander and Hermia then resolve to run by night into the forest adjacent to Athens, where they are in a position to evade the law and then get married. They inform Helena concerning their plan. Helena, on the other hand, is deeply in love with Demetrius. In hopes of gaining favor with Demetrius, Helena tells him of the plan.

HERMINA. I will go tell him of fair Hermia's flight.

Then to the wood will he tomorrow night

Pursue her. And for this intelligence

If I have thanks, it is a dear expense.

But herein mean I to enrich my pain,

To have his sight thither and back again. (Shakespeare Edited by Bevington I.I.246-51)

Lysander then falls in love with Helena. Issues of charm play a role in the separation of Hernia and Lysander, but they still end up together.

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