Floribeth G.

Rellen

B3-3

Critical Analysis: A Midsummer Nights Dream

A Midsummer Nights Dream is a comedy play, written by William

Shakespeare around 1594 or 1595. It is about the adventures of four
young lovers and a group of local workman and their interactions with
woodland fairies. Hermia is in love with Lysander, but her father Egeus
wants her to marry Demetrius, so the couple came up with a plan and
decides to elope. Hermia informs her best friend Helena who was once
betrothed with Demetrius but Helena revealed the plan to Demetrius. In
the forest there are some local workmen who are deciding to perform a
play for Theseus as a way to celebrate his wedding with Hippolyta. Soon
all find their lives changed by the doings of Oberon and Titania, the
warring king and queen of the fairies, when Oberon ordered Puck to use a
magical flower to Titania to make her fall in love with the first thing she
sees. Puck plays cupid on the four lovers, he applies the magical flower on
Lysander and Demetrius trying to solve their problems but it makes it
worst. Now both loves Helena and Hermia is feeling unloved, and then
starts the romantic and confusing chase in the forest. A Midsummer
Nights Dream deals with the theme of love and its complications.
The story takes place in Athens, Greece so the stage is Greek
styled. A Midsummer Night's Dream features young lovers who fall

amusingly in and out of love in a ridiculously brief period of time, over the
course of a midsummer night. The dialogues being thrown by the actors in
the play are both witty and romantic. The play starts by introducing us
about the love quadrangle of the characters. Conflict arises in the forest
when Oberon instructs his servant Puck to bring him a magic flower, that
when sprinkled in ones eyes, will fall in love with the first creature you
see upon awakening. Puck's mistakes and pranks are the start of
complications in the story. The climax of the play was the fight between
Lysander and Demetrius; Helena and Hermia. During this scene in the
woods, some harsh words are thrown around, and ugly things get brought
up. Finally, Oberon decides that all of these must come to an end, and
stops the chaos by putting them to sleep, and giving them the antidote.
There are three groups of characters being introduced in the play. First are
the group of lovers, next are the fairies, and lastly are the workmen.
Though A Midsummer Nights Dream divides its action between several
groups of characters, Puck is the closest to a protagonist, with his magic,
pranks, and mistakes; he makes the play exciting.
The

play

ends happily,

the

workmen

performed

their play

successfully and the couples are happy with their partners. The ending for
me is okay, though Im not really fond of happy endings, because in reality
not everyone ends up happily. Basically in the play you can contrast
reality and a dream, as the title would tell it is a dream (A Midsummer
Nights Dream); the fairies, magic, and potions in reality doesnt exist. But

above all else it is a nice play, its fictional, but still its a nice romantic
comedy play. It tackles the nature of romantic love. It explains to us that
love can make us irrational and foolish. As Lysander said, The course of
true love never did run smooth. Shakespeare suggests that love really is
an obstacle course that makes us crazy.