There are many themes within “A Midsummer Night’s Dream”, but all of them are related to order and disorder. Those are social thinking in ancient time, natural order, appearance and reality, love, and marriage. The reason why the theme is order and disorder is because despite the order being broken by disorder; all the things are regarded as a midsummer night’s dream in the end. According to social order in ancient time, it demands that daughter should obey her father’s will. Egeus' family order is threatened because his daughter Hermia wants to marry Lysander when he wants her to marry Demetrius. According to social order in ancient time, it demands that daughter should obey her father’s will in Act 1 scene 1 Line 65-78:
In Shakespeare’s Midsummer’s Night Dream he entices the reader using character development, imagery, and symbolism. These tools help make it a wonderful play for teens, teaching them what a well-written comedy looks like. As well as taking them into a story they won’t soon forget.
In the first part of the play Egeus has asked the Duke of Athens, Theseus, to rule in favor of his parental rights to have his daughter Hermia marry the suitor he has chosen, Demetrius, or for her to be punished. Lysander, who is desperately in love with Hermia, pleads with Egeus and Theseus for the maiden’s hand, but Theseus’, who obviously believes that women do not have a choice in the matter of their own marriage, sides with Egeus, and tells Hermia she must either consent to marrying Demetrius, be killed, or enter a nunnery. In order to escape from the tragic dilemma facing Hermia, Lysander devises a plan for him and his love to meet the next evening and run-off to Lysander’s aunt’s home and be wed, and Hermia agrees to the plan. It is at this point in the story that the plot becomes intriguing, as the reader becomes somewhat emotionally “attached’’ to the young lovers and sympathetic of their plight. However, when the couple enters the forest, en route to Lysander’s aunt’s, it is other mischievous characters that take the story into a whole new realm of humorous entertainment...
One strange element is why Egeus was so set on Hermia marrying Demetrius. Lysander came from as good a family as Demetrius. Both were well possessed with property and money so Egeus's power is made to seem senseless.
The three major themes in "A midsummer nights dream" that, Shakespeare heavily contrasts is, by using three groups of extremely different
When considering the relationship between Egeus and Hermia, there is not affection displayed between them. Egeus announces multiple times that Hermia belongs to him, which gives off the sense of ownership rather than care. Egeus says in a conversation with Lysander “Scornful Lysander, true, he hath my love, and what is mine my love shall render him. And she is mine, and all my right of her I do estate unto Demetrius. (1.1. 95-98).” Egeus proclaims her love for Demetrius while stating Hermia is his without caring emotion. Egeus is exemplifying that his main concern is not his daughter’s best interest, but his love for Demetrius. Whenever Egeus speaks to her it as though he does not actually address her, but is talking to someone else making this is a main factor as to why Egeus does not have complete power over his daughter because she is acyually not his main
Throughout A Midsummer Night’s Dream the theme of conflict with authority is apparent and is the cause of the problems that befall the characters. It also is used to set the mood of the play. The passage below spoken by Theseus in the opening of the play clearly states this theme.
William Shakespeare has a habit of creating complicated plots, and A Midsummer Night’s Dream is no exception. Three distinct worlds are presented within the play, and the story’s theme is most prevalent when they collide or mirror one another. Shakespeare’s allusions very intentionally cast light on these themes as he uses them to develop characters, settings, and comedy. The point of that development is the effective delivery of the theme that love renders us equals.
Order and disorder is a favorite theme of Shakespeare. In A Midsummer Night's Dream the apparently anarchic tendencies of the young lovers, of the mechanicals-as-actors, and of Puck are restrained by the "sharp Athenian law" and the law of the Palace Wood, by Theseus and Oberon, and their respective consorts. This tension within the world of the play is matched in its construction: in performance it can at times seem riotous and out of control, and yet the structure of the play shows a clear interest in symmetry and patterning.
Many people who saw this play during this time period must have had somewhat of similar situations with their fathers and the man who they ended up having to marry. Women during this time period were simply not heard or respected for that matter. There was institutional subordination between men and women. The father seemed to have ultimate say and if the daughter wanted to get married the father would pick a scenario that would somehow benefit him and his family’s future. In Midsummer’s night dream case Hermia is threatened with becoming a nun or being killed if she does not follow her father’s
In conclusion, in A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Shakespeare effectively uses the motifs of the seasons, the moon, and dreams to show that love, irrationality, and disobedience directly cause chaos. By calling to mind the seasons in unnatural order, describing the moon behaving strangely, and discussing the dualistic, irrational nature of dreams, Shakespeare effectively evokes a sense of chaos and disorder. Linking each of these motifs to the themes of love, irrationality, and disobedience allows Shakespeare to illustrate the disarray that is bound to result from any romance.
Society needs order because it is the keystone that keeps modern civilization from collapsing in on itself. Once removed, society succumbs to its most basic state: emotions. Pure, raw emotions fill the void where logic once dictated, and the world falls into chaos. It is this very situation where Shakespeare drew his inspiration for his play, A Midsummer’s Night Dream. In a world with four lovers, hoodwinked by the lord of the fairies and his loyal servant Robin, disorder ensnares the human race and chaos ensues.
In the play A Midsummer Night’s Dream, several events occur that cause chaos and confusion among the people. The writer of the play, Shakespeare draws the reader to focus on the small but important details in the story, to understand what is happening, and why. I believe Shakespeare focuses on these characters mainly and their stories; the young Athenian lovers, Titania & Oberon, and Nick Bottom. These are the characters that are greatly affected by the magic of Cupid’s arrow and Oberon’s mischievous works. The theme magic is what really begins each characters story and what carries it, but what also causes all of the problems. In A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Shakespeare emphasizes the theme magic to allow the reader to view how the power of magic affects each character differently.
A Midsummer Night’s Dream portrays magic through many places in the text. Magic is a key component to the plot of the story. Magic can make a problem disappear, or it can intensify the problem. There are many reasons magic is powerful, but one of the main ones is because not everyone understands it. Magic in one way or another affects everyone in A Midsummer Night’s Dream, but the perspective with which each character views magic is different. The power of magic is something that is hard to understand, even those who use magic often cannot fully understand magic because in many ways it is irrational and inexplicable.
The concept of contrast plays an important role throughout Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream. Shakespeare provides many examples of contrast signifying it as a motif. He groups the ideas of contrast together into those of some of the most important roles in the play. Helena is portrayed as tall and Hermia is short. Titania is a beautiful fairy who falls in love with Bottom, who is portrayed as graceless. Moreover, the main sets of characters even have differences. Fairies are graceful and magical creatures, yet tradesmen are clumsy and mortal. Additionally, the tradesmen are always overjoyed while the lovers are always serious with their emotions. Contrast layers throughout the whole play, as examples are shown in nearly every scene. Contrast becomes a constant, important motif to Shakespeare’s playwrite.
The Role of the Fairies in A Midsummer Nights Dream Introduction = == == == ==