A Midsummer Night’s Dream by William Shakespeare is a romantic comedy play that blends elements of fantasy along with romance and comedy. This play follows a number of different characters whose paths intervene in the lives of lovers, amateur actors, and mischievous fairies, in a plot of confusion and transformation. The book is set mainly in an enchanted forest that lies close to Athens in Greece.
It will be too confusing to explain the plot of this book in a proper coherent manner. So, I won’t attempt this improbable task. The entangled romances of four characters – Hermia, Lysander, Demetrius, and Helena are chaotic only made worse by the interference of a mischievous fairy named Puck. The magical potion she offers leads the four characters on a journey of mistaken identities and the humorous consequences that follow. There is a fairy kingdom that is ruled by Oberon and Titania, which adds elements of fantasy to the story.
A central theme of the play is the irrationality and unpredictability of the nature of love. The characters of Hermia, Lysander, Demetrius, and Helena are caught in a web of feelings, and they behave in a manner that does not seem logical at all. This seems to be the case for the fairies as well. It shows that the nature and conflicts of love are universal. William Shakespeare’s witty and exaggerated prose about love further elaborates on this theme. It shows how fickle and blind love can be, which is made worse in this case through a magical potion.
Another theme that stood out to me was the blurring of the lines between reality and fantasy throughout the story. The enchanted forest is a different world in itself, where certain rules of our society are not applicable. Here, the characters go through transformations and wake up to a changed world. As a reader, it confused me to properly distinguish between what is real and what is not. This theme is woven in a way that suggests that life is full of fantastical illusions, and at times, dreams might reveal hidden truths.
A Midsummer Night’s Dream by William Shakespeare is a fun and engaging romantic comedy play with fantasy elements. The writing is witty and poetic. There is a lyrical quality to the writing, which helps to understand the text better. Although it takes time to read Shakespeare’s plays because of the language, its universal themes are still relevant. I enjoyed reading this play.
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