One of William Shakespeare’s most famous plays is the playful and magical A Midsummer Night’s Dream. A play with fairies, young lovers and plenty of humour (largely at Bottom’s expense); this is one of Shakespeare’s most loved stories because of its clever, complicated plot and its entertaining characters. The audience are introduced to the play’s characters: the most important of those being the four young lovers who have a complicated love triangle. Equally as important are the fairies that, arguably, represent the changeable nature of love through Oberon and Titania’s (the fairy king and queen, respectively) feud and their love potion. A simultaneous third plot is also happening which involves a band of local actors preparing a dramatic piece for the wedding of Theseus and Hippolyta. At its core is a presentation of love and a central question which addresses the true meaning of love. For all its humour and trickery, the play does seem to offer one simple truth about its subject: love is as subjective as it is objective. In other words, the play presents love as being a changeable, fickle emotion which prevents the individual from thinking carefully.
In Act 1, scene 1, the play is set up as being what would be referred to as a ‘romantic comedy’ today, when we are introduced to the characters and the prospective object of their desires. Hermia is in love with Lysander but her father wishes her to marry Demetrius, who loves Hermia as well. However, Helena is in love with Demetrius but he does not return the feeling, having jilted her for Hermia. Immediately, the audience is presented with a plot that is more complicated than necessary but is traditionally Shakespearean in its convoluted, witty way. So, straight away, the play seems to be commenting on how outlandish being in love can make a person, and how foolhardy those in love can be.
This is further compounded by Demetrius’ behaviour towards Helena in Act 2, scene 1 when Oberon, King of the fairies observes Demetrius behave heinously towards Helena: “I'll run from thee and hide me in the brakes, And leave thee to the mercy of wild beasts.” (2.1: 227-299). This is an extremely cold thing to say to Helena and it implies that Demetrius does not care for her at all, despite their previous involvement. His fickle affection towards her is demonstrated in force here.
Bearing witness to these events, Oberon vows to teach Demetrius a lesson and plots with Puck, another fairy, to place a magical love potion to his eyelids, as well as his wife, Titania’s eyes too. The potion will make the individual fall in love with the first person they see.
Shakespeare’s use of a ‘magical potion’ which can make people fall in love on sight is, in itself, making a mockery of love: supposedly the deepest emotion anyone can feel, it is being fabricated by a few special flowers and producing the same effects within the space of a heartbeat: “With a disdainful youth; anoint his eyes But do it when the next thing he espies May be the lady.” (2.1: 261-263). Oberon’s plot aims to fabricate love and the play further ridicules love by having Titania, the fairy queen, fall in love with Bottom who, by this time, has magically had his head turned into that of an ass by Puck.
Bottom, one of the players preparing for the wedding party, is an essential part of the play’s humour. He represents the stupidity of man and this metaphor is made flesh when he is magically altered to have the head of an ass. He is a figure of ridicule and so when Titania falls in love with him, thanks to Oberon’s love potion, it leads to a great deal of humour because it is simply such a ludicrous situation. The clear message is that the beautiful, graceful and intelligent queen of the fairies would never be attracted to, and much less in love with, a man like Bottom.
But nevertheless, the play presents this most unlikely of convergences: in Act 3, scene 1, Titania awakes in the forest to find Bottom singing horrifically out of tune and upon a brief discussion with him, she declares: “Thou art as wise as thou art beautiful.” (3.1: 136). If any line in the play mocks the fickle standing of love, it is this one. Before Titania, stands a man who, characteristically, is stupid, preposterous and would have been perceived as being somewhat vulgar; he has an ass’ head and her first experience of him is of his appalling singing: Bottom is neither wise nor beautiful. And yet, Titania declares her love for him because of the potion Oberon bestowed upon her eyes. The mockery which Oberon makes of his wife, is representative of the mockery that Shakespeare and his play make of love – the message is clear: love is changeable and foolhardy.
Upon finding Lysander to be in love with Helena, Hermia queries his actions: “Thou art not by mine eye, Lysander, found; Mine ear, I thank it, brought me to thy sound
But why unkindly didst thou leave me so?” (3.2: 181-183). What the audience then sees is Lysander behaving towards Hermia, like Demetrius was towards Helena at the beginning of the play. Lysander’s response is harsh as he quite openly declares his love for Helena: “Lysander's love, that would not let him bide, Fair Helena, who more engilds the night Than all you fiery oes and eyes of light.
Why seek'st thou me? could not this make thee know, The hate I bear thee made me leave thee so?” (3.2: 186-190). Lysander’s words are an extremely cold piece of evidence that demonstrates that his love for Hermia is actually as unfounded as his love for Helena – if he is that easily drawn away from her, he cannot be that intrinsically entwined with her in the first place. His actions are clearly not his own but rather, are being dictated by his ‘love’ for Helena – further compounding the idea of love as causing the individual to behave un-characteristically.
The resolution to the play, with Oberon putting everything right once again, only adds further to the play’s message. Whilst, understandably, Oberon is magic which does not exist in reality, Shakespeare is still presenting a clear idea with his play; that love is vacillating. The distinctly un-feminist resolution sees both Hermia and Helena, take back their respective lovers despite them both behaving atrociously towards each of them. To a modern audience, Hermia and Helena present a ‘blinded by love’ dilemma, and in our distinctly post-feminist world, perhaps Hermia and Helena would have told both Lysander and Demetrius that they’d had enough and simply moved on. However, Shakespeare has his two female heroines accept back men who treated them and their feelings with an immense amount of disregard which demonstrates yet more proof for the negative message behind the play’s presentation of love: it is foolhardy and causes the affected individuals to behave in an extreme way. When Demetrius and Lysander are each rejecting of Helena and Hermia, respectively, their language and actions are extremely harsh and are starkly juxtaposed to their behaviour when they are in love with the women; this is quite a black and white view of love but it is, nonetheless, a presentation of love as being fickle and inducing indecisive, out-of-character behaviour and generally, quite negative effects.
Reference
A Midsummer Night’s Dream. Dir. Max Reinhardt. Perf. Ian Hunter, Dick Powell, Jean Muir. Warner Bros. Pictures, 1935. Film.
