Explication and Critical Analysis of Shakespeare's "A Midsummer Night's Dream"

The author of "A Midsummer Night's Dream" is William Shakespeare, one of the most notable authors in the world. It is very difficult to find information about him and most of what has been found is from court records. He was born in Stratford on Avon in 1564 to John and Mary Shakespeare, their third child. His father John was a businessman in Stratford. And his mother Mary had inherited some property from her own parents. William went to King's Grammar School, but he never attended college. Shakespeare married Anne Hathaway who was already carrying his child. His first child was Susanna, and she was born in 1583, and then they had twins (Judith and Hamnet) in 1585. He lived the first twenty years in Stratford, and then went on to London to pursue the theater. The last five years of his life were spent back in Stratford enjoying some wealth he had gained from his plays.

There are two lost periods in Shakespeare's life in which not much is known about him. These periods are 1578-82 and 1585-92, both of which when he was in London pursuing the theater. Even though London was only a four-day ride away, he only went home once in the 20 years he was in London. He did write and act for Pembroke's Men and numerous other theater companies. The most notable one was Chamberlain's Men, and he stayed with them until the end of his career. This company was the most successful theater company in London, and he sold penny-copies to a very literate audience. When the theaters closed in 1592 due to the plague that is the time when Shakespeare wrote his long, narrative poetry and his sonnets. Shakespeare dedicated his narrative poetry to the Earl of Southampton, who is recognized as his benefactor during this time period. Then, when the theaters opened again in 1594, Shakespeare went back to writing plays. He experienced great success and actually became a partner in The Globe Theater, which was built by Chamberlain's Men. One year before his retirement, he went in on a second theater called Blackfriar's Gatehouse. Because of the unprecedented financial success of his plays, he was able to buy New Place, the most sought-after house in Stratford. He retired there and lived there until 1616. He died and was buried at Holy Trinity Church in 1516 at the age of 52.

In Shakespeare's day theater was not art. Scripts were only kept for their possible performance value. The performance would determine whether the play would be poplar and make money, so scripts were less important. Actors and writers were shareholders in the theater, and that is how they made money. Theater productions were always in demand, and companies really had to compete to make money. Production was so fast that scripts were not even printed officially until after a play was produced. Rival companies would send scouts out to see plays so that they could produce knockoffs. There were knockoff versions of Shakespeare's plays being produced all the time.

He wrote many other plays during his lifetime as well as long narrative poetry and sonnets. His histories included all the King Henry plays, IV-VIII, King John, and Richard II and III. His tragedies included Antony and Cleopatra, Coriolanus, Hamlet, Julius Caesar, King Lear, MacBeth, Othello, Romeo and Juliet, Timon of Athens, and Titus Andronicus. His comedies included All's Well That Ends Well, As You Like It, Comedy of Errors, Cymbeline, Love' Labour's Lost, Measure for Measure, Merchant of Venice, Merry Wives of Windsor, Midsummer Night's Dream, Much Ado About Nothing, Pericles Prince of Tyre, Taming of the Shrew, The Tempest, Troilus and Cressida, Twelfth Night, Two Gentlemen of Verona, and Winter's Tale. He was one of the most prolific playwrights of all time.

William Shakespeare wrote this play, A Midsummer Night's Dream, between 1594 and 1596. The publication date of the play is 1600 with the First Quarto, the Second Quarto in 1619, and in 1623 the First Folio. He had no main source for writing this play although the characters Theseus and Hippolyta are the same two main characters that Geoffrey Chaucer used in The Knight's Tale. There are some other possible sources, including The Golden Ass by Apuleius, Life of Theseus by Plutartch, King James IV by Robert Greene, The Metamorphoses by Ovid, Terrors of the Night by Thomas Nash, and possibly Epithalmium by Edmund Spenser. This play is termed a comedy which means, going for order and structure to chaos and back to a happy ending using many twists and turns.

The general plot basically is that to pass the time before the marriage of Theseus and Hippolyta, she observes that the time will pass "in a dream." Another couple Hermia and Lysander run away to be together. A group of laborers in Athens prepare for the wedding by putting on a comedy of their own. Meanwhile, king and queen of the fairy world, Oberon and Titiana argue vehemently. In revenge on his wife, Oberon makes Puck sprinkle a potion on her eyelids that makes her fall in love with the first creature she sees upon waking. Basically from there all goes wrong. Puck sprinkles the wrong eyelids and Titiana ends up falling in love with Bottom. Lysander falls in love with Helena. The sets of couples eventually fall asleep and are awakened by preparations for the marriage of Theseus. Two other couples, Demetrius and Helena, Lysander and Hermia join in a triple wedding. All ends well.

The purpose of "A Midsummer Night's Dream" is definitely artistic. All the way through the play is presented in almost a dreamlike state and at the very end the narrator Puck tells us that:

"If we shadows have offended,

Think but this (and all is mended),

That you have but slumber'd here,

While these visions did appear.

And this weak and idle theme,

No more yielding but a dream,

Gentles, do not reprehend.

He uses magic throughout the play, including the love potion that makes everybody temporarily crazy, the surrealistic night in the forest, and the character of Puck. The love potion makes the real seem unreal and shows the audience the fickle but powerful nature of love. When the characters attempt to explain what has happened to them throughout the play, they refer to dreams. They feel that they have dreamed the most incredible dreams. In this play, the idea of how things happen in life without explanation is explored. This is shown through the events that occur in the magical forest. Just creating the characters of Oberon and Titiana tell the reader that fantasy will play a large role. Then, Puck explains away the entire play in the speech above, by telling the audience that if the play has offended, we should think of it as nothing but a dream. This is all very much in the artistic realm, and it does not appear that Shakespeare was trying to make any political or economic statements with this play. He was trying to discuss the ways that fantasy and realism blend together and the integration of dreams with our waking lives.

Through the artistic use of imagination and fantasy, impossible things become possible. The switching of the romantic interests and all the merry mishaps that happen in the forest, like Titiana falling in love with Bottom are fantastical. And yet, stories like this happen when we can abandon the rational side of our own brain and fall in love or fall asleep to indulge in our own dreams. This play really becomes about the creative imagination itself and what can happen when it runs unchecked as the play within a play style demonstrates.

The play itself seems to be a play about imagination. This is shown when Theseus, "The lunatic, the lover, and the poet/Are of imagination all compact." (5.1.7-8) Shakespeare uses imaginative language and the contrast of the city (the place of civility and culture where things can be seen) to the forest where darkness and magic distort what is real. And when the characters' craziness is over and the light of morning comes, they all flee back to the city where things are real. The structure of the play itself is unlike others as it contains supplementary scenes and scenes that vary in length. He also uses more time in exposition to develop his imaginary world and characters. Light represents order and darkness is the place where strange things can happen on account of darkness. says

There are many themes in this play. Probably the most important one would be that love triumphs in the end. All the couples got married and overcame differences. Although all of the lovers also have to overcome many obstacles in order to get to marry the ones they choose. Love is not easy, but it is worth it. It could even express the idea that love is one big farce, and the play goes to show how stupidly and irrationally people act when they believe themselves in love. The characters are puppets, and the puppet strings belong to the fairies.

Due to the dreamlike quality of the whole play, it also teaches that appearances are deceiving. Because of the pranks of Puck directed by Oberon, not much in the play is what it seems. The love of the couples change, and crazy things happen in the forest that night. Another theme of the play is that we should never dare to dream. Hermia dreams to marry the man she loves rather than the one her father loves, and she succeeds. The tradesmen like Bottom, Snout, Quince, and Flute dream that they are actors, and they end up putting on a play. If we dare to dream, our dreams just might come true.

Other themes presented are between order and disorder shown in the contrast between Puck and Theseus, love and marriage, and magic. These are also common themes in many of Shakespeare's comedies.

The idea is presented in "Midsummer Night's Dream," as with other Shakespeare plays, that life, in fact, is just a dream. How do we really know what is real and what happens when we dream? Psychologically speaking, Shakespeare was far ahead of his time. All the various elements he uses like the elongated exposition and the variety of structure only brings more attention to this theme.

Annotated Bibliography

A Midsummer Night's Dream. Retrieved October 15, 2008, at http://www.theatrehistory.com/british/midsummer001.html

This site provides a very well-written if not flowery discussion of Shakespeare's play. It includes observation by noted poets such as Samuel Taylor Coleridge. It also contains many helpful links for further study.

A Midsummer Night's Dream. A Study Guide. Retrieved October 15, 2008, at http://www.cummingsstudyguides.net/xMidsummer.html

This website gives a very thorough plot summary as well as an annotated list of characters. It gives information on the setting, climax, and the structure and language of the play. It gives brief information about the themes of the play and a very detailed list of allusions Shakespeare used. It also gives very detailed information and examples of the nature and animal imagery. It lists and explains Shakespeare's use of couplets, and it discusses the possible sources for this play. Study questions and essay topics are provided as well as character' habitats. All in all, this site is very helpful and gives much non-typical information about the play.