Although A Midsummer Night's Dream is recognized as a comedy, one of the major themes within this play is love. Does love intertwine with comedy or is it more associated with tragedy? As human beings, do we dream the impossible dream? I think everyone does in some way and we see this in the play as well. Although the women get what they want in the end, is it really what they wanted? Their rights are taken away and they have become silent. Bottom, Snug, Snout, Quince and Flute all decide to put on a play, and are all comedic characters. These are actors who rarely have used knowledge, but at the same time are hard working individuals. One major reason they put on the play is because they think they will get paid for it. They didn’t agree to be in the play because they want to make a career out of it. They feel that this will enable them to move up in society and become a higher class.
A moral within this play is if you dare to dream your dream, it MIGHT come true; and if it doesn't then hopefully it will still be fun and entertaining. Dreams are something we always wish to be true but they might be hard to fulfill. The course of true love is not an easy thing and in the play Lysander assures Hermia of this. No matter what there will always be difficulties and obstacles that people must face. Hermia does everything she can to remain positive and thinks that after overcoming and facing the difficulties of love that it will all soon come together. This is the price that lovers must pay. The exploration of love is at the heart of the play, although it is recognized to be a comedy. In this play we see that it is a male dominated society. Gender is one of the big issues, does it ever really get resolved? As far as gender roles go, Hippolyta is the most traditional feminine woman because the other female characters don’t listen to the men. This may show us that they are strong willed and will fight for what they want despite what others say.
2 comments:
Thank you for opening up my eyes to viewing Hippolyta as a traditional woman I never would have viewed that way but you are absolutely right she does seem to the most traditional character out of the woman which is so ironic when you think of where she comes from!
I agree with your suggestion of the play's moral. The act of dreaming almost becomes this proverbial game of "what if?" Either everything is unresolved and it just exists in the cavities of the mind or the dream is fleshed out through a intriguing series of events (or the appearance of fairies). I believe a focus such as this is meant to inspire the lower class watching the play at the time of its production. If the actors can fulfill their dream of performing before the upper class (albeit, in a comical manner due to their lack of acting expertise) and the humans finding their true love despite various tribulations, perhaps the common citizen can see their wishes turned to reality.
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