Looking particularly at the last act, what do you think the play is suggesting about the role and potential of the imagination in human relationships and/or in the theater?
The last part of A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Act V, presents views about how imagination can go influence human relationships. Any character, with the right amount of imagination, can fall in love irrationally with all sorts of characters. Two of the protagonists, Lysander and Demetrius battle each other for the right woman, either Hermia or Helena, which are very similar, if not twins, like Shakespeare would like to portray them. And also Titania, queen of fairies, fell in love with a fool with a donkey head.
Imagination is not just about falling in love irrationally. It is also believing in worlds that do not exist. Shakespeare, in the last act, brings in the characters that represent the fantastical world of magic and imagination and allows them to talk to the audience as if they were actual fairies and actors at the same time.
The craftsmen’s play within the play, in Act V, is there to represent, in a condensed form, the story of the lovers in the previous four acts. But the craftsmen did such a poor job at acting, that it required imagination from the audience to distinguish reality and fiction of the play. The craftsmen’s play was as good as anybody imagined it.
Theseus, as he enters court with his newly wed wife, begins by saying that he will “never may believe these antique fables nor these fairy toys” (V.i.1-2). Theseus represents rationality and is not so romantic. He compares lovers to mad men because they hallucinate and see things that others cannot understand. Shakespeare at this point refers explicitly with Theseus’ words to his own class of people, the poets. They confuse people by writing about things that do not exist. Because of the overactive imagination, people see supernatural things such as devils or fairies. Theseus also mentions lovers, and how they can view something so absurd and fall in love with it. “The lunatic, the lover, and the poet
Are of imagination all compact. (V.i.8-9). Imagination is what causes all of us to fall in love, Shakespeare explains through his play. Reality is as real as you make it. Theseus mentions that if someone would be scared at night, then they’d imagine a bear come to life! There is irony as Theseus speaks these words, because of all that happened with the lovers and the fairies being present at his very court later on, when he goes to bed.
Hippolyta instead, has a view which is opposite of Theseus’. She replies to her husband by saying:
“But all the story of the night told over,
And all their minds transfigured so together,
More witnesseth than fancy’s images
And grows to something of great constancy,
But, howsoever, strange and admirable.” (V.i.23-27)
Hippolyta mentions that the story is being told by all the protagonists in the same way, how they all heard and experienced the same events. She believes that the story may be strange, but definitely true. She believes that there is more than fantasies going on.
Imagination can cause danger to human relationships, because one can be so irrational. One can notice that in the play, Demetrius and Lysander have very similar characteristics and are easily mistaken for one another in the play; even Helena and Hermia are not so distinctive. Each lover is no better than the other. Yet at the start of the play, Aegeus wants Hermia to marry Demetrius and not Lysander. Demetrius only loves Hermia. Hermia loves only Lysander. All the protagonists have a hard time trying to achieve what they truly desire, which is being with their desired partner and making the relationship work. The message portrayed is that love is solemnly based on imagination and irrationality. Lovers are divorced from reason. But in the end, a balance is achieved, through Puck and the fairy’s love potion. And the comic side of the play gives a feeling that everyone will live happily ever after the play within the play, in Act V, with the tragicomic love story, helps achieve a state of happiness and relaxation. The story of Pyramus and Thisbe ends in a tragedy, but all of the confusion between the lovers greatly resembles what happened in the first four acts.
Another way that imagination can facilitate human relationships, other than falling in love, is explained through the play within the play. Theseus accepts the craftsmen to act at his wedding, surprising Philostrate and Hippolyta, because of how awful the men were at acting. Nick Bottom thought of himself as the best actor in circulation, not actually realizing how awful he was. The craftsmen went on with their play and were often forgetting lines or being out of tempo. But Theseus states: “If we imagine no worse of them than they of themselves, they may pass for excellent men. Here come two noble beasts in, a man and a lion” (V.i.214-218).
So once again, with imagination, anything is as good as one makes it. Even with the terrible acting, they were moving the play because of imagination. The audience imagined that the actors were either a real wall, a real lion and a true suicide that actually happened. Bottom and the other actors were able to inspire love and sympathy.
In the final part of the act, enter Puck and the members of the fairy realm such as the King and Queen. He goes on saying that there is a harsh world out there:
“Now the hungry lion roars
And the wolf behowls the moon,
Whilst the heavy ploughman snores,
All with weary task fordone.
Now the wasted brands do glow,
Whilst the screech-owl, screeching loud,
Puts the wretch that lies in woe
In remembrance of a shroud.
Now it is the time of night
That the graves all gaping wide,
Every one lets forth his sprite,
In the churchway paths to glide.
And we fairies, that do run
By the triple Hecate’s team
From the presence of the sun,
Following darkness like a dream,
Now are frolic. Not a mouse
Shall disturb this hallowed house.
I am sent with broom before
To sweep the dust behind the door.” (V.i.363-383)
Puck begins by describing a very harsh and scary world as soon as everybody else goes to bed. Wolves howl, lions roar, owls hoot, spirits come out of grave to cause mishap in the world. And the only way out of these severities is through imagination. Theseus talked about how lunatics become scared at night, and imagine a bear coming to life. But in this case, it works the other way around. One needs to imagine that it is all just a dream.
It is amazing how, after Theseus’ discussion on how he does not believe the stories about the lovers and the fairies, the fairies themselves enter the stage and have the final words in the play.
There is the final quote by Puck, which states:
“If we shadows have offended,
Think but this, and all is mended—
That you have but slumbered here
While these visions did appear.
And this weak and idle theme,
No more yielding but a dream,
Gentles, do not reprehend.
If you pardon, we will mend.
And, as I am an honest Puck,
If we have unearnèd luck
Now to ’scape the serpent’s tongue,
We will make amends ere long.
Else the Puck a liar call.
So good night unto you all.
Give me your hands if we be friends,
And Robin shall restore amends. “ (V.i.415-430)
Puck refers to himself and his peers as shadows. Shadows are the fairies, but since he is in the play, within the final act, he can also be considered an actor. Therefore shadows can be actors or fairies, and within the play they are being merged. Shakespeare brings in the fairies in the real court at the end and expands the relationship between the performers on stage and audience. The characters that represented imagination itself are the ones that have the last word with the play. Midsummer Night’s Dream has a happy ending. And the play within the play is the highlight of this ending with the representation of the achieved stability, joy and harmony between the lovers and all of the confusion.
Help Received:
Used “No Fear Shakespeare” cited below to view the version of modern English, in order to compare and understand the English in Shakespeare’s era. Looked up the meaning of some important quotes mentioned in this paper to help me better explain my point across.
Work Cited:
-Russ, McDonald, ed. “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” The Pelican, Shakespeare, 2000
-Crowther, John, ed. “No Fear A Midsummer Night’s Dream.” SparkNotes.com. SparkNotes LLC. 2005. Web. 20 Aug. 2015.
-SparkNotes Editors. “SparkNote on A Midsummer Night’s Dream.” SparkNotes.com. SparkNotes LLC. 2002. Web. 17 Sept. 2015