Thursday, January 5, 2012

What is Shakespeare's view or outlook of the world, as portrayed in A Midsummer Night's Dream ?

Shakespeare uses A Midsummer Night's
Dream
to point out social injustices and also to portray the foolishness of
mankind. However, Shakespeare also gives us a happy ending for the play, making it a
jovial comedy, and showing us that his outlook on the world is not entirely negative.
While Shakespeare recognizes that the world has its flaws, A Midsummer Night's
Dream
portrays his outlook as being generally positive, so long as the world
has a guiding, intervening hand, like the fairies.

We see Shakespeare
portray one social injustice in the very first scene. Egeus is petitioning Duke Theseus
for the right to enact the "ancient privilege of Athens" in order to punish his daughter
for refusing to marry Demetrius (I.i.43). "The ancient privilege" grants a father
permission to either kill a disobedient daughter or to send her to a convent. It's
noteworthy that while having her sent to a convent is an option, Egeus is specifically
asking for the right to "dispose" of Hermia in the matter he sees fit. Specifically, he
is asking for the right to either dispose of her through marriage to Demetrius or
through death, as we see in his lines:


readability="8">

As she is mine, I may dispose of
her;
Which shall be either to this gentleman
Or to her death,
according to out law.
(43-45)



Shakespeare is using
Egeus to point out the social injustice of treating a daughter as a slave; he is also
using Egeus to point out the social injustice of a male dominant
society.

Shakespeare also uses both the Athenian couples and Puck to
point out the foolishness of mankind, especially the irrationality of love. Shakespeare
first uses Demetrius to point out the foolishness of both man and love by having Helena
reveal that there really is no rational, conceivable reason for Demetrius to have
stopped loving her and chosen Hermia above her, especially because she is recognized as
being just as fair as Hermia. Also, when Lysander becomes enchanted into falling in love
with Helena, he declares that it is his reason that is guiding his decision, when in
actuality he is being influenced to act irrationally by the magic flower. Finally, when
all four mixed-up lovers begin quarreling, Puck points out the foolishness of mankind in
his famous lines, "Shall we their fond pageant see? / Lord, what fools these mortals
be!" (III.ii.115-116).

However, while mankind is portrayed as being
socially unjust, irrational, and foolish, at the end, all four lovers are happily united
due to Oberon's and Puck's use of the magic flower. Not only that, Oberon and the
fairies bless their marriages so that they will remain ever true. Shakespeare's ending
shows us that while the world has its flaws, with a guiding hand, things can come out
alright in the end.

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