FREE ESSAY ON MIDSUMMER NIGHT'S FREAM

MIDSUMMER NIGHT'S FREAM

In A Midsummer Night's Dream, Shakespeare uses the green world and its inhabitants as a
symbol of imagination. The characters flee from reality to escape the laws that govern
everyday life in Athens. The importance of imagination reveals itself when the
constraints of everyday life are lost in this realm. The fact that actors fall asleep
multiple times reinforces Shakespeare's allusion to an escape from reality. Fairies
playfully create a magical scene creating a suspension of disbelief for the actors as
well as the audience. The problems that these characters face are remedied because of the
ability of the mind to create this mythical world. Harmony is restored to the characters'
lives because of their ability to bring fantasy into reality. Shakespeare portrays the
power of the imagination as humanity's most divine quality because it allows one to
embrace a realm outside of this world and allows one envision fantasy.
In Athens, laws of the society threaten the characters' freedom. The "sharp Athenian law"
pursues these characters and causes them to escape into the forest. Lysander states,
"From Athens her house remote seven leagues;/ And she respects me as her only son.
/There, gentle Hermia, may I marry thee, /And to that place the sharp Athenian law/
Cannot pursue us". (I.i.156) Here, Lysander suggests to Hermia that the two of them
retreat from society to escape from the law that binds them. Shakespeare uses the forest
to represent the human imagination, which is manifested in the ability to dream. He
focuses upon the abilities of the human mind to temporarily escape the harsh rules of
society. The rules of society do not govern their actions as long as they are in the
forest. 
Helena and Demetrius retreat into the woods, yet these characters are not led into the
realm of imagination to escape the persecution of society. Unlike Hermia and Lysander,
Demetrius and Helena retreat into the forest because of their infatuation with others.
Helena is infatuated with Demetrius, who is infatuated with Hermia. Helena lures
Demetrius into the forest by telling him about Hermia and Lysander's plans. Helena
states, "I will go tell him of Hermia's flight. /Then to the wood will he tomorrow night
/Pursue her..."(I.i 246) Both characters flee into imagination because their love is not
returned to themselves. They flee into the forest into the realm of chaos and dreams
where everything is possible. The elements created within the forest bring the characters
into harmony with each other.
The fairies rule in the realm of imagination. They are mythical, elusive figures of the
forest, responsible for creating illusion and fooling the humans. Oberon, the king of the
fairies, is referred to as the "king of shadows". This reference shows the elusive nature
of the fairies, and their being. They are only a "shadow" of reality again the forest and
fairies are seen elements of imagination. Puck is a character referred to as a
"hobgoblin" responsible for fooling humans to jest for Oberon. These characters enjoy the
trickery done unto the humans, which can be used as a metaphor for imagination. One's
imagination is sometimes responsible for fooling one's self. The fairies are used to
represent this aspect of imagination. A fellow fairy recognizes Puck and describes him as
"he /That frights maidens of the villagery, and sometimes labor in the quern, /And
bootless make the breathless huswife churn, /And sometimes make the drink to bear no
barm, /Mislead night wanderers, laughing at their harm."(II.i.32) Puck is responsible for
misleading humans and plays on their minds. The actions Puck is conducting are referred
to as "figments of imagination" for which the fairies are said to be responsible. The
fairies here bring magic to the humans in the forest when lovers become crossed in their
paths. In the minds of the characters, the fairies in all of these cases have brought
life to what is fantasy. The fairies, like dreams, have been able to create an alternate
harmonious state for the characters by bringing life to the ordinary and mundane.
Though fairies exist in a world within the forest while the humans live in Athens on the
outside of imagination, the lines between reality and imagination become blurred towards
the end of the play. The fairies brought into the Athenian world to show its importance.
Towards the close of the play, Thesius states, 
Such shaping fantasies, that apprehend
The lunatic, the lover, and the poet
Are of imagination all compact
One sees more devils than hell can hold;
That is the madman. The lover, all as frantic,
Sees Helen's beauty in a brow of Egypt.
The poet's eye, in a fine frenzy rolling,
Doth glance from heaven to earth, from earth to heaven;
And as imagination bodies forth
The forms of things unknown, the poet's pen
Turn's then to shapes and gives airy nothing
A local habitation and a name. (V.i.6)
Here Shakespeare shows the importance of imagination with in society. Intense states of
mentality possessed by people allow the outside world to be seen differently. Monotonous
every day occurrences or appearances are shifted to become radical. Imagination is
responsible for love, poetry, and madness, all of which create an essence of a different
realm in society. 
Imagination in A Midsummer Night's Dream allows an escape from society into fantasies.
Dreams are what allow people to escape into heaven or hell, and therefore are one's most
divine quality. Shakespeare portrays this to his audience by allowing the forest to
represent the human ability to escape from the coldness of the world into the warmth and
majesty of dreams. The ability of imagination is responsible for tricking people and
leading one into tricking one's self. When imagination is recognized, monotony is lost
and one's mind is brought to life.