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A Midsummer Night's Dream is one of
Shakespeare's strangest, quirkiest, and most
delightful creations, and demonstrates both the
extent of his learning and the expansiveness of
his imagination. It is one of the most popular
of his plays that marks a departure from his
other works and of English Renaissance theatre.
Though most of the conflict in the play stems
from the troubles of romance, it is not truly a
love story; it treats love as tragic, poignant,
absurd and farcical, making the audience poke
fun at the torments and afflictions of those in
love. Shakespeare uses the motif of magic, both
to embody the almost supernatural power of love
(symbolized by the love potion) and to create a
surreal world. Although the misuse of magic
causes chaos, as when Puck mistakenly applies
the love potion to Lysander's eyelids, magic
ultimately resolves the play's tensions by
restoring love to balance among the main
Athenian characters. As the title suggests,
dreams are an important theme; they are linked
to the bizarre, magical mishaps in the forest,
culminating in one enchanting yet ambiguous
drama. However, the darker side of the play
should not be ignored, nor the rapid mobility
with which the actors transfer their amorous
desires from one person to the other.
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