A Midsummer Night’s Dream - Notes
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Themes- The fundamental + often universal ideas explored in a literary work.

Love’s Difficulty (“The course of true love never did run smooth”)

Imbalance + lack of symmetry at the opening of the play is redressed as the play goes on.

• Unrequited Love: Helena + Demetrius (“The more you beat me, I will fawn over you”, “We should be woo’d and not made to woo”, “I am sick when I do not look on you”, “Things base and vile, holding no dignity, Love and transpose to form and dignity” “Love looks not with the eyes but with the mind/And therefore is winged Cupid”…and many others)
• Tumultuous Love: Oberon + Titania (“Ill meet by moonlight, proud Titania”, “Am I not your lord”)
• Forbidden Love: Hermia + Lysander (“Oh hell! To choose love with another’s eyes!”)

Quest for an internal balance to be restored by the play’s completion.

Magic:

• Magic as an embodiment of the supernatural
• Love as a magical or supernatural power (Symbolised by the love potion).
• Magical Power of the love to transform.
• Mis-use of love causes chaos (Puck’s mistake)
• Magic ultimately restores balance – “Concord through discord (or agreement through disagreement)”
• Love when guided by magic has its own (surreal) internal logic (like a Dream)

Dreams:

The action of the play can be seen as a dream:

• Strange hybrid creatures/magic/fairies
• Bathed in moonlight, the world of feeling rather than thinking, the action takes on a surreal, subconscious quality.
• Sense of illusion crucial to the atmosphere of the play.

Motifs:

Recurring structural devices, contrasts or literary devices that help to develop and inform the major themes.

Contrasts/Doubles:

• Interchange-ability: Helena + Hermia, Theseus + Oberon, Lysander + Demetrius. (refer to Epstein and your essay)
• Emotions are exaggerated
• Contrasts (Differences): Helena is tall (“painted maypole” while Hermia is short), Titania is stunningly beautiful + Bottom is grotesque

Symbols:

Objects, character, figures or colours used to represent abstract ideas or concepts.

• Moonlight – reflected light, world of feeling/subconscious, night-time world + activities (which include emotion, love dreams, sex) (also in other  notes) “Like a sliver bow, new bent in heaven”
• Forrest – Unpredictable space, dark place, limitless possibilities, sanctuary, labyrinth, confusion. “Man’s hart is like a dark forest”
• Love Potion – A symbol of the irrational erratic + undeniably powerful nature of love _ the bizarre behaviour that can take place a result of.

Rational world ruled by the son, Irrational world ruled by the moon.

Other Notes in this Category

1. A Midsummer Night’s Dream - Notes
2. Lord of the Flies : Attitudes toward the beast
3. Macbeth Plot Summary - Act Five
4. Macbeth Plot Summary - Act Four
5. Macbeth Plot Summary - Act One
6. Macbeth Plot Summary - Act Three
7. Macbeth Plot Summary - Act Two

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