A Midsummer Nights Dream by William Shakespeare

A Midsummer Nights Dream by William Shakespeare

The point of this essay is to determine the style and use of humour in

William Shakespeare's, 'A Midsummer Nights Dream.' Written around

1595, Shakespeare blended this story from a variety of sources and

issues of the time.

The play consists of 4 groups of characters: Theseus of Athens and his

bride Hippolyta, queen of the Amazons; the fairy king and queen,

Oberon and Titania; two pairs of young lovers who run to a nearby

forest; and a company of Athenian working men headed by Nick Bottom,

the weaver, who all enter the same forest as the lovers to rehearse a

play they intend to perform for Theseus and the nobles.

The humour of the play begins with a spell cast by Puck, Oberon's

mischievous servant, which causes confusion of love between the

lovers: Demetrius, Helena, Hermia and Lysander. But Puck also uses the

potion on Titania, the beautiful and cultured Fairy Queen so that she

falls in love with the oafish and clumsy Bottom who coincidentally

takes on the physical appearance of a donkey. Shakespeare uses comedy

in speech by making Bottom talk of donkeys and asses with realising he

himself looks like a donkey, one of the few lines written include, "I

see their knavery: this is to make an ass of me, to fright me if they

could…"

Titania, who unbeknown of the spell used on her, cannot explain her

undying love and desire for Bottom. She even compliments his awful

singing, "I pray thee gentle mortal, sing again; mine ear is much

enamoured of thy note…" Titania introduces Bottom to all of her fairy

subjects who often makes a fool of himself in front of these immortal,

royal subjects. Titania continues to compliment him and shower him

with gifts, which adds to the humour Shakespeare is implying.

Eventually Oberon releases Titania from the spell and she realizes who

she had loved.

As for Bottom his normal head is replaced and he returns to the other

workers to continue rehearsal.