Magic In A Midsummer Night's Dream

In A Midsummer Night’s Dream, many unlikely things happen. As the fairy King and Queen battle for a small Indian boy, their magic is to to the test. The royals use their magic in different way, but to accomplish the same purpose. Many things happen because of a small Indian boy. Magic is used to deceive and to change the environment, manipulate love, and to gain the hand of the boy.

In the play, Titania once had a mistress that was a great friend to her and before she died, she had a young indian boy. When discussing their relationship to Oberon, Titania stted that “Full often hath she gossiped by my side, And sat with me on Neptune's yellow sands.” (Shakespeare 2.1.125) In the quote, Titania describes that she and her servant would often

gossip with each other. This is significant to the outcome of the child because it shows Titania reasoning behind loving the boy. As the two argued for the sake of the child, their magic began to be at work. As Titania described her deep love for the boy, strange things begin to happen, as Titania declares; “That rheumatic diseases do abound. And thorough this distemperature we see The seasons alter” (Shakespeare 2.1.105) In this excerpt Titania describes that their disagreement is causing many changes in the scene around them. This is just the first case, in many, that describes how the changeling boy causes magic throughout the play. After Titania and Oberon conclude their argument, Oberon describes his plan involving Titania and the boy by saying “Having once this juice, I'll watch Titania when she is asleep, And drop the liquor of it in her eyes. The next thing then she waking looks upon, Be it on lion, bear, or wolf, or bull, On meddling monkey, or on busy ape.” (Shakespeare 2.1.176) By stating this, Oberon describes how he is going to use magic to embarrass Titania and win the boy. This is very important because it will later cause the play to diverge in unexpected ways.

As Oberon and Titania continue to fight for the fate of the small child, many types of magic begin to be used.

One instance of magic being used is when Oberon and Titania argue in the forest, as described by Titania, saying, “Is, as in mockery, set; the spring, the summer, The childing autumn, angry winter, change” (Shakespeare 2.1.106) As described in the quote, when the two former lovers argue over the boy, their magical powers begin to alter the environment around them. In the quote it states that the season begin to change in a violent manner. Another instance of magic being used in the play, is when Puck turns Bottom’s head into that of a donkey, as described by Bottom himself, saying “you see an asshead of your own, do you?” (Shakespeare 3.1.13) In this quote Bottom is asking a rhetorical question stating whether-or-not he has the head of a donkey. This plays into Oberon’s larger plot to steal the boy from Titania. In the play, Puck, by order of Oberon, pt a love potion on Lysander’s eyes, by saying a charm; “All the power this charm doth owe. When thou wakest, let love forbid” (2.2.79) Little to Puck’s knowledge, he had given to potion to the wrong person. The reason that Oberon had the potion was to make Titania fall in love a donkey so he could steal, the boy from Titania to keep him as his

own.