Altaf Ahmed Sheikh 1 B.A (Hons.

) English Part-III

Assignment on:
Dreamlike atmosphere in Shakespeare's drama
A Midsummer Night's Dream

Submitted to:
Sir Inayat Ali Shah

Submitted by:

Altaf Ahmed Sheikh

B.A (Hons.) English Part-III
Roll No. 10
Institute of English,
University of Sindh,
Jamshoro.

Date:
th
10 June; 2008

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Altaf Ahmed Sheikh 2 B.A (Hons.) English Part-III

'Think no more of this night's accidents

But as the fierce vexation of a dream,'

Above mentioned two lines is the wrung essence of all that you will go through in the
whole discourse. But these can only be digested at our best if we know what a Dream is.

What is a dream?

1) A sequence of scenes and feelings occurring in the mind during sleep

2) A state of mind in which the things happening around one do not seem real.

Scientifically, dream is some metaphysical subconscious imagination in which

materialistic impossibilities are shown as real and existing. Dreamlike means beyond
physical realities of this world. Shakespeare's drama A midsummer night dream also
depicts some fantasies which are otherwise mere abstract concepts but they appear in the
drama as real. Such a atmosphere is observed in A midsummer night's dream. This is
considered as an author's ingenuity with which he suspense the disbelief of the reader
even for a short while.

A midsummer night's dream!

A midsummer night's dream was intended to be a tragedy,

but it accidentally turned out be a comedy. It is plain that this play is of dream nature.
Characters like Oberon, Titania and Puck, fairy king, queen and attendant respectively
does not exist in real world. They can only appear in one's imagination or in a dream. We
are asked to accept happenings which are not likely to occur in real life. Love juice which
has this distinctive feature that if it is poured in anyone's eyes, he/she will fall in love
with the 1st person they see. This is quite superstitious belief which has no any link with
the reality and truth. It often helps dramatists in creating a kind of dreamlike
environment. Similar examples are found in A midsummer night's dream when Fairy
Queen Titania falls in love with an ass faced human, kisses him and adores him. Such a
ridiculous thing is never witnessed in the real world. Apart from this, the contrast
amongst various groups of characters in the drama is very appealing. The nobles, being
the serious ones, are lost into the dream world of lust and love, where as the poor, being
robust, faces the hardships of life.

Modern View

To give this preposition under discussion a modern touch, let us assume

that love triangle similar to the one which is formed by the young nobles in the drama,
might still exists at various places in the world. But, one can hardly assume the intensity
of sincerity and devotion expressed by Hermia and other characters in the drama. She did
not comply with the article in the constitution of that state where the daughter has to

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Altaf Ahmed Sheikh 3 B.A (Hons.) English Part-III

marry the man her father chooses; in reluctance she would be beheaded. Chivalry and
determination shown by the lady Hermia before her father and the king, despite knowing
the consequences that she will have to suffer just because of her refusal to marry the man
of her father's choice. She pursued her love in all the good and bad times and remained
faithful with her beloved. These characters appear to be melodramatic, a character type
typical of romantic tragedies. Since then the customs, traditions and human nature have
changed up to a zenith point so that such a character is too difficult to find in today's real
or fictitious both worlds. In other words, we can say that the pure love and faith in each
other's beloved is something which has been vanished and people long for it not merely
in the dreams which come at night during sleep but also in the day dreams which
sometimes appear closer to the reality. Hence, the over all milieu of A midsummer night's
dream look like as if a young lover is dreaming of his/her beloved chasing him/her
everywhere just to stay together and have the best moments of his/her life. This is all
indeed a dreamlike and a common fantasy for today's young lover under the
circumstances stated in the drama, regardless of he/she be a prince/princess.

A Perfect Dream

The atmosphere of A midsummer night's dream is dreamlike. This is

justified by several critics, out of those a few remained overwhelmingly popular in their
respective ages. Mr. F. J. Furnivall, one of those literary legends who are known for their
constructive criticism says;
" A midsummer night's dream is a poem, a dream, rather than a
play; its freakish fancy of fairyland fitting it for the choicest chamber of the student's
brain, while its second part, the broadest farce, is just the thing for public stage."

Certainly, this play has no match in its capability of creating a temporary world of
imagination and the fantasies inside the mind of the reader, where the reader loses his
rational sense for a while and believes in whatever is shown to him. Thus, when the
drama ends, and the rational faculty of the mind is restored, we realize that if not whole,
at least the half of it must be fictitious as some of the incidents occurring this drama are
far fetched from the fact. Fact remains unshackled that a tiny fairy can only be seen in a
imaginative faculty of mind, may be a dream, but it can never ever be physically
available (that also for solving a human quarrel over love).

Illusive Conclusion

No doubt this drama represents the engrossed mixture of elements

which often figure in dreams. From diminutive size of fairies to endowing them with
certain humane qualities, this all and things like that are only possible in dream alone.
There is no posing of deep problems of man's life on earth. It is a play of illusions, rather
than actual hard facts, and the greatest of all illusions is the illusion of love. As Bottom,
one of the prominent character in the drama utters in a dialogue a simple but
philosophical statement when he says;

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Altaf Ahmed Sheikh 4 B.A (Hons.) English Part-III

"Reason and love keep little company together."

The reason here generalizes the rational aspect of human nature and the love symbolizes
the emotional aspect. Sometimes, the rational side dominated and some other times the
emotional side carries more weight. They are both antagonist of one another. Hence, keep
little or no company together. If these both sides become balanced, the person would be
most successful person in the world. What we see in A midsummer night's dream is that
due to its theme, which ultimately turns out to be the love, the emotional attitude is
observed at a large scale in almost every character of the drama. One example can be
extracted from the play from a scene in which the head of Bottom is transformed into an
ass head, but he do not notice it. If all this is not dreamlike, then what should we consider
it? At least a rational being like me would never consider this as real and existing in any
corner of the world.
Probably, it is for this reason that many critics consider this play to be
suitable for the entertainment of the thoughtless youth. Mr. J. Bailey, a literary-cum-socio
writer states in his book The English Heritage Series says;

"A midsummer night's dream as a drama it is nothing, as a dream it is perfect."

Mr. Bailey continues at another place;

"A midsummer night's dream is a fantasia, a dream play. Therefore, it must not be
approached as if it were a serious picture of human life."

In a nutshell, A midsummer night's dream definitely has a dreamlike atmosphere. It has

numerous similar features that of a magical fairy tale or any other prince & princess story
narrated to kids at bed time. But, what is distinctive about A midsummer night's dream is
that it gives aesthetic pleasure to the lovers, mere entertainment to rational beings and an
open invitation for criticism to the students of literature.

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Altaf Ahmed Sheikh 5 B.A (Hons.) English Part-III

Bibliography:
W. Turner, (1997) A midsummer night's dream. S. Chand & Co. Publishers, India.
A S Hornby. (1995) Oxford dictionary of advanced learners. Oxford University Press.
Legouis & Cazamian. (1933) History of English Literature.
J.A. Cuddon. (1998) Literary terms & Literary theory. Penguin Books England.
Enright, D. J. (1966) English Critical Texts. Oxford University Press.
Shah, S. A. (2003) Exploring the world of English, Markazi Kutub Khana Publishers.

World Wide Websites:

• www.ondix.com
• www.bartleby.com
• www.scribbed.com
• http://www.kirjasto.sci.fi
• www.eliteskills.com
• http://www.ibiblio.org/secretlibrary/wp-content

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