The theme of magic in Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream is consistent throughout the play. The climax of the play is due to Oberon and Puck fiddling with magic to get what they want, which shows how much the role of magic carries out in the play. Without magic, the play would not have been the same, and not as entertaining as it turned out to be. Four of the twelve main characters in A Midsummer Night’s Dream are based on common folklore in Elizabethan England, such as fairies and sprites. Twelve years before Shakespeare wrote A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Reginald Scot published a treatise called Discoverie of Witchcraft. In this publication, he stated that any popular supernatural beliefs or superstitions are a creation of the imagination
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Many theologians argued that fairies were evil beings, who caused mischief upon the world (Karim-Cooper). However, in Shakespeare’s imagining, most fairies are civil and courteous, barely interacting with the human world unless it is for a good reason. While Oberon and Puck do interfere with the human world, they restored what they did when the fun was finished, and in no way were they as evil as they were described as by theologians. In Shakespeare’s vision, fairies can manipulate the natural world to their desire. For example, during Titania and Oberon’s fight, the seasons changed and rivers overflowed due to the fairies’ anger manipulating the weather (II.i.73-102). At the end of the play, the weather and seasons were restored and all was well. Fairies can also become invisible, as demonstrated by Oberon when the Athenian youths come to the forest …show more content…
Titania, however, seems to be an original character out of Shakespeare’s imagination. It is believed that Shakespeare based Titania off of Queen Elizabeth I, because she was loved by most of England. The name “Titania” was another form of the name “Diana”, and Queen Elizabeth I was sometimes called Diana in ‘the poetry of the court’ (Karim-Cooper). It is also believed that the Queen attended the first performance of A Midsummer Night’s Dream. While some of Shakespeare's characters are not completely original, he put his own twist on them and made them
Many theologians argued that fairies were evil beings, who caused mischief upon the world (Karim-Cooper). However, in Shakespeare’s imagining, most fairies are civil and courteous, barely interacting with the human world unless it is for a good reason. While Oberon and Puck do interfere with the human world, they restored what they did when the fun was finished, and in no way were they as evil as they were described as by theologians. In Shakespeare’s vision, fairies can manipulate the natural world to their desire. For example, during Titania and Oberon’s fight, the seasons changed and rivers overflowed due to the fairies’ anger manipulating the weather (II.i.73-102). At the end of the play, the weather and seasons were restored and all was well. Fairies can also become invisible, as demonstrated by Oberon when the Athenian youths come to the forest …show more content…
Titania, however, seems to be an original character out of Shakespeare’s imagination. It is believed that Shakespeare based Titania off of Queen Elizabeth I, because she was loved by most of England. The name “Titania” was another form of the name “Diana”, and Queen Elizabeth I was sometimes called Diana in ‘the poetry of the court’ (Karim-Cooper). It is also believed that the Queen attended the first performance of A Midsummer Night’s Dream. While some of Shakespeare's characters are not completely original, he put his own twist on them and made them