A Midsummer Nights Dream Reality Versus Fantasy

Allison Miller ENC 1102 Professor 22 May 17 Reality Versus Fantasy In William Shakespeare’s play, â€Å"A Midsummer Night’s Dream,† he tells a tragic yet, comical tale that toys with the boundaries between realism and the fantastic. The play depicts the theme of how reality can often be manipulated by a fantasy due to the results of magical occurrences in the woods. Although the natural world we live in does not contain magic happenings, the play allows the audience to run wild with imagination and essentially invites them into this surreal dream. Shakespeare develops similar fundamentals throughout most of his plays which examine reality versus fantasy throughout the narrative structure. While the dream world indeed exists separately†¦show more content†¦In Scene I, Hermia is introduced to the audience as a disobedient daughter of Egeus. Her father requests her to marry Demetrius even though she has already fallen in love with Lysander. Since her refusal to marry, her father desired for her to be killed which is a stan dard punishment under the Athenian law for disobeying a parental figure. The setting and beginning of the play is used to reference the severe laws of the human world. â€Å"My gracious duke, be it so she will not here before your grace, Consent to marry with Demetrius, I beg the ancient privilege of Athens. As she is mine, I may dispose of her—Which shall be either to this gentleman or to her death† ( ). Life in the city of Athens represents harsh actualities in a colorless world and choices are limited. In this scene it links the connections to law and order which will be juxtaposed in the second set of the woods outside of Athens. For Shakespeare’s audience, the setting of the forest in the nighttime signifies the exact opposite from the strict laws of Athens. The significant action of the takes place in the woods outside of Athens which demonstrates a habitat that is detached from the natural, rational and moral limitations of a human’s experience. It is extremely to the development of the plot and creating that sense of fantasy for the audience because represents a magical and enchanted place that is far away from a civilized society. As the young lovers wander into the woods, they essentiallyShow MoreRelatedThe Roots Of Fantasy Assignment : A Midsummer Night s Dream911 Words   |  4 PagesThe Roots of Fantasy Assignment: A Midsummer Night’s Dream William Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream was written in the early modern period somewhere between 1595 and 1596. The play showcases elements of the fantasy genre which not only influence the plot and overall world of the play but significantly developed and contributed to the genre itself. 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