A Midsummer Night’s Dream
(William Shakespeare’s)

Forbidden Love

In Act One Scene One, Lysander discusses the ways that love has been forbidden throughout history, either through age difference or class separation. Hermia's love is forbidden by her father, Egeus. Helena's love is forbidden by her beloved Demetrius. Titania forbids Oberon to come near her again because of their quarrel and refuses to hand over the Indian boy. In The Mechanical's play, Thisbe and Pyramus are forbidden to see one another, and even lose their lives before they can be together.

Perception

The flower juice that is smeared on Lysander and Titania's eyes changes their view of the world. It even changes their heart. They no longer see what they saw before. The humans—aside from Bottom—never see the fairy world, even though Robin and Oberon are often watching over them. The moon, which provides light for many of them, does not help illuminate the woods while Robin teases and taunts Lysander and Demetrius through the shadows. They think they're following one another, but they're actually being tricked by Robin.

Foolishness

Bottom, even in his name, is quite a foolish character. Although many of the workmen putting on the play have moments of stupidity, Bottom's arrogance coupled with his utter ignorance paint him as a man who thinks he's the best at everything he attempts, when actually he's quite awful. That the others are duped into believing Bottom is a fantastic performer only adds to the comedy. When Bottom is given a donkey's head, he physically represents folly.

Later on the performers of the play do not even realize that they're performing incorrectly—i.e by explaining to the audience what is happening rather than showing them—and do not realize they are being mocked by Theseus and the rest of the audience. But it's not just Bottom who is an intensely foolish character; Hermia and Helena have an argument about their contrasting heights without Helena realising that she's picking on Hermia for it, and Demetrius can be called a fool for believing he loves Hermia enough to reject Helena, who he arguably knew he loved.

Reason and Love

When Bottom comments that reason and love do not go well together (3.1), he simplifies a common thread of investigation in the play. It seems that none of the players in Midsummer follow reason closely when faced with their love, or when following their heart's desire, and those that are questioned over their choice of love are often faced with statements others believe to be logical. For example, Egeus' attempts to control his daughter's heart are down to his role as a Father. Only when Theseus sees that there is no more claim on Hermia from Demetrius does he overrule societal law and let love win.

The mess that is made with the flower liquid suggests that love is illogical, ever changing, and can transform humans into blind, cruel people if they don't keep their heads. Even though it is reason that turns Hermia away into the woods, setting the events in action, and love that resolves their conflict, Theseus still rejects the lovers' remembrance of their dream as silly imagination. He rejects their memory in favour of reason. It is also reason that brings everything back under control, which suggests that maybe reason and love need to go together for a couple to survive.

Night and Day

Seeing by the light of the moon, or meeting under starlight might be considered romantic, but the night sky is actually indicative of the presence of the fairy world. Oberon admits that he does like the Sun, but he prefers to fly around at night. He also admits that their mischief must be undone and made right before daylight, suggesting some predetermined rules for their kind. When Titania meets with him, and the dawn comes, they leave for the darker side of the world. In many ways, the darkness of the night allows the fairies to cause mischief and fun. The day, and light, on the other hand, is the world of the humans. They wake at first light, and are in charge of what happens to them during this time, while the four Athenian youths and Bottom had no choice what was done to them throughout the night by the fairies.

Gender

Hermia and Helena threaten to attack one another over men despite the fact that they grew up together, and have obviously been close friends. They both fawn over the men that they love and chase them through the woods. Titania is tricked by her husband, Oberon, and made a fool of because she won't do as she is told when asked to give up the Indian boy. Despite the fact that Bottom has a donkey's head for much of the play, he seems less of a fool than Titania who calls him beautiful and embraces him in the flowerbeds. And Demetrius, though he chases Hermia into the woods to take her back from Lysander, threatens Helena with rape and murder if she doesn't stop following him. Even though she doesn't listen to him, his threats represent the distinct control men believe they have over women in this play.

The Dream World

A dreaming Hermia believes she sees Lysander sitting by as her heart is eaten, which is a strong metaphor for what has happened while she has been asleep. When she wakes up though, she has no idea where Lysander has gone. Just as the world is under a kind of fog, so too is reality. Titania wakes to find that she has had an awful dream about being in love with a donkey, and the Athenians remember the night in the woods as a dream under Oberon's command. It is in the world of dreams and the mystic that brings the most clarity.

The Supernatural

Although the Supernatural elements in the play can be blamed for the chaotic events and misunderstanding between the Athenians in the woods, magic ultimately resolves the problems between them and bring about a happy end for both couples. And, even though Oberon has to use magic to trick Titania into giving him the Indian boy, this resolves the argument between them and brings the natural world back to order once more.

Control and Manipulation

Egeus wants to control who his daughter, Hermia, marries. This way, he would be able to control not only her heart, but her body. Helena wants to control Demetrius and make him love her, just as Demetrius wants Hermia to love him, but Helena also suspects that it is Hermia who has manipulated the two men into pretending to love her. Although not revealed explicitly, its suggested that Hippolyta has been coerced into marrying Theseus because she lost the war to him; she isn't marrying him for love.

Peace and Chaos

Due to the war between Oberon and Titania, the seasons and weather are at odds with one another. Titania laments the loss of farmer's crops, and the fog that has crept over the world because of their fights. It seems that until the two fairy monarchs resolve their issues, the world will continue to be chaotic in nature. That chaos bleeds over into the other people in the play, especially the Athenian youths lost in the woods. In the human world, the threat Hermia represents is the undoing of the peace in her family by refusing to marry Demetrius at her father's command.