Rice University
The Darker Purpose of A Midsummer Night's Dream
Author(s): Michael Taylor
Source: Studies in English Literature, 1500-1900, Vol. 9, No. 2, Elizabethan and Jacobean
Drama (Spring, 1969), pp. 259-273
Published by: Rice University
Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/449779 .
Accessed: 28/05/2014 14:25
Your use of the JSTOR archive indicates your acceptance of the Terms & Conditions of Use, available at .
http://www.jstor.org/page/info/about/policies/terms.jsp
.
JSTOR is a not-for-profit service that helps scholars, researchers, and students discover, use, and build upon a wide range of
content in a trusted digital archive. We use information technology and tools to increase productivity and facilitate new forms
of scholarship. For more information about JSTOR, please contact [email protected].
.
Rice University is collaborating with JSTOR to digitize, preserve and extend access to Studies in English
Literature, 1500-1900.
http://www.jstor.org
This content downloaded from 137.140.1.131 on Wed, 28 May 2014 14:25:01 PM
All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions
The DarkerPurposeof
A Midsummer
Night'sDream
MICHAEL
TAYLOR
Along with our recognitionof the obvious innocent delights of A
MidsummerNight's Dream's dream world, we should also recognize an
unfestivereality whose constituentsare human pettiness and its concomitant,a stubbornintractability.In ironicfashionboth the "good" and
the impish fairies reflect not only the play's "gossamer web" charm,
but are anthropomorphized
in such a manner as to be equally human
in their concern for petty triumph-hence the acerbity of the quarrel
betweenOberon and Titania. Their "jangling" is similar to that of the
human lovers Hermia, Lysander,Helena, and Demetrius.Even the more
noble and, in a sense, ideally representativehuman lovers, Theseus and
Hippolyta, are touched by complacency and irrationalism,modifying
somewhat our delight in the perfect harmony of their union. Out of
this discord, however,like Helena's "comfortsfrom the East," comes
concord,a harmonywhich in retrospectthe play makes seem inevitable.
An awareness of the presence both of disharmonyand of concord is
essential to a full understandingof Shakespeare's purpose, particularly
to make relevantits darker aspect (the disharmonyof human triviality).
IT WOULD BE ABSURD to denythe gaietyof
Shakespeare's romanticcomedies,especiallyas theirmishappenings are transparentlyconventional.In all of them the
lovers'purgatoryis comic,and it is impossibleto imagineany
otheroutcomethan the restorationor establishmentof harmonyamongthem.However,this is not to denythat at times
bitterness,even ugliness,impingesupon their lives, or is at
least presentin the world of the play even if they are not
directlyaffectedby it. Occasionally,theseplays reveal a dour
kind of scepticism,not completelysubsumedin the harmony
of the close. Jaques, for example,is excludedfromthe prenuptialcelebrationswhichclimaxAs You Like It, for his intent is to retire from the world of such frivolitiesto a
He ends whereLove's Labour's
privateone of contemplation.
Lost begins. We find it difficultto give credenceto his exwhen his criticismis
cesses, but his positionis strengthened
repeatedin Touchstone'scommonsensecynicisms.Similarly,
we agree that Orsino's melancholyin TwelfthNight is best
handledironically,but findit particularlydifficultto approve
of the "fun" made of the gloomyMalvolio.In boththeseplays
we are offereda glimpseof a harsh, unfestiverealitywhere
This content downloaded from 137.140.1.131 on Wed, 28 May 2014 14:25:01 PM
All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions
260
THE
DARKER
PURPOSE
even "virtues"may be "sanctifiedand holytraitors"or where
"unregardedage" maybe "in cornersthrown."
Recently,criticismhas been at some pains to point to the
suggestionof tensionin the maturercomediesAs You Like It
and TwelfthNight.' However,althoughthe fragilityof the
comedyof A MidsummerNight's Dream has sometimesbeen
noticed,2
thisplay is generallyregardedas one of thehappiest
of Shakespeare'scomedieswhere the "truthof love," to use
JohnRussell Brown's phrase,3is firmlyestablished,despite
the scepticismvoiced by Theseus. It is certainlytrue that
the two pairs of lovers in this play, Hermia and Lysander,
Helena and Demetrius,are finallydisentangledby Oberonin
such a way that each gets the partnerwhich makes for the
happiestconclusion,and it is also truethatthefinalreconciliationis one whichwe knowfromthe firstscenewill eventually
comeabout.In comedythe "happyending"is inevitable.However, inevitabilitycan be a provocativeconvention,for the
very notionthat the happy ending must prevail can enable
the playwright,in the process of arriving at it, to glance
just a littlesourlyat precedingevents,and it is this sourness
in A MidsummerNight'sDream whichI would like to isolate
forthe purposeof thisessay.
Criticshave frequentlycommentedon the skill with which
Shakespeare interweavesthe four strands of his plot: the
impendingmarriageof Theseus and Hippolyta,whichenables
us to experiencethe play's eventsin a festiveframework;the
Mechanicals' play; the tribulationsof the four lovers, and
the interventionin human affairs,both those of the lovers
and the Mechanicals,by the fairies. Such is Shakespeare's
presentationthat we cannot discuss, for example,the trials
that the lovers undergowithoutreferenceto the functionof
Theseus'sand Hippolyta'smarriageor,of course,to the amusin theirlives by Oberonand Puck. We cannot
ing interference
take the lovers' mistakes too seriously (for it is in their
scenesthat the tendencyto sournessseems mostpronounced)
'See, for example, Clifford Leech's latest book on Shakespeare,
"Twelfth Night" and Shakespearian Comedy (Toronto, 1965).
IC. L. Barber glances at it in his book Shakespeare's Festive Comedy
(Princeton, 1959). He notes, for example, that Lysander and Hermia
look "for just a momentat the tragic potentialitiesof passion" (p. 126),
and that thereis a "scepticismin solutionthroughoutthe play" (p. 142).
3Shakespeare and his Comedies (London, 1957). The phrase is used as
the title of his chapter which deals with A MidsummerNight's Dream.
This content downloaded from 137.140.1.131 on Wed, 28 May 2014 14:25:01 PM
All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions
MICHAEL
TAYLOR
261
simplybecause their confusionis not their own fault. They
cannot help being unpleasantto each otherfor the two men
are underthe metamorphicinfluenceof Oberon'spansy-juice.
Indeed,the mere fact of the fairies' presencein the human
world has a transmutingeffecton the inhabitantsof that
world. The diminutive,airy spirits have sufficientfragile
grace to changethe lovers' crassnessinto somethingrich and
strange.
An awarenessof the fairies'delightfulness,
however,should
notblindus to thesuggestionof equivocationin theirpresentation.Thereseemto be finelines drawnbetweenfragilecharm,
impishmischief,and trivialmalice. Puck, for example,seems
to be spirituallycloserto the Witchesin Macbeththan to the
good fairiesof fairy-story.
C. L. Barber beginshis chapteron
A MidsummerNight's Dream with an interestingquotation
fromthe Puritan,Stubbes:
Against May, Whitsunday,or othertimeall the young
men and maids, old men and wives run gadding over
nightto thewoods,groves,hills,and mountains,where
theyspendall the nightin pleasant pastimes.... And
no marvel,for there is a great Lord present among
and Lord over theirpastimes
them,as superintendent
and sports,namely,Satan, princeof Hell.4
In its way, this is a cleverpiece of writingin the mannerin
whichStubbeslullsour suspicionsbyemphasizingtheapparent
innocenceof "gadding over nightto the woods,groves,hills,
and mountains"while he delays his sardonic commentthat
these"pleasantpastimes"are presidedover by "Satan, prince
of Hell." The sting in the tail is nicelycalculated,for it is
true that what firstattractsus to accountsof these "sports"
is theirpastoralinnocenceand gaiety,just as in A Midsummer
Night's Dream what is most immediatelyseductiveis the innocentcharmofthefairyworld.
There may be sometruthin Stubbes'sscepticalwithholding
of approval for jaunting around the countrysideat night
(thoughnot,I trust,for the reason he gives); equally,there
may be some justificationfor hesitationbeforeacceptingunconditionallythe benevolentethos of A MidsummerNight's
Dream. However,to suggestthat thereis anythingsatanic in
Puck's mischievousness
wouldbe an exaggerationworthyonly
'Barber, p. 149. Taken from Stubbes's The Anatomie of Abuses ...
Ailgna (1583), editedby F. V. Furnival (London, 1877-1882).
This content downloaded from 137.140.1.131 on Wed, 28 May 2014 14:25:01 PM
All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions
in
262
THE DARKER
PURPOSE
of a modernStubbes. The closest he comes to the strain of
night":
Sycoraxis in his ogreishdescriptionsof "black-browed
And yondershinesAurora'sharbinger;
At whoseapproachghosts,wanderinghereand there,
Troophometo churchyards;damnedspiritsall,
That in crosswaysand floodshave buried,
Alreadyto theirwormybedsare gone.
For fearlestday shouldlooktheirshamesupon,
Theywilfullythemselvesexilefromlight,
And mustforaye consortwithblack-browed
night.5
(III.ii.380-387)
Puck chooses, here, not to celebrate "Aurora's harbinger,"
whichheraldsthose "comfortsfromthe East" that Helena so
ardentlydesires,nor does he spend time on the ghosts who
after "wanderinghere and there / Troop home to churchyards," where both "wandering"and "Troop home" suggest
benignity:theseghosts,at least,have a hometo go to. Instead,
afteronlypassingreferencesto the morningstar and the free
spirits,he elaboratesupon the nightas the natural time for
"damned spirits," the ghosts of suicides who have either
drownedthemselvesor been buried in unsanctifiedground.
Despite Oberon's reminderthat "we are spirits of another
sort" (III.ii.388) and that,becauseof this,he has often"made
sport"with"the Morning'slove,"we associatethefairieswith
the night.Puck explicitlystates, later, that the fairies avoid
the day-light,
forthey
run
By thetripleHecate's team
Fromthepresenceofthesun,
Followingdarknesslikea dream,
(V.i.390-393)
The night of A MidsummerNight's Dream has its terror
(pantomimicthough it may be), and the dream that the
potential.Even thoughthe
darknessinduceshas a nightmarish
play's finale emphasizesthe establishmentof harmony(best
expressedby Oberonas he pronouncesthe fairies' blessingon
Theseus's palace), Shakespearechoosesto make Puck, in the
speech which immediatelyprecedes Oberon's, rehearse the
night's ominousnesswhere the hungrylion roars, the wolf
"behowlsthemoon"and the screechowl "Puts the wretchthat
5Quotationsfrom Shakespeare are taken from Shakespeare Complete
Plays and Poems, edited by W. A. Neilson and C. J. Hill (Cambridge,
Mass., 1942).
This content downloaded from 137.140.1.131 on Wed, 28 May 2014 14:25:01 PM
All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions
MICHAEL
TAYLOR
263
lies in woe / In remembranceof a shroud" (V.i.384-385). It
is onlyproperin comedy,however,that the bear of the night
is the bush of the morning,although its terrifyingaspect
may linger in the memory.Certainly,the lovers,wandering
in thedarkness,feelthattheyare thenight'svictims,thatthey
have "fallen in dark uneven way"-unaware of the bush's
transmogrification.
As Helena says: "O weary night,0 long
and tedious night,/ Abate thy hours; Shine comforts,from
theEast," (III.iii.431-432). Inevitably,the comfortscome,and
the play ends on a note of rejoicing as the marriages are
celebrated.
Perhaps more significant,because less exaggerated, in
Shakespeare's treatmentof the fairies is the way in which
theyare anthropomorphized.
Puck, himself,is less ogreishin
disposition-despitehis bloodcurdling
descriptionsof the summer night-than mischievous.His sense of superiorityover
his human victimsis human in its pettiness."Lord, what
fools these mortalsbe!" (III.ii.115) he sighs disparagingly,
as he enjoysthe ratherpitiable"jangling" of the fourlovers:
"And so far am I glad it so did sort,/ As this theirjangling I
esteema sport" (III.ii.352-353). Andhis descriptionof Bottom
is as censoriousas Titania's when she regains her normal,
superiorsense of values ("O, how mine eyes do loathe his
visage now!"-IV.i.82). Puck describesBottom cuttinglyas
"The shallowestthickskinof thatbarrensort" (III.ii.13), and
this criticismis echoedby Oberon-"this hatefulimperfection
of hereyes" (IV.i.66). It is notjust Puck,then,who is anthropomorphizedin this manner.Oberonand Titania seem more
typicalof a husband and wife in the real than in the fairy
world. Their squabblingis trivial: a dispute over Titania's
"changeling"boy whom Oberondesires. The king and queen
are onlyreconciledthroughOberon'ssubduingTitania to his
wishes,and it seemsthatmasculinehegemonyis as traditional
in fairy-landas it is in the humanworld.This comparisonbetween the two worlds is even more ironicallyexact when
Oberonaccuses Titania of an improperinterestin Theseus;
while she in turn accuses him of harboringbase thoughts
about Hippolyta. No doubt this anthropomorphic
bickering
betweenspirits,parallelingthe "jangling" of the humanlovers, is part of the play's comic effect.It is amusing to see
fairiesbehavingas foolishlyand predictablyas humanbeings.
It follows,then,that the fairiesare delightfulin at least two
This content downloaded from 137.140.1.131 on Wed, 28 May 2014 14:25:01 PM
All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions
264
THE
DARKER
PURPOSE
sensesoftheword.Theydelightus in the way a gossamerweb
does withits beautyand fragility,but theyalso delightus in
the broadercomicway of Bottomand his cohorts.They are
bothapart fromand a part of the trivialhumanitytheycriticize. And this means that our attitudetowards them is ambivalent,forthe two ways in whichtheyentertainus, though
not mutuallyexclusive,are interestingly
incompatible.
Even so, this incompatibility
is not seriousenoughto make
us dislikethem.Oberon'sand Titania's quarrel is comic and
private.It appears notto have consequencesbeyondthe purely
local situation,just as, normallyspeaking,any minorflareup betweenhusbandand wife is a personalmatteronly.But
we are dealing here with spiritsnot humans,and even their
pettyfeudsmayhave abnormalconsequencesto be experienced
in an environment
verydifferentfromtheirown. In A MidsummerNight'sDream the fairies'quarrelaffectsthe weather, as Titania (blamingOberonof course) angrilyindicates:
Thereforethewinds,pipingto us in vain,
As in revenge,have suck'dup fromthesea
Contagiousfogs; which,fallingin theland,
Hath everypeltingrivermade so proud
That theyhave overbornetheircontinents.
(II.i.88-92)
Her descriptioncontinuesfor anothertwenty-five
lines and
the functionof such an extendedtreatmentof the climate's
inconsistency
is to remindus that the effectsof Titania's and
Oberon'sbickeringare notconfinedto themetaphysicalworld.
Their quarrel causes hardshipin a world that is more real
than fairy-land,even than Theseus's world. As a result of
flooding,the cornhas rotted,the fold stands empty,and only
the crowsare well-fedas theyhave surfeitedon the flocksof
sheep smittenwith disease: this is the world of reality.
Titania's and Oberon'sbickeringdoes notmerelycreateminor
hardshipbut has a sufficiently
powerfuleffectto anger the
moonso thatshe "washes all theair, / That rheumaticdiseases
do abound."0Such is theirpower that the seasons themselves
'The
moon and moonlight in A Midsummer Night's Dream
are as
equivocally presented as the fairies. Theseus's marriage to Hippolyta
is to take place at the time of the new moon which "like to a silver
bow/New-bentin heaven" (I. i. 9-10) will shine benevolentlyon the
celebration,and Bottom's "merry" play has Moonlightas one of its
characters. On the other hand, the moon is a symbolof frigidityand
discord. If Hermia does not marry Demetrius,her father's choice, she
This content downloaded from 137.140.1.131 on Wed, 28 May 2014 14:25:01 PM
All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions
MICHAEL
TAYLOR
265
seemto have beenmade to "alter" and that
thissame progenyofevilscomes
Fromour debate,fromour dissension;
We are theirparentsand original.
(II.i.115-117)
Titania's accusationthat theirquarrellinghas given birth
to "a progenyof evils" is, like Puck's rhetoric,presumably
intendedas comicexaggeration.Or we may agree with John
Dover Wilson that Shakespeare is describingthe wet and
chillyEnglish summerof 1594.7To accept both of these explanations does not mean that we have to reject a third:
namely,thatShakespeareis showingus an aspectof thefairies
whichlinkstheirworldin a seriousand disturbingway to the
world as we know it. The presenceof the fairies,then,does
not automaticallyprecludethe presence of unhappinessand
even catastrophe.Consequently,critics who affirmthat the
of the fairy world permeatesthe atmosphere
delightfulness
of A MidsummerNight's Dream, leaveningthe dull doughof
are onlyseeinghalf the truth.For
the humanentanglements,
this leaveningitselfhas sometimesa bittereuphoria,and to
ignore this paradox is to do an injustice to the play's complexity.We cannot,in otherwords,say that the rancourwe
find in the human relationshipsis overborneby the fairies'
innocentgaiety.In effect,the fairy-world
parallelsthe human
and, if anything,intensifiesthat suggestionof a harsherand
moreunfestiverealitywhichis presentin the play.
This reality is at its harshest and most unfestivein the
scenes withthe lovers,Hermia,Lysander,Helena, and Demetrius.Not onlydo the lovershave to flee froman alien situation at the beginningof the play (commonenoughin Shakespearean comedy), but they continueto be beset by doubts
and fears, to make mistakesand sufferunhappiness.In this
respect,A MidsummerNight'sDream is morelike The Comedy
of Errors than As You Like It or TwelfthNight. Although
the unpleasantnessbetweenthemis caused by Puck's mistake,
their quarrellingis much less dignifiedthan that between
will live "a barren sister all your life, / Chanting faint hymnsto the
cold fruitlessmoon" (I. i. 72-73). Accordingto Egeus (the Brabantio
of A MidsummerNight's Dream) Lysander has bewitched Hermia:
he has "by moonlightat her window sung / With faining voice verses
of faininglove" (I. i. 30-31). When OberonencountersTitania he says:
"Ill-met by moonlight,proud Titania" (HI. i. 60).
'A MidsummerNight's Dream (Cambridge, 1924), p. 95.
This content downloaded from 137.140.1.131 on Wed, 28 May 2014 14:25:01 PM
All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions
266
THE DARKER
PURPOSE
of Oberon's
Oberonand Titania. Even beforethe introduction
pansy-juice,the vituperationthat is to come is indicatedin
the relationshipbetweenHelena and Demetrius.Helena, at
one point,asks to be used as Demetrius'sdog: "The moreyou
beat me, I will fawn on you" (II.i.204), remindingus of
Phoebe's masochismin As You Like It. Demetrius replies:
"Temptnottoo muchthe hatredof myspirit,/ For I am sick
when I do look on thee" (II.i.211-212). Demetrius'svicious
reply sets the tone of the humans' "debate," and it is importantthat he should be presentedin this manner before
the lovers' crassness can be blamed on the metamorphiceffectsof a drug. It is as thoughShakespeare,while wishing
to lessen the intensityof the lovers' conflictby introducing
an outsidecatalyst,is indicatingto us also that the situation
of the humanagents.
is not entirelybeyondthe responsibility
Demetrius,undrugged,is as irrationalas Demetriusdrugged.
This is a pointI wish to returnto later.
Puck throwsthe pansy-juiceintoLysander'seyes and when
he awakes the firstpersonhe sees is Helena who is looking
for Demetrius.The effectof the pansy-juicecauses him to
fall in love immediatelywith Helena, to whom he has preThe pansy-juicedoes not wash away
viouslybeen indifferent.
the past. It does not induceamnesia. Shakespeare,had he so
desired,couldhave avoidedmuchof the lovers'bitternesswith
each other by making them forget the fact that they had
previouslybeen in love with someoneelse. The manner of
Lysander'srejectionof Hermia indicatesthat the past is still
the degree of spitefulnessin
thus intensifying
remembered,
his attitude:
I do repent
The tediousminutesI withherhave spent.
Not HermiabutHelena I love.
Whowillnotchangea ravenfora dove?
(II.ii.111-114)
The inclusivenessof Lysander's disgust with Hermia is
emphasized:
For as a surfeitofthesweetestthings
The deepestloathingto thestomachbrings,
Or as theheresiesthatmendo leave
Are hatedmostofthosetheydid deceive,
So thou,mysurfeitand myheresy,
Of all be hated,butthemostofme!
(II.ii.137-142)
This content downloaded from 137.140.1.131 on Wed, 28 May 2014 14:25:01 PM
All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions
MICHAEL
TAYLOR
267
It is not sufficientthat he alone should detestHermia's having been his "surfeit"and "heresy" but that she should be
hated by all. Whentheymeet,Lysanderturnson her: "Could
not this make thee know, / The hate I bear thee made me
leave thee so?" (III.ii.189-190). "Away, you Ethiope!" (III.
ii.257) is his way of dismissingHermia, and when she, in
her bewilderment,
remains,he turnson her once more: "Hang
off,thoucat, thouburr! Vile thing,let loose,/ Or I will shake
thee fromme like a serpent!" (III.ii.260-261). "What change
is this? / Sweet love,-" asks Hermia piteously,to which
Lysanderreplies: "Thy love! Out, tawnyTartar, out! / Out,
loathed medicine! 0 hated potion, hence!" (III.ii.263-264).
Later, Lysander,taking his cue from Helena's emphasis on
Hermia's slightness,describesHermia as a "dwarf,"a "minimus,of hind'ringknotgrassmade," a "bead" and an "acorn."
When Hermia realizes that Lysander is quite serious in his
attitude towards her, she imagines that Helena is in collusion with him:
O me! youjuggler! youcanker-blossom!
You thiefof love! What,have youcomebynight
And stolenmylove'sheartfromhim?
(III.ii.282-284)
To whichHelena replies: "Fie, fie! You counterfeit,
you puppet, you!" (III.ii.288). At this pointthe possibilityof physical violenceshiftsfromthatbetweenLysanderand Demetrius
to thatbetweenHelena and Hermia. Comically,althoughboth
Lysander and Demetriusoffer to protectHelena, they are
so absorbed in their feud with each other that they exeunt
leaving the two women alone. The character of these exchanges of pleasantries makes John Russell Brown's comment on the lovers' dialogue seem a little inadequate: "the
dialogue of the lovers is light and agile so that we are not
allowed to dwell upon frustrationor suffering."8
It seems to me that we can hardlydefendthe lovers' irritationwith each otherin these terms.There is nothinglight
or agile in their heated exchanges. There is, however,an
elementof the grotesquewhich may go some way towards
mitigatingthe savagery of their utterances.Unfortunately,
this savageryhas an edge of truth,just as Puck's does. For
we cannotcompletely
separate (as Russell Brown would have
8Brown,p. 84.
This content downloaded from 137.140.1.131 on Wed, 28 May 2014 14:25:01 PM
All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions
268
THE DARKER
PURPOSE
us do) love fromthe lovers.He would argue that the lovers'
bickeringis remotefromthe real qualityof their love: their
bickeringis love's appearance; theireventualhappy union is
love's realityor "truth":
If one wishedto describethejudgementwhichinforms
A MidsummerNight's Dream, one mightdo so very
simply: the play suggests that lovers, like lunatics,
poets,and actors,have theirown 'truth'whichis establishedas theysee the beautyof theirbeloved,and that
theyare confidentin this truthfor,althoughit seems
the "silliest stuff'to an outsider,to them it is quite
reasonable; it also suggests that lovers, like actors,
need,and sometimesask for,our belief,and that this
beliefcan onlybe given if we have the generosityand
imaginationto think'no worse of themthan they of
themselves.'9
It is not impossibleboth to agree and disagree with Russell
Brown.The way in whichA MidsummerNight'sDream ends
does, indeed,suggestthat,despitethe difficultiesin the way
of the lovers'union,the happiestpossibleconclusionhas been
inevitable.Hence the jangling of the loversis an appearance
which conceals the realityof a concord between them. We
suspectthat part of Shakespeare'spurposeis to suggestthat
their marriageswill be like Theseus's to Hippolyta "in another key."'10At the same time, I would argue that Shakespeare's "darker purpose" is to suggestthat the appearance
of discordamongthe loversis not appearance onlybut does,
in fact, hint at a more brutal reality which I have already
attemptedto explore in Shakespeare's presentationof the
fairies.In otherwords,the metamorphic
functionof Oberon's
pansy-juiceis an irony,for it may not be metamorphicat
all; it may, in effect,reveal a permanentaspect of love's
'Brown, p. 90.
"?Paul N. Siegel in his article "A MidsummerNight's Dream and the
Wedding Guests," SQ, 4 (1953), 139-144,has a just commenton the
elevated nature of Theseus's marriage: "About to be married,Theseus
is free of the sighs, the silences, the variable humors of the lover of
romanceswho has not yet won his mistress.His passion is controlled,
his love dignifiedand elevated" (p. 140). Even with Theseus, however,
Shakespeare gives us a glimpse of a sterner,less elevated reality. At
the beginningof the play Theseus admits:
Hippolyta,I wooed thee with my sword,
And won thy love doing thee injuries;
But I will wed thee in anotherkey,
With pomp,with triumph,and with revelling.
(I. i. 16-19)
This content downloaded from 137.140.1.131 on Wed, 28 May 2014 14:25:01 PM
All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions
MICHAEL
TAYLOR
269
truthsomewhatless reassuringthan Russell Brown's.
Romanticlove, howevermature the lovers, always seems
to be excitinglyprecarious.The termitselfsuggestspassion,
which,in turn,suggests fragilityand impermanency.
While
it may lead to the stabilityof marriage,it may also lead to
the lovers' destruction,or to both, as in Othello. Oberon's
pansy-juicemakesthe loversof A MidsummerNight'sDream
swear and foreswear,hurl insults,reverselong-standing
attiare
reasonable
when
being
they are
tudes, plead that they
most
in
being at their
irrationaland,
general, behave like
lunatics. This is a face of love of which none of us is unaware. Early in the play, Lysander talks of love in a way
that would be appropriatefromJuliet:
in choice,
Or,if therewerea sympathy
War,death,or sicknessdid lay siege to it,
as a sound,
Makingit momentany
Swiftas a shadow,shortas any dream,
Briefas thelightningin thecolliednight,
That,in a spleen,unfoldsbothheavenand earth,
And ere a manhathpowerto say 'Behold!'
The jaws of darknessdo devourit up:
So quickbrightthingscometo confusion.
(I.i.141-149)
In the play's context,this is more than just the lover's conventionallament for love's mutability.In its piling up of
qualifyingclauses it is not unlikePuck's stylein his descriptions of the night.Lysander'sand Hermia's situationis such
thatwe can see the justice of Lysander'sfear that love is like
a flash of lightningdoomedto be swallowedup by the jaws
of darknessas, comicallyand in play, the lovers themselves
are swallowedup by the nightin the wood near Athens.As
he points out, he and Hermia are strugglingagainst blind
prejudice and harsh law. If Hermia does not marry her
father's choice, Demetrius,she must either sufferdeath or
enforcedchastity.The "blessedness" of the chaste life is
equivocallycelebrated:
Thrice-blessed
theythatmasterso theirblood
To undergosuchmaidenpilgrimage;
But earthlierhappyis therose distill'd
Than thatwhichwitheringon thevirginthorn
Grows,lives,and dies in singleblessedness.
(I.i.74-78)
Moreover,Egeus's demand that Hermia should obey him is
This content downloaded from 137.140.1.131 on Wed, 28 May 2014 14:25:01 PM
All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions
270
THE
DARKER
PURPOSE
completelyirrational,as Lysanderpointsout:
I am,myLord,as wellderiv'das he,
As wellposses'd; myloveis morethanhis;
Myfortuneseveryway as fairlyrank'd,
If notwithvantage,as Demetrius';
And,whichis morethanall theseboastscan be,
I am belov'dof beauteousHermia.
(I.i.99-104)
Not onlyis he belovedof Hermia,but Demetriushas formerly
Made loveto Nedar's daughter,Helena,
And wonhersoul; and she,sweetlady,dotes,
Devoutlydotes,dotesin idolatry,
Uponthisspottedand inconstantman.
(1i.107-110)
NeitherEgeus nor Theseus,at this point in the play, is concernedwiththe justice of Lysander'sposition.The law must
take its course. Egeus's tyrannymust be obeyed.
In the world of Shakespearean comedy,of course, quick
brightthings finallycome not to confusionbut to felicity.
Inevitably the daylight's comforts shine. A Midsummer
Night's Dream more than hints,however,that this inevitabilityis the dream of love and that love's reality is more
malignant,just as the fairies are more than their charm,
and the loversless thantheirdevotion.In all of Shakespeare's
comedieswe sensethispresenceof thejaws of darkness,recognizing,withShakespeare,that comedyitselfis a quick bright
thing which miraculouslyand conventionallyescapes chaos.
Shakespeare's recognitionof this unfestivereality is what
makes his comediesbothsignificantand precious: significant
because we are not allowed to escape altogetherfrom the
world of pain; preciousbecause an acknowledgement
of this
so
more
for
the
much
thankful
kindlinesswhichis
makes us
theirbenison.
The presenceof bothkindlinessand pain as complementary
aspects of love's reality,investsthe famousand centraldialogue betweenTheseus and Hippolytain the fifthact with
great importance.Here, Theseus denies the validityof the
lovers' story on the grounds that lovers, like madmen and
poets,distortreality.They all have "shaping fantasies,that
apprehend/ More than cool reason ever comprehends"(V.i.5-6). The fragilityof his denial is conveyed,ironically,by
his emphasis upon the workingsof the poet's imagination.
We soon realize that his denial, in its beauty and accuracy,
This content downloaded from 137.140.1.131 on Wed, 28 May 2014 14:25:01 PM
All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions
MICHAEL
TAYLOR
271
is essentiallya poeticstatementof the poeticprocess:
The poet'seye,in a finefrenzyrolling,
Doth glancefromheavento earth,fromearthto
heaven;
And as imaginationbodiesforth
thepoet'spen
The formsof thingsunknown,
Turnsthemto shapes and givesto airynothing
A local habitationand a name.
(V.i.12-17)
Typically,Shakespeare is defendingthe poet throughthe
manner in which he attacks him. That Theseus is wrong
about the lovers' storyis, of course,witnessedby ourselves
who, with them,have experiencedtheirbizarre adventure.
In other words,what the lovers have experiencedis true.
Not only is their "joy" a real fact (which Theseus never
denies), but the way in which that joy has been brought
about is also "real" (that is, as real as a suspensionof disbeliefin fairies and magic juice can make it-and Theseus
vehementlydenies these). Hippolyta'sdefenseof the lover's
account is interesting:
But all thestoryof thenighttoldover,
And all theirmindstransfigur'd
so together,
Morewitnesseththanfancy'simages,
And growsto somethingof greatconstancy;
But,howsoever,strangeand admirable.
(V.i.23-27)
Her literalmindfindsthe consistencyof their accountconvincing.What is of "great constancy,"however,is not just
the unreasonable,unreasoning,and childish aspect of their
relationship.The "storyof the night"has that double reality
in the way it reveals that love is bothsuperiorto and a victimof life'strivialharshness.The violenceof theirquarrelling
is as real as the happinessof theirunion.
Shakespeareseems to be saying,then,that love's irrationality is bothgloriousand obtuse.When Titania, again under
the influenceof pansy-juice,falls in love with Bottom,transformedintoan ass, Bottom'scommentis not onlyappropriate
to her artificialconditionbut to the conditionof lovers in
general:
Methinks,mistress,youshouldhave littlereason
forthat; and yet,to say thetruth,reasonand
lovekeeplittlecompanytogethernow-a-days;
(III.i.145-148)
Whenthe loversare at theirmostunreasonable,theyironical-
This content downloaded from 137.140.1.131 on Wed, 28 May 2014 14:25:01 PM
All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions
272
THE DARKER
PURPOSE
ly affirmthat theirchangeof heartstemsfromthe workings
of the reason. WhenLysanderrejects Hermia,he says: "The
will of man is by his reason sway'd; / And reason says you
are the worthiermaid" (II.ii.115-116). In reply to Helena's
perplexedquestions,he says: "I had no judgementwhen to
her I swore" (III.ii.134). In the firstscene of the play,Helena
seems to realize love's irrationalnature:
Love looksnotwiththeeyesbutwiththemind,
And thereforeis wing'dCupidpaintedblind.
Nor hathLove's mindof anyjudgementtaste;
Wingsand no eyesfigureunheedyhaste;
And therefore
is Love said to be a child,
Because in choicehe is so oftbeguild'd.
(I.i.234-239)
As R. W. Dent puts it: "Love's choices remain inexplicable,
and the eventual pairings are determinedonly by the constancy of Helena and Hermia in their initial inexplicable
choices.""
Does not the play, then, suggest that love is as much a
dream as are the midsummernight'shappenings?And cannot this dream, comic thoughit may be in this play, very
easily be rockedintonightmare?Shakespeare,of course,does
not allow us to experienceany more of this dream-as-nightmare than is sufficientto be gratefulfor the fact that it is
not really dangerous.The ogres disappear with the coming
of daylight.In case we may be too involvedwith the disturbing underlyingreality, Oberon reassures us that the
"night's accidents" are "But as the fierce vexation of a
dream" (IV.i.72). The play is sufficientlydark, however,
to make Oberon'sreassurancesseem a trifleglib, and Puck's
and the play's last wordsseem not muchmorethan mechanical: "And this weak and idle theme,/ No more yieldingbut
a dream" (V.i.434-435). Like Bottom,Puck is cautioningus
not to confusecomedyand tragedy.Indeed, Bottom'swords
mock the critic lookingfor "significances":'"Man is but an
ass, if he go aboutto expoundthis dream" (IV.i.211-212).
It is, however,Bottom's scenes which provide the most
effectivereassurances. To begin with, their humor is unequivocal, unlike the scenes of the fairies and the humans.
Not only this,the "interlude"of Pyramusand Thisbe which
"Imaginationin A MidcummerNight's Dream," SQ, 15 (1964), 115-129.
P. 116.
This content downloaded from 137.140.1.131 on Wed, 28 May 2014 14:25:01 PM
All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions
MICHAEL
TAYLOR
273
they performbefore Theseus and his court suggests a way
in whichA MidsummerNight's Dream's two realitiesof love
may be reconciled.For Bottom'splay treats a tragic theme
comically,as we see fromQuince'sdescriptionof it: "The most
lamentablecomedy,and most cruel death of Pyramus and
Thisby" (I.ii.11-13). Bottomtells us that it is "very good"
and "merry."In it (if he could play all the parts himself)
he would play the lion so that it would "roar you as gently
an any suckingdove" (I.ii.84-85) in ordernot to frightenthe
ladies. Mirthand tragedyare madlyreconciled,and the madness of it is parodied by Theseus:
Merryand tragical!Tediousand brief!
That is, hotice and wondrousstrangesnow.
How shallwe findtheconcordofthisdiscord?
(V.i.58-60)
Yet in the curious scene between Theseus and Hippolyta
wheretheytalk of hunting,both of themseem to emphasize
the possibilityof findingconcordin discord. Theseus begs
Hippolytato listento the bayingof his houndsfor she shall
hear "the musical confusion/ Of hounds and echo in conjunction" (IV.i.114-115). And Hippolyta,not to be outdone,
talks of the time she went huntingin a "wood of Crete"
where she "never heard / So musical a discord,such sweet
thunder" (IV.i.121-122). Perhaps we are meant to hear the
"jangling" of the lovers in this way, and perhaps we are
meant to read A MidsummerNight's Dream as a play primarily about summerwith just a touch of winterin it to
make us appreciatethe mellownessof the sun. Nevertheless,
clearly,albeit distantly,throughthe frivolity,we hear the
iron tongue of midnighttolling twelve, and the clarity of
this"irontongue"is a qualityto A MidsummerNight'sDream
whichbringsin overtonesof the darkercomediesTroilusand
Cressida and Measure forMeasure. Shakespeare'sdarkerpurpose in A MidsummerNight's Dream, in fact, is to remind
us that the delightsof the fairy world are only a fragile
concealmentfor the foolishnessand errorsof the human.
UNIVERSITY OF NEw BRUNSWICK
This content downloaded from 137.140.1.131 on Wed, 28 May 2014 14:25:01 PM
All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions