George Washington University
A Midsummer Night's Dream and the Wedding Guests
Author(s): Paul N. Siegel
Source: Shakespeare Quarterly, Vol. 4, No. 2 (Apr., 1953), pp. 139-144
Published by: Folger Shakespeare Library in association with George Washington University
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A Midsummer
Night's
Dream
and theWeddingGuests
PAUL N. SIEGEL
HE mannerin whichthemarriage
ofTheseusand Hippolyta
is made the settingof A MidsummerNight'sDream, the
music,dancingand spectaclewithwhichit is filled,and the
virtualepithalamium
at theconclusiontestify,
it is generally
agreed,thattheplaywas written
as partof thefestivities
of
some aristocratic
wedding."Can anyoneread the opening
scene,or the closingspeechof Theseus,and doubtthatthe occasionwas a
wedding?"ask the editorsof the New CambridgeShakespeare(p. x), and
theyadd, "Be it remembered,
moreover,
how the fairiesdominatethe play;
and how constantly
and intimately
fairieswereassociatedwithweddingsbyour
Elizabethan ancestors,their genial favoursinvoked,their possible malign
capricesprayedagainst."In theback of themindsof theweddingguestswho
composedthefirstaudienceof A MidsummerNight'sDream was at all times
the awarenessthatthe stage-performance
whichtheywere witnessingwas a
part of the weddingcelebrationin whichtheywere engaged.Shakespeare,
writingnot onlyforall timebutfortheoccasion,playedupon thisawareness,
exploitingto the full the theatricalpotentialities
of a situationin whichthe
audiencesaw on the stagean enactment
of thecircumstances
in whichit was
at the same timeparticipating
in life.By readingthe play with the occasion
in our minds,by becomingtheweddingguestsin our imagination,
constantly
we can recapturesomethingof the total aestheticexperienceof its firstperformance
audience,an experiencewhich adds to the experienceof the
audiencesof all ages a teasingpiquancyof its own.
"Now, fairHippolyta,"saysTheseusin thefirstwordsof theplay,which
setthebackground
and tone,"our nuptialhourDraws on apace."
immediately
(I. i. I-2) In rich,statelymusiche expresses
to herhis longingforthemarriage
nightwhichis to come afterfourdaysand thenturnsto his masterof revels
and commandshimto "stirup theAthenianyouthto merriments"
and "awake
thepertand nimblespiritof mirth"(I. i. I2-13). For thisweddingoftheDuke
of Athensis a publicfestivity
to be celebrated
"withpomp,withtriumph,
and
with revelling"(I. i. iv). The weddingguestscould not miss the flattering
betweentheElizabethanbridalcoupleand thegracious,exaltedpair
similarity
of legendaryantiquity.In the revelsof this famousweddingtheysaw an
historicalanalogywiththe revelsof the presentwedding,a featureof which
was thisveryplay,whichwas to stirthem,the choicestof Englisharistocratic
youth,to merriment.
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140
SHAKESPEARE QUARTERLY
No soonerarethewordsofTheseusspokenthanEgeus,Hermia,Lysander,
and Demetriuscome on the stage,as if in answerto the summonsto merriment.The two pairs of loversare like puppetsin the hands of a puppetmaster,now jerkedthisway,now that,now chasingafter,now runningaway
to
from,in an amusingexhibitionof the vagariesof love and the absurdities
whichit impelsitsvictims.Their "fondpageant"(III. ii. II4) is ideallysuited
forwithwhatcould a weddingplay deal if not
fora weddingentertainment,
in the"pertand nimblespiritofmirth,"
withlove,and,sinceit mustbe written
how could love be presentedif not as a pixilationwhichseizes youngfolk,
happyin their
fromwhichtheyawake,as froma dream,to findthemselves
youngunapproachingmarriage?Such mustbe the fateof the aristocratic
was dependent
marriedguests(although,to be sure,thehappyconsummation
on theirfindingtheirtrueloves); suchwas thefateof theirelders.While the
such as thosewho were on the stage and those
love of ordinaryaristocrats
the love of Theseus
who were viewingthe play is thuspresentedsportively,
and bride
and Hippolyta,and by implicationthatof the augustbridegroom
is decorouslypresentedon a different
whose weddingwas being celebrated,
level. About to be married,Theseus is freeof the sighs,the silences,the
His
variablehumorsof theloverof romancewho has notyetwon his mistress.
his love dignifiedand elevated.
passionis controlled,
From his sereneheightTheseuslooksdownwithhumorouscondescension
madness.Findtoleranceupon theloversand theirmoon-struck
and benevolent
from
daylight
early
in
the
different
entirely
(now
in
woods
ing themasleep the
Puck has caused them
the moonlitgrovein whose shadowsthe mischievous
to chase madly about) where he has come to hunt,he tells his huntsmen
to wake themwiththeirhorns.It is as if thisspectacle,in whichwhat had
concord,takestheplace of thesound
beendiscordis resolvedintoharmonious
fromafar of the bayingof his hounds,theircriesof variedpitchblending
to whichhe had invitedHippolytato listen:"We will,fairqueen,
together,
up to the mountain'stop And markthe musicalconfusionOf houndsand
echo in conjunction"(IV. i. II3-II5).
At thesoundof thehornstheloversopen theireyesto a new world.The
by Theseus.
storytheyhave to tell is regardedskeptically
fantastic
I nevermaybelieve
These antiquefables,nor thesefairytoys.
brains,
havesuchseething
Loversandmadmen
thatapprehend
Such shapingfantasies,
Morethancool reasonevercomprehends.
The lunatic,thelover,and thepoet
Are of imaginationall compact. (V.i.2-8)
mortaland hence can
Althoughan exaltedfigure,Theseus is an earthborn
But theaudience
of
their
imaginations.
the
lovers'
product
deem
the
story
only
witnessingthe play had seen the "fairytoys"whose existencehe does not
believein, and it knew better.It knew thattheywere unseenpowersin the
lives of human beingsin innumerableways,crossingthem,bemusingthem,
in the fairykingdomwere regivingthemgood luck,and thatdisturbances
in human affairs(although,to be sure,fairiesbeing
flectedin disturbances
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A MIDSUMMER
NIGHT'S
DREAM AND THE WEDDING
GUESTS
I4I
fairiesand not gods or planets,thesedisturbances
were nothingmoreserious
thanunusuallybad weather).It knew thattheylookedwithamusement
upon
the "fond pageant"of human beings workingat cross-purposes,
changing
theirminds,not knowingthemselves
and unawareof the fairyinfluences
affectingtheirlives.It knew thatgreatTheseus himselfwas underthe special
protection
of the fairyqueen and his fairbrideunderthe protection
of the
fairyking.
But did it reallyknow? How surecan one be, eventhoughone has seen
them,of theexistence
of beingsso smallthattheycan hide in an acornand so
elusivelyfleetthat theycan girdlethe earthin fortyminutes?Those fairy
formswhichhad disappearedas Theseus'hornswereheardsoundingin the
distance-weretheyreal or a dreamthattheaudiencehad sharedwithan ass?
"I have had a dream,pastthewitof manto saywhatdreamit was. Man is but
an ass,if he go aboutto expoundthisdream"(IV. i. 209-2I2).
But althoughby theexerciseof its imagination
an audiencemaylose itself
in a dramaticuniversewhich a dramatisthas created,it can neverentirely
forget,if it is beyondthe mostprimitive
levelof response,thatthisdramatic
universeis in facta dramaticuniverseand not the worldof reality-andthe
aristocratic
weddingguestswere not at all unsophisticated.
As Theseus continuedto speak of the imaginationof the poet,he made themmoresharply
awarethatthisperplexing
dream,thisevanescent
realitywhichtheywitnessed,
was itselfbut part of a dramaticillusion.
As imagination
bodiesforth
The formsof thingsunknown,
thepoet'spen
Turnsthemtoshapesandgivestoairynothing
A localhabitation
anda name. (V-i.I4-I7)
The creaturesof the fairyworld,thingsunknown,had indeed been given
shape,habitation("a bank wherethe wild thymeblows,Where oxlips and
the noddingvioletgrows,"II. i. 249-250), and names,names whichBottom
had soon come to use withincongruous
courtlyfamiliarity
("MounsieurCobweb,""MounsieurMustardseed,"
IV. i. 7-I8) as he had addressedthemembers
of the fairycourtwaitingupon him.And not only the creaturesof the fairy
world. Did not the speaker,Duke Theseus,himselfhave existenceonly in
"antiquefables,"and was not the Duke Theseus beforethe audiencebut a
poor playerwho passedhis hourupon the stageand thenwas heardno more
and who couldas fittingly
as Oberonbe calleda "kingofshadows"(III. ii. 347) ?
Some perceptionof this paradox must have made the keenermembersof
Shakespeare'scourtlyaudience sense an ironyin the large assurancewith
whichTheseus spoke of the lovers'storyof "fairytoys"and of the fantasies
of the poet,whoseeye,"in a finefrenzyrolling,Doth glancefromheavento
earth,fromearthto heaven"(V. i. 12-I3). Perhaps,as Hippolytareplied,there
was somethingto the lovers'story,afterall. Perhaps-on a different
levelit is truethattheimaginative
intuition
ofthepoetcan actuallyapprehendmore
essentialtruththan "cool reason,"thatthereare morethingsin heavenand
earththantheDuke dreamtof.
But "thesethingsseem small and undistinguishable,
Like far-off
mountainsturnedintoclouds"(IV. i. i90-i9i). When,as Hippolytafinished
speaking,
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142
SHAKESPEARE
QUARTERLY
Lysanderand Hermia,Demetriusand Helena came on thestageand Theseus
brokeoffthe discussionwith the remark"Here come the lovers,fullof joy
and mirth"(V. i. 28), the weddingguestswere broughtback fromsuch
thoughtsto the solid worldof humansociety,of whichmarriageis the base.
"Come now," theyheard Theseus exclaim,
whatdancesshallwe have,
whatmasques,
To wearawaythislongage of threehours
and bed-time?
Betweenour after-supper
Whereis our usualmanagerof mirth?
Whatrevelsare in hand?Is thereno play
hour? (V. i. 32-37)
To easetheanguishofa torturing
to which
The fourdays beforethe marriageceremonywas to be performed,
at the beginningof the play,had passed,and the time was
he had referred
now closeat hand.As the weddingguestsrealizedthis,theyrealizedalso that
the play which theythemselveswere witnessingwas, with the approachof
comingto an end.
of the marriageof its chiefcharacters,
the consummation
and
after-supper
between
Verylikelythisplay too was a play of threehours
of
part
on a midsummernightwhichwas the final
bedtime,a presentation
the
at
seeing
piqued
felt
the weddingrevels.If so, the audiencemusthave
same situationduplicatedupon the stage.With the enactmentof the play
of the
the timeof the consummation
was watching,
whichthe stage-audience
which
actual
marriage,
the
of
consummation
the
and thetimeof
stage-marriage
at firsthad beenfarapart,werebecomingmoreand morecloselysynchronized:
theplayitselfwouldend,and both
at theconclusionof theplay-within-the-play
The perception
and actual marriagewould be consummated.
stage-marriage
rousedby the comicalrehearsals
of the expectancy
of thisand the fulfillment
of Bottomand his mateswould have added relishto theweddingaudience's
as burlesqueand would also have imenjoymentof the play-within-the-play
pressedon it the neatnessof the play'sconclusion.
is not
artisansfortheDuke, moreover,
The playputon bytherudecountry
put on by such groupsduringElizamerelya burlesqueof the performances
beth'sprogresses;it is a kind of commenton A MidsummerNight'sDream
to the mannerin whichit completesit.
itselfwhichgivesadded significance
is, like thatof
The storyof Pyramusand Thisbe of the play-within-the-play
that"truelovershave beenever
A MidsummerNight'sDream, an illustration
crossed"(I. i. i50) and that"thecourseoftrueloveneverdid runsmooth"(I. i.
by their
and Thisbeare forbidden
I34). Like Lysanderand Hermia,Pyramius
and conmisunderstanding
parentsto love.As withthem,thereis unfortunate
fusion,and PyramusbelievesThisbeto be dead,as fora timeHermiathought
Lysanderto havebeenslainbyDemetrius.Indeed,ifwe areto definecategories
than
as Poloniusdid,the storyof Lysanderand Hermiamightmoreproperly
thatof Pyramusand Thisbe have beencalled"verytragicalmirth"(V. i. 57),
while the storyof Pyramusand Thisbe mighthave been bettercalled "very
mightbe said to be a presentation
tragedy."The play-within-the-play
mirthful
in littleof A MidsummerNight'sDream as it would be seen througha disthateverI heard"(V. i. 2I2), saysHipmedium."This is thesillieststuff
torting
polytaof it. The samemighthave beensaid of A MidsummerNight'sDream
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A MIDSUMMER NIGHT'S
DREAM AND THE WEDDING
GUESTS
I43
by a hardheadedbusinesslike
man of affairswho would have no truckwith
fairiesand such.In fact,it was said. "It is themostinsipidridiculousplaythat
everI saw in mylife,"wroteMr. SamuelPepysin his diaryafterhavingseen
a Restoration
performance
of Shakespeare'sairilyfancifulcomedy.Through
thePyramus-Thisbe
playShakespeare
was subtlyaskinghisaristocratic
audience
to regardhis playwithimaginative
understanding
and sympathy.
"The bestin
thiskindarebutshadows,"repliesTheseusto Hippolyta,"and theworstareno
worse,if imagination
amendthem"(V. i. 2I4-2I5). This is lordlygraciousness,
to whichShakespearewas appealingand whichhe was at thesametimeflattering: thearistocratic
spectator
wouldremedyin hisown mindthedefectsof the
piecebeingpresented
beforehim."Our sportshallbe to takewhattheymistake;
And what poor dutycannotdo, noblerespectTakes it in might,not merit"
(V. i. 90-92).
While asking his audience,however,to aid him with its imagination,
Shakespearewas, withthe assuranceof genius,displayinghis masteryof his
art.Althoughthe imaginative
cooperation
of an audienceis necessary
forthe
successof a play,the Pyramus-Thisbe
scene showsthat,despitethe Duke's
wordsof graciouscondescension,
notall of an audience'sgood will and tolerant
receptivity
can makerantmoving."This passion,and thedeathofa dearfriend,
would go near to make a man sad" (V. i. 293-294).The contrast
betweenthe
crudeliteralism
of a man witha lanternrepresenting
moonshineof thePyramus-Thisbe sceneand thepoeticmagicof themoon-drenched
imageryof A
Midsummer
Night'sDream itself,
betweentheineptexplanatory
comments
that
theplayis but a playand notreallife("When lionroughin wildestragedoth
roar,Then knowthatI, as Snug thejoiner,am a lionfell,"V. i. 225-227), and
thedelicatesuggestion
thattheplay,whileonlyreflecting
life,maybe a kindof
enchantedmirrordisplayingunseentruths-thiscontrast
is a daringvirtuosity
callingattention
to itselfat thecloseof itsperformance.
With theconclusionof therusticdancethatfollowstheartisans'play,the
clockstrikes,
and theDuke announces:"The irontongueofmidnight
hathtold
twelve.Lovers,to bed; 'tisalmostfairytime"(V. i. 370-371). Perhapstheactor
who deliveredtheselinesaddressedhimself
to thebridalcoupleas wellas to the
twopairsof stage-lovers.
At anyrate,theweddingaudienceknewthattheplay
was at an end and,iftheplaywas indeedtheconclusion
oftherevels,thatitwas
timeto go bedward.
But all was not yetover.As theDuke, his bride,and theircourtleft,the
torchesilluminating
the hall wheretheplaywas beingperformed
wereextinguishedone afterthe other,and, withthe chambersilentand, exceptforthe
flickering
lightfromthehearth,dark,suddenlyPuck appeared.For,as he proclaimed,now when"thewastedbrandsdo glow" (V. i. 369), it was againtime
forthefrolicsome
fairies,"followingdarknesslike a dream"(V. i. 384). After
himcametripping
Oberon,Titania,and themembers
ofthefairycourt,taking
the stageleftvacantby the membersof the Atheniancourt,with crownsof
lightedtaperson theirheads makingthemappearas dancingcirclesof light.'
1 This description
of the fairiescrownedwithlightedtapersis suggestedby the editorsof
the New CambridgeShakespeare(p. i5i), who pointout thatit is notonlyindicatedby thetext
but thatthissceneresembles
closelytheone in The MerryWivesof Windsorin whichthefairies,
"withroundsof waxentaperson theirheads"(IV. iv. 5i), are instructed
bytheFairyQueento bless
WindsorCastle.
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SHAKESPEARE QUARTERIY
144
They werehereto blesstheweddingof thenoblepair undertheirprotection,
and, as theysang and danced,theirsong and dance,performedwith fairy
withtherusticdancethathad precededit,masquefollowing
grace,contrasted
anti-masque,as was fitand proper.Their song,in whichtheywere led by
throughthe
to theirscattering
Oberon,is a song of benedictionpreliminary
forall
owners
noble
its
it
and
to
bless
and
rooms
of
its
all
hallow
house
to
great
time:
Now, until the break of day,
Through this house each fairystray.
To the best bride-bedwill we,
Which by us shall blessed be;
And the issue therecreate
Ever shall be fortunate. . .
With this field-dewconsecrate,
Every fairytake his gait,
And each several chamberbless,
Through this palace, with sweet peace;
And the owner of it blest
Ever shall in safetyrest.
Trip away; make no stay;
Meet me all by breakof day. (V. i. 408-429)
And, as the fairiesvanished fromthe stage with their"glimmeringlight" (V. i.
389), the wedding guests dispersed,leaving the bridal couple to themselvesand
the house to darkness-and, as the more imaginative ones may have halfbelieved, to the beneficentfairies.
Ripon College
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