Essay Three

INTRODUCTION

A Midsummer Night’s Dream, like much of William Shakespeare’s oeuvre, possess the ability to question society’s ingrained assumptions about the nature of our humanity. This play finds the roots of its textual integrity in its challenging of popular societal paradigms, and raises important questions about love and its influences, confronting society’s tendency to extol romance. Furthermore, the play explores Renaissance and humanist ideals² that posed a significant challenge amidst the shifting philosophical paradigms of the 16th century. Shakespeare’s representation of gender roles in Midsummer further subverts audience’s expectations, as it forces us to reconsider preconceived notions of patriarchy, particularly when the play is read through a feminist lens³. Ultimately, Midsummer is not only able to interrogate the paradigms of its era, but also demonstrates a continuing ability to pose complex questions about societal beliefs throughout time.

1. This is a much broader thesis statement, since the essay prompt is about much broader ideas. Though it is still centred around the thematic notion of ‘humanity,’ the fact that this question is about the text as a whole challenging something as huge in scope as ‘society’s ingrained assumptions’ means a more general focus is probably more useful to start this essay.

2. Here I make mention of the text’s historical and cultural context. This is a good thing to do to prove that you know how the text fits into the bigger picture.

3. This is a reference to critical theory. Integrating this into your essay isn’t always entirely necessary, but it is an easy way to boost the sophistication of your writing, provided you never use criticism at the expense of explaining your own ideas and interpretations.

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A Midsummer Night’s Dream presents the timeless argument that love is not as positive an experience as cultural norms suggest. The audience is confronted by Shakespeare’s characterisation of Helena as a foolish young girl desperate to pursue her unrequited love for Demetrius regardless of the consequences. Shakespeare uses Helena’s metaphorical declaration that she is Demetrius’ “spaniel,” and her repetitious asyndeton, “Spurn me, strike me, / Neglect me, lose me,” to evoke a mix of discomfort and sympathy from the audience. Through Helena’s character, the audience are galvanised to acknowledge the truth about love – it has the power to weaken an individual’s sense of identity and strength so much so that they are willing to make themselves a fool. This engagement with, and consequent challenging of, the audience is continued in Shakespeare’s portrayal of Lysander and Hermia’s relationship.⁴ Midsummer’s plot involves Lysander falling out of love and then back in love with Hermia, highlighting the sheer fickleness of the emotion. Lysander, influenced by Puck’s flower, quickly oscillates from eloping with Hermia to hating her, as indicated by his exclamation “Hang off, [Hermia] thou cat, thou burr!” Ultimately, Shakespeare’s portrayal of the negative impacts of love challenges the viewers’ presupposition that love is purely a positive and uplifting emotion, a challenge which appeals to varying audiences across different times, cultures, and societies.⁵

4. When linking different pieces of evidence within a body paragraph, try to use a fairly sophisticated linking sentence like this, rather than just a quick linking word like ‘Furthermore’ or ‘Also.’ Those words are great starting points, but a linking sentence compels you to flesh out the connection, which can earn you marks! Merely using a linking word does help a lot with essay flow, but is unlikely to contribute to the sophistication of your argument.

5. Here I explore the notion that Midsummer appeals to varying audiences in different contexts throughout time. If relevant, you can even get more specific when describing your audience (for example, draw parallels or contrasts between how modern audiences would respond to something, and how Shakespeare’s audience might have responded to the same thing).

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Shakespeare’s exploration of Renaissance humanism in Midsummer challenges the philosophical paradigms of his society by posing valuable questions about the nature of our humanity.⁶ Humanism celebrates free agency and rational thinking, so by portraying characters who become fools through irrational thinking and pursuing of emotions, Shakespeare furthers the Renaissance’s questioning of preconceived notions of what makes us human. This is particularly evident in the portrayal of Hermia who betrays her best friend when she fails to think rationally about what could have caused Lysander’s emotions to change so quickly. Her extreme emotion, as indicated in her accumulative insults, “O me! You juggler, you canker blossom, / You thief of love!” and the consequent dramatic irony which comes from the audience knowing Helena has not intentionally attracted Lysander, underscores Hermia’s downfall and its illogical foundation. The dangers of pursuing emotions as opposed to rational thoughts are also represented in Titania’s struggle under the influence of the love flower. In her mind, Bottom is transformed from a fool into a desirable lover, as indicated by the synecdoche, “Mine ear is much enamored of thy note.”⁷ This line implies that all of Titania’s senses are so altered by the effects of love, that she cannot logically see the situation as it is. Like Hermia, her composure and sensibility falters under the influence of love, and thus the influence of irrationality, furthering Shakespeare’s exploration of Humanist ideals and confrontation of pre-Renaissance doxa. This struggle between rationality and irrationality encourages audiences to question the merits of each of these two extremes, and to recognise the detrimental consequences of succumbing to irrationality and losing one’s invaluable human perspective.

6. Here I am reflecting upon how the text would have been perceived by the audience of its time.

7. As you can see, this is a concept which I feel quite comfortable talking about (as I have referred to it a few times in these essays). If you have a set of ideas and quotes which you feel confident in using, that’s great! It’ll make writing essays on the spot feel a lot less terrifying. That being said, make sure that you only use quotes and themes which actually answer the question, otherwise the marker will see that you are unable to adapt. Relevance to the topic should always be your first priority!

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Another core tenet at the heart of humanity’s world views is the complexity of gender roles – an issue which dominates the discourse of both our contemporary society and Shakespeare’s. The audience is immediately invited to reflect on the gender paradigms of their time through Egeus’ declaration that, “As [Hermia] is mine, I may dispose of her.” Egeus’ demand that his daughter either die or marry Demetrius appears callous, particularly to a modern audience, and thus inherently invites a criticism of the societal structures which enabled Egeus to make such claims in the first place.⁸ This is furthered in Shakespeare’s choice of language⁹ for Egeus which subtly undercut and ridicule his misogynistic demands. The anastrophe in his line, “Full of vexation come I,” effectively highlights the sheer absurdness of Egeus’ anger and in doing this, Shakespeare is construing the gender roles which Egeus stands for to be just as absurd. The effective challenging of society’s assumptions about gender is continued through the representation of Theseus and Hippolyta’s relationship. While Theseus seems elated about his marriage to Hippolyta, the fact that he “wooed [her] with my sword, / And won [her] love doing [her] injuries,” highlights the imbalance in their relationship, particularly when the play is read in the light of contemporary feminist criticism. Shakespeare’s decision to then deliberately prevent Hippolyta from responding to this remark by having Egeus enter further challenges the gender roles which characterised Shakespeare’s era. To this end, Shakespeare infuses a meaningful questioning of Elizabethan society’s assumptions about gender into his comedic play.

8. This is another example of clearly explaining the significance of evidence. You should never let a quote do the work for you – the markers expect high-range essays will be able to effectively communicate the importance of relevant examples, so learning how to do this will give you a significant advantage.

9. In instances where you cannot find or remember a particular technique, or if you feel like you’re not using enough metalanguage throughout your essay, don’t be afraid to simply comment on the author’s choice of words. This might seem too good to be true, but it’s a perfectly valid literary feature, and in fact, acknowledging that the language of the text is all the product of conscious choices the author has made is actually a real strength for your essay!

CONCLUSION

It is ultimately through constructing a dialogue which challenges society’s assumptions about love, humanity, and gender that A Midsummer Night’s Dream develops its textual integrity and quality. Shakespeare’s effective interrogation of love and its nature confronts the general preconceived notion that love is an entirely positive and uplifting experience, and his exploration of the struggle between rationality and irrationality encourages the audience to challenge their personal assumptions about what it means to be human.¹⁰ Thus, through A Midsummer Night’s Dream’s meaningful examination of societal paradigms, Shakespeare challenges audience’s preconceptions and invites more new and enlightened perspectives on humanity and our emotions.