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Love And Deception In A Midsummer Night's Dream

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Illusion is a Golden Cage

Society is a pigeon in a utopian, golden cage. It does not have to worry about reality. When the door is unlocked, the bird will think it has been liberated, but only then will he realize the fear and struggles of the outside world. In the comedic play, “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” by William Shakespeare, the characters live in a world with entertainment, marriages, and small problems of their own with complicated love circles. Love and imagination are what keep the people of Athens happy. For that reason, illusion and deception are pivotal in society as it creates a prison that alters the truth to keeps humans content while away from the brutleness of reality.

Humans in the past, present, and future will continue to blindly chase whom he or she is after, creating a false sense of satisfaction. Illusion changes the appearance of others in order to fulfill the cravings of love. In the play, Helena comments on Demetrius' passion for Hermia, saying that it is blind, since Helena’s beauty matches Hermia’s. She believes that “love can …show more content…

Sometimes one’s fantasy is enough to paint another reality where all is well. In the case of A Midsummer Night’s Dream, imagination is used to make the citizens happy. For example, the amatuer actors do not act well, but Theseus knows that “the best in this kind are but shadows”(5.1.210). He knows the best plays are because we imagine it as the greatest. If “we imagine no worse of [the actors]”(5.1.213), then they might be the best themselves. Furthermore, imagination also removes fear of the unknown, for when the ladies think that the sword is not real. Another instance is when Puck removes the fear of the audience by saying if they have been scared by the act, think of it “no more yielding but a dream”(5.1.419). Reality may be filled with anxiety and discomfort, but imagination and deception are what make the unknowns in life comfortable enough to

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