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A Midsummer Night¡¯s Dream is a play of fantasy, with the fairyland background of Titania and Oberon and Puck, but it is also a farce with the plot that evolves around the lovers manipulated by the love juice, and the subplot of a play within the play. ¡°A Midsummer Night¡¯s Dream juggles apparently with several levels of representation, with plays-within-plays and visions within dreams¡±(Nevo 297). The overriding theme of the play deals with the nature of love. Underneath his frantic comedy, Shakespeare seems to be asking the questions all lovers ask in the throes of their confusion: How do we know when love is real? How can we trust ourselves when we are so easily swayed by passion and by romantic convention? We have six lovers in the play. There is a pattern of contrasted attitudes to the love that seems to elude reason and, at times, to convert human being into its slaves; a pattern, moreover, which is placed finally in the framework of a rational and social attitude to marriage. This attitude is expressed through the relationship of Theseus and Hippolyta. As duke of Athens, Theseus occupies on important social and political position that is at the heart of his character. Thought he had a lovely past, filled with heroic war exploits and romantic conquests, he now is a figure of the Athenian establishment, upholding the social order. As such, he represents, in contrast to the volatile lovers, the stabilizing force of marriage. With the upholding of the social order comes Theseus¡¯ praise of reason as a primary power. He and Hippolyta are untouched by the fairy realm. They seem to be above the magic, but you might also see them as being outside of it. Unlike the other four lovers, Theseus believes that believes that men should never be out of touch with the real world. In short, he views the four lovers story as nothing but an illusion concocted in their imagination. The entire idea of being infatuated with one love to the point of losing touch with the real would is ludicrous to him. At first, Theseus¡¯ love for Hippolyta may be viewed as cold, but once one realizes Theseus¡¯ realistic and noble character, it is obvious that he strongly desires his bride. Theseus may not use poetic language or ¡°shout his love from the rooftops¡±, but the feeling he shared with Hippolyta are from his heart, mind and soul. Theseus¡¯ reliance on reason blocks him off from some of the more mystical realms of human experience. In Act V, he draws a famous comparison between the lover, the lunatic and the poet. He feels they are all under the sway of their imaginations, which blinds them to reality. In consequences, some realms of passion and art are close to him Theseus may be trapped in his position, or he may be fitting it grandly. In either case, he has a kindly awareness of his subjects. A warrior in her own right, Hippolyta maintains a kind of aloof dignity. She is a Greek legendary figure, an American queen of fierce pride and strength. In the beginning of the play she counters Theseus¡¯ impatience for the wedding day with a cook, imperial rationality of her own. Yet she doesn¡¯t rely so completely on reason and she is charmed and a little disturbed by the lovers¡¯ stories.
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