Supernatural Element in a Midsummer Nights Dream

Q. What is the role of the Supernatural in A Midsummer Night’s Dream? Ans: The supernatural has a great importance in the play A Midsummer Night’s Dream by Shakespeare. Shakespeare’s fairies are largely derived from Warwickshire folk-lore and superstition, though Shakespeare might have also got some hints for them from a number of literary sources. They constitute the chief charm and attraction of the play, and critics after critics have vexed eloquent in praise of them. The fairies are the unusual characters in the play, forming one of the subplots. The role of the fairies: We might think that a grown writer like Shakespeare must have been slightly mad to write a play with fairies in it for adult audience. But then in his time†¦show more content†¦His special gifts are that he can fly around earth at great speed and he can execute mischief. And it is for these that he is summoned by Oberon to help him steal the Indian boy from Titania and in the process make a mockery of her for withdrawing her attention and favour from him. Puck’s name is of special interest. For one thing, it sets him apart from Oberon and Titania who have classical names. He is sometimes called by other names, particularly Robin Goodfellow. Robin Goodfellow is an English folk character who is genuinely good fellow. He helps hard worked housewives compete their tasks, he helps butter set and so on But he is also, without warning and for no reason that human being can understand, maliciously mischievous. For example, when an old woman prepare s to settle down on a stool, he pushes the stool away so that she falls down and hurts her rear end. He can also make milk turn sour and prevent the butter from setting, He is not instructed by the devil or some evil spirit but these nasty things for his own amusement. Shakespeare used both good and the bad aspects of the Robin Goodfellow folk tales in his dramatization of Puck. We can see this in the havoc creates among the young Athenian aristocrats with the love potion. When Oberon tells Puck he put the love juice in the eyes of Demetrius so that he may fall in love with the unhappy Helena, Puck makes a genuine mistake and pours the juice intoShow MoreRelatedManipulating The Supernatural : William Shakespeare s Othello And A Midsummer Night s Dream883 Words   |  4 PagesManipulating the Supernatural It is human nature to be drawn toward people that we can relate to. Because of this Shakespeare made his characters as relatable as possible to the audience members of the late fifteenth and early sixteenth century and their views on life so he could generate more recognition for his plays. Throughout Shakespeare s plays, Othello and A Midsummer Night’s Dream, he appeals to the audience by relating to their human nature. 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