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The Forest In A Midsummer's Night Dream Essay

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The Forest In A Midsummer's Night Dream Essay
A student is writing an essay during an ordinary English class, when his paper spontaneously bursts into cobalt flames. Before he realizes what is happening, all the pupils in the room morph into baby harp seals and start barking hysterically like Great Danes. He is utterly confused; the moment before, his world was perfectly normal, and then in a heartbeat, he is immersed in a fantastical realm of disorder that is absolutely incommensurable from his own. Similarly, this must be the effect that the unique setting of “A Midsummer's Night Dream” has on the characters in the play. The setting of the play consists of two distinct worlds, Athens and the Fairy Forest, which are both alike yet disparate in many ways. By identifying and comparing the numerous characteristics of William Shakespeare’s two contrasting worlds, the readers can find the ways that he used the setting to his advantage as a play writer.

There are several characteristics of Athens and the Fairy forest that can be identified by reading the play. One preeminent attribute of Athens is that it is a sophisticated, law-abiding city. The play takes …show more content…
Strict laws force the lovers Hermia and Lysander to leave to avoid certain death. Another noticeable characteristic of the play’s setting is that the Fairy Forest combines elements of magic and nature. The forest is the home of the fairies; fairies do not live in a city. The inhabitants of the Forest demonstrate a close bond to the plants and animals, as demonstrated by the fairy monarchs in the play. While conversing with Puck, King Oberon of the fairies states how “[he] know[s] a bank where the wild thyme blows / Where oxlips and the nodding violet grows .../ There sleeps Titania sometime of the night./” (II: i : 235-236, 239) According to Oberon, Titania chose her resting place in a spot that was enveloped by flowers
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