One of the functions of literature is to force the reader to question the things he has taken for granted; another is to heighten his sensitivity to the complexities of life and individuals. ShakespeareÆs A Midsummer NightÆs Dream fulfills both functions masterfully.
ShakespeareÆs play creates an intricate juxtaposition of plot and characters that reduces even the careful reader to a state of confusion. The playwrightÆs use of plot devices such as having characters drop the juice of a magic flower into peoplesÆ eyes to make them fall in love is artistic license intended to make a major point(things are not always as they appear to be. Shakespeare leads the reader in so many directions with so many characters and plot twists that the concept of reality seems like a comforting thought from the distant past. The reader begins questioning what is real in the play. Who really loves whom? What is reality and what is illusion? Are the scenes real events, or imaginary flights of fancy? Does magic flower juice really change how one character sees another?
Shakespeare allows the reader to wallow for awhile in a stew of confusion over these issues before restoring sanity at the end by bringing the characters back into line, the plot to its conclusion, and reason back into the picture. But during the heady, heart-stopping race through the scenes until then, the reader is turned first one way and then the other, struggling to comprehend what is real.
The second function of literature, a heightening of the senses, is satisfied in this play when Shakespeare appeals powerfully to the senses with lush descriptions of flowers.
I know a bank where the wild thyme blows, Where oxlips and the nodding violet grows, Quite over-canopied with luscious woodbine, With sweet musk-roses and with eglantine: (lines 259-262)
The charming bucolic imagery lends a sweetness and texture to the play to take it beyond mere plot tw
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