Though William Shakespeare’s A
Midsummer Night’s Dream is considered a happy play with the main theme
of love and marriage; it is not exactly a romantic play. Love is there but not
presented in a conventional way. From the beginning to the end, love is
presented in a sinister way; somewhere forcible and somewhere to resolve
problems of others. It is an ‘anti-romantic’ drama than a romantic one.
Jan Kott, a very well known
Polish critic completely disagrees this play to be a romantic one. For him, there
are some reasons which are quite supportive.
Jan Kott says that, the idea of
love is presented in a brutal way. In fact, love is presented in a way which is
a kind of violence of sexual fantasies. The marriage between Duke Theseus and
queen Hippolyta is not of love rather it’s a forcible implication of violence
in war field which ultimately turns into sexual fantasy after the marriage.
Secondly, he says that, the idea
of love has been debased. Indeed, love is not presented in that way what should
have been. Love between ‘Lysander-Hermia’ and ‘Demetrius-Helena’ is presented
through the spell of fairies. Fairies made the course of love to follow
mistakenly. What should have happened in a natural way; happened in a very odd
or awkward way. The power of love is made so shallow that idea of it is
debased.
Again, the way of love is
presented in a humiliated way. Due to the misspell and spell on both Lysander
and Demetrius, they fall in love with the same lady, Helena. In this way Helena
is humiliated and also humiliation attacks Hermia in the way of jealousy. In
fact, the idea of love has been debased and mocked. Even, between the fairy
king Oberon and queen Titania, love has been humiliated where Oberon tricks
over Titania with magic spell. In the course, Bottom is humiliated to be in
love with Titania having donkey head.
In love making, more than male
characters, female characters are made to suffer and humiliated which is surely
not a trait of romantic drama.
Through the course of love and
marriage, male characters are made supreme to have fulfillment of their will in
the end. Female characters kept humiliated in the way. For a romance or love,
equilibrium is necessary but it is not there.
