University Essay: A Midsummer Night's Dream Act 3 Scene 2 Analysis

This essay provides an in-depth analysis of Act 3, Scene 2 of William Shakespeare's play, A Midsummer Night's Dream. The essay begins with a brief overview of the play's plot, focusing on the central theme of the play, the matrimony of Theseus and Hippolyta, and the adventures of four lovers and six actors in the forest. The analysis then concentrates on the events of Act 3, Scene 2, highlighting the confusion and misunderstandings created by the love potion administered by Puck. The essay explores the dramatic impact of the scene, including the revelation of the potion's misuse, the transformation of Bottom, and the resulting chaos among the lovers. It examines how the audience's awareness of the situation contributes to the dramatic effect and comedic elements of the scene. The essay also references scholarly articles to support its claims and provide context for the analysis. The essay concludes by emphasizing the significance of Act 3, Scene 2 in advancing the plot and showcasing Shakespeare's mastery of dramatic irony and comedic timing.

Running head: A MIDSUMMER’S NIGHT DREAM
A Midsummer’s Night Dream
Name of the Student
Name of the University
Author Note

1A MIDSUMMER’S NIGHT DREAM
Midsummers Night Dream is a comedy play written by William Shakespeare in 1595.
The story of the play revolves around the matrimony of the Duke of Athens, Theseus to the
former ruler of Amazon, Hippolyta. The story retells the adventures of four lovers from
Athens and six actors who are under the control of some fairies that live in the forests.
Midsummers Night Dream is one of the most popular plays of William Shakespeare and has
been adopted numerous times on stages and film sets across the world1.
Act 3 Scene 2 of Night Dream brings the story to the heights of confusion and
misunderstanding. All of the four lovers were in love with someone who did not love them
back. Demetrius was in love with Hernia, but she was in love with Lysander, Lysander on the
other hand loves Helena, but she is in love with Demetrius. This situation of confusion was
beautifully depicted in the opening of Scene 2 (in Act 3), where Oberon realizes that the love
potion was used on the wrong person by Puck. Also at the opening scene, PUCK transformed
the head of Bottom into that of a donkey, as he found him to be the dullest. This had a
dramatic theatrical impact that provided a comic interlude just before the start of the chaos,
which ensures the rest of scene 22.
The mischievous fairy, Puck who solely wanted to provide amusement for the fairy
king, loved stirring problems for people. However, her antics was not only targeted to the
humans, but also the fairy queen, who fell in love with a human being having a head of an
donkey as a result of Puck’s potion. The revelation of the fact that a love potion was used was
itself a dramatic turn of events at the starting of Scene 2. Moreover, the revelation of the mix
up that have occurred with the potions, leading to the four Athenians falling in love for the
wrong partners 3
1 Ciraulo, Darlena. "Ovid's Myth of Salmacis and Hermaphroditus in Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's
Dream." Philosophy and Literature 41, no. 1 (2017): 95-108.
2 Carlson, Donald. "Of Lunatics, Lovers, and Poets: The Conversation about Poetry in Shakespeare's A
Midsummer Night's Dream." Ben Jonson Journal 25, no. 2 (2018): 194-213.
3 Hutson, Lorna. "The Shakespearean unscene: Sexual phantasies in A Midsummer Night's Dream." Journal of
the British Academy 4 (2016).

2A MIDSUMMER’S NIGHT DREAM
At the opening of scene 2, the audiences have a clear advantage of the situation as
they know the reasons behind the turn of events which takes the actors by surprise and an
expectation sets among the audience that Oberon would set everything correct with Pucks
assistance. Thus putting the audience at ease and allowing them to be impressed by the humor
of the situation. The incidents were also fashioned in a manner that made the story line clear
for the audiences but keeping the actors separate at each scenes to increase their suspense and
thereby providing a sense of superiority among the audiences. This aspect also added
significantly to the dramatic effect seen n the opening parts of Act 3, Scene 2 of A
Midsummer’s Night Dream4.
4 McKeown, Roderick H., and Sarah Star. "A Midsummer Night's Dream at the Stratford Festival." Scene:
Reviews of Early Modern Drama 1 (2017): 37.

3A MIDSUMMER’S NIGHT DREAM
References:
Carlson, Donald. "Of Lunatics, Lovers, and Poets: The Conversation about Poetry in
Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream." Ben Jonson Journal 25, no. 2 (2018): 194-213.
Ciraulo, Darlena. "Ovid's Myth of Salmacis and Hermaphroditus in Shakespeare's A
Midsummer Night's Dream." Philosophy and Literature 41, no. 1 (2017): 95-108.
Hutson, Lorna. "The Shakespearean unscene: Sexual phantasies in A Midsummer Night's
Dream." Journal of the British Academy 4 (2016).
McKeown, Roderick H., and Sarah Star. "A Midsummer Night's Dream at the Stratford
Festival." Scene: Reviews of Early Modern Drama 1 (2017): 37.