Green World Intervention - Examining the Fairy Trio's Actions in A Midsummer Night's Dream
When Hermia and Lysander enter the woods in Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream, they cross into another world. Unlike Athens, this world is populated by fantastic creatures who control the seasons, cast spells and meddle with human affairs. Because the fairies belong to this green-world, one can spend hours imagining their appearance - they can be richly adorned or wear nothing at all, for instance. But Shakespeare wants the audience to focus more on what the fairies do than what they look like. Indeed, one sees that the actions of the fairies Puck, Titania and Oberon not only drive the story but make them stand out as vivid, intriguing characters.
Robin Goodfellow, or Puck, stands out as a character because he is unpredictable and fun to watch. Indeed, Puck endears himself to the audience from his first appearance. Unlike fairies who decorate the forest world and "hang a pearl in every cowslip's ear," Puck is a "shrewd and knavish sprite" who "frights the maidens of the villagery" (II, i, 15; 33; 35). When confronted with these claims, Puck does not dismiss them, rather he adds on more details about his reputation: he causes confusion among gossiping old women and trips up "the wisest aunt, telling the saddest tale" (II, i, 51). Before Puck's arrival, the audience has only seen the plight of the lovers, Hermia and Lysander. Yet when the audience learns Puck inhabits the forest outside of Athens, they know that A Midsummer Night's Dream is no Romeo and Juliet. But Puck is not just a typical trickster character - his actions drive the course of the play. Indeed, Puck is the one who causes Lysander to fall for Helena and transform Nick Bottom into Titania's love interest. While Oberon instructs Puck to take these actions, the audience sees these moments from Puck's perspective, which only heightens his importance. Puck may be Oberon's servant, but he delights - to the amusement of the audience - in interfering with humans on his own. When observing the rustics, he says he'll "be an auditor; / An actor too perhaps, if I see cause" (III, i, 80-81). Even after Oberon finds out that Puck has made the wrong couple fall in love, the fairy is unrepentant saying, "that I have 'nointed an Athenian's eyes /And so far am I glad it so did sort, / As this their jangling I esteem a sport" (III, ii, 351-353). But should the audience take offense at all that has taken place in the play, Shakespeare has Puck, now a favorite character, soothe their nerves. To "scape the serpent's tongue" Puck assures the audience they were experiencing a pleasant dream" and that they should "give [him] your hands, if we be friends" (V, i, 435; 439). Puck, who has made the largest impression throughout the play, has now given the audience reason to applaud.
Titania the Fairy Queen captures the audience's attention because she stands up to her husband and refuses to hand over her Indian boy. The audience supports Titania because she remains fiercely loyal to her deceased follower, the boy's mother. She tells Oberon that "the fairy land buys not the child of me" because "for her sake do I rear up the boy / And for her sake I will not part with him" (II, i, 122; 136-137). Titania will refuse all of Oberon's offerings, even his kingdom, because she so admired the woman who "gossiped by my side / And sat with me on Neptune's yellow sands" (II, i, 125-126). The strength of Titania's speeches to Oberon in Act II establish her as a strong woman- the audience is impressed that she will not yield to Oberon even though he says, "Tarry, rash wanton! am not I thy lord ?" (II, i, 63). Titania knows that she has the advantage in this fight and is not afraid to tell Oberon the devastating effects of a continued battle. Indeed, "The ox hath therefore stretch'd his yoke in vain," because "the seasons alter" (II, i, 93; 107). The effects of their feud, which Titania calls "progeny of evils" (II, i, 115) stem from Oberon's refusal to let her honor her friend correctly. Titania's fiery speeches contrast with the subservience of Hippolyta, the other queen in the play. Hippolyta remains silent throughout most of Act I and seems to accept whatever Theseus has to say, even when he mentions breaking Athenian law will lead to death (I, i, 22). It would be difficult to imagine Titania keeping her mouth shut if Oberon were to command her like that. As the audience soon sees, the only way Oberon can conquer Titania's spirit is with a spell.
Oberon the Fairy King lacks the powerful speeches of his wife, but his actions elicit strong emotions from the audience. Instead of compromising with Titania, Oberon takes the dramatic step of manipulating her emotions. While the result is comedic - the audience can't help but laugh at Titania and Bottom's mismatched love - Oberon's words to Titania are not. He wants her to fall in love with something hideous:
Be it ounce, or cat, or bear
Pard, or boar with bristled hair,
In thy eye that shall appear
When thou wak'st, it is thy dear.
Wake when some vile thing is near. (II, ii, 30-34).
Such words do little to endear Oberon to the audience, but they do make him stand out among the cast. After hearing such passionate words from Titania, the audience would likely enjoy hissing at Oberon as he squeezes the flower's juice onto her eyelids. This devilish trick is the only way Oberon can claim victory. The audience notices that the spell lowers Titania's defenses - she does not give a spirited defense but "in mild terms begg'd my patience," Oberon tells Puck. Oberon's spell works wonders as Titania and surrenders the child whom she fought so hard for in Act II in just three lines (IV, i, 62-64). But Oberon's actions also cause the audience some confusion. At the same time he wants to teach Titania a lesson, Oberon is intent on playing matchmaker for humanity. He tells Puck that he wants to make Titania "full of hateful fantasies" yet in the same speech desires to have Demetrius, the "disdainful youth" fall in love with Helena, the "sweet Athenian lady" he saw earlier (II, ii, 258; 260-261). Furthermore, Oberon expresses shock when Puck "laid the love-juice on some true-love's sight: / Of thy misprision must perforce ensue / Some true-love turned, and not a false turned true" (III, ii, 89-91). This contradiction, while amusing, only serves to create a further negative impression of Oberon - his stubbornness leads to a climate disaster and his matchmaking skills only cause more drama. Although Oberon is able to settle everything in the end, the audience is likely to remember him more as a meddlesome and jealous man rather than a noble king. Yet these qualities are what make Oberon stand out amongst the characters in Shakespeare's play.
The actions of the fairies determine the events in A Midsummer Night's Dream. Yet with the exception of Nick Bottom, a lowly weaver, the humans never see the beings who shape their destiny. Perhaps Shakespeare wanted his audience to leave the play thinking that our actions are being influenced by a greater power - and perhaps to this greater power, all our drama is merely comedy.
1,226 words / 4 pages
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