Differences And Similarities Between Fantasy And Reality example essay topic

The group of the forest, Oberon, Puck, Titania and her fairies, serve as the other end of the comparison. The fairies represent a fantasy world that operates according to a different set of standards than the real world. Living somewhere between fantasy and reality are the four lovers, Lys nader, Hermia, Demetrius, and Helen. The lovers are living in a dream like state; the essence of their relationships remains similar through the transitions from reality to fantasy and back.

The final group of Athenians are the mechanics, Quince, Snug, Bottom, Flute, Snout, and Starveling. Their superficial purpose is to provide comic relief throughout the play. In addition, they are creating a fantasy by putting on the play for Theseus. Shakespeare uses the four groups of characters to show differences and similarities between fantasy and reality. The city of Athens, in A Midsummer Night's Dream, represents reality, because it is governed by laws and reason. There are three groups of characters from Athens, and only group that is not associated with fantasy is the one with Theseus, Hippolyta, and Egeus.

Both Theseus and Egeus show that their world is governed by laws; Egeus asked for the ancient privilege of Athens, and Theseus upheld it. During the play put on by the mechanics, Hippolyta commented, this is the silliest stuff that ever I heard. Even the relationship, between Theseus and Hippolyta, differs from those of the four lovers. Instead of a romantic relationship, Theseus won thy [Hippolyta] love, doing thee injuries. Their relationship does not appear to be based on love, which tends toward fantasy. In contrast to the Athenians, the characters from the forest represent fantasy.

To begin with, all the characters are fictional beings. They act and behave differently from humans, and their world is governed by magic. When Oberon, king of the fairies, could not get the changeling from Titania, he planned to exact revenge with the help of a magical flower. The maidens call it love in idleness. The juice from the flower would make the victim fall in love with the first creature they saw when they woke up.

Puck, who was sent to do the job, ended up affecting Titania and the two male lovers. Puck made excuses that he mistaken Lysander and Demetrius for the ones he supposed to find, but the truth is, he enjoyed mischief and hurting people that walked in the forest. Since there are no major villains in the play, the mischievous Puck fills in the role and plays tricks on the lovers. Before the lovers leave the forest though, the fairies did them a favor by using the magic. It returned Lysander's love for Hermia and made Demetrius love Helena. So the magic let the relationships work out without conflict.

The four young lovers in the play seem to pursue their petty goals no matter their environment. In the real world, Athens, Demetrius and Lysander become bitter rivals because they both love Hermia. The same situation occurs in the forest, only the target of their love switched to Helena. The young lovers present a medium between fantasy and reality. They live in the real world, but the preoccupation with their love makes them seem like they are under a spell. As a matter of fact, they are under the influence of the flower when they leave the forest.

The situation of their love triangle also reflects Shakespeares view of love and relationships. The constant switching of amours shows that Shakespeare thinks that love is paradoxical. In the play, the flower is the cause for their changes in affection, but in real life, similar things happen and it is often hard to understand the reasons. The mechanics also played a role between reality and fantasy.

They lived in reality, but when they act the play they are creating a fantasy. They go to the forest which represents a world of fantasy to rehearse their play. The mechanics combine the worlds of fantasy and reality in a different method from that of the lovers. They are not as confused about the boundary between the two worlds. Most of them are even worried that the audience may believe more than they should when they see the play. They are clearly able to distinguish between fantasy and reality; to present that clearly to the viewers, they add long prologues explaining their roles in the play.

The mechanics also serve a comical purpose in the original plot. They are naivet and kindness is shown in there worries about the audience. Their determined efforts to tell the audience that they are only acting during the play ruins it, but makes it quite funny. In Shakespeares, A Midsummer Nights Dream, four distinct character groups are each supposed to contribute a different aspect of fantasy and reality. The adults of Athens represented the reality. They were the ones who found the four lovers in the woods and brought them back to the city.

The fairies of the forest were responsible for all the fantastical actions with the flowers and magic. They represented a fantasy that seemed similar to the human world in organization, but that operated with a different set of standards. The four young lovers were stuck somewhere between fantasy and reality. Then the mechanics from Athens had a solid grasp of reality, but they were going to create a fantasy in the form of a play. They serve to distinguish the boundary between fantasy and reality when they continually reminded the audience that everything that happened on stage was no real.

With these four groups, Shakespeare compared fantasy and reality. He provided the extremes in the forms of the city and the forest. The lovers and mechanics each provided a different medium that could exist between fantasy and reality.