Farce and Dramatic Irony in A Midsummer Night´s Dream by...

In the comedy A Midsummer Night’s Dream, the plethora of comedic styles used by Shakespeare illustrate his intention to poke fun at love throughout the play. The play is notorious for its intricate and irrational plotline, mainly due to the constantly shifting love triangles. Once the powerful fairies become involved with the fate of the naive lovers – Demetrius, Helena, Lysander and Hermia – matters are further complicated. The complication inflicted by the fairies is credited to the powerful love potion that Oberon, King of the Fairies, hands over to Puck, a mischievous fairy, to use on his wife Titania, with intentions to embarrass and distract her. This spiteful attitude is due to Oberon and Titania’s argument over the custody of an†¦show more content†¦Helena puts forth the evocative themes of â€Å"hate† and â€Å"mock[ery],† clearly exhibiting that she feels quite a lot of emotion towards the way that Lysander and Demetrius ar e acting. Helena’s evidently very low self-esteem causes her to believe that Demetrius and Lysander are â€Å"joining in souls† or teaming up on her to make fun of her, when they are contrarily being quite affectionate. This clearly exemplifies how dramatic irony, a common theme throughout the play, can actually intend to teach the lesson that love is very complex and quite magical, conveyed by the fairies. Similarly to Helena, Bottom, a farcical member of the mechanicals that gets comeuppance for his high self-esteem by being turned into an ass by Puck, is also unaware of the reality of his situation. When Bottom comes to the realization that he has undergone some sort of change, he is still completely uninformed about his true state of being, but yet the audience knows exactly what has occurred. Bottom infers, â€Å"This is to make an ass of me† (3.1.99). It is very ironic that Bottom thinks they are â€Å"mak[ing] an ass of [him],† when in reality he h as literally been transformed into an ass. This random, confusing aspect of the play symbolizes the randomness and complexity of love. Additionally, later in the scene, Titania admires Bottom’s appearance, demonstrating the blindness of love. Shakespeare evidently utilizes the comedic device ofShow MoreRelatedSatire : The Fundamental Function Of Satire1644 Words   |  7 Pagesenjoy satirical comedy above all other sub-genres, and in particular, slapstick comedy. Satire is a technique employed by writers and comedians alike to expose and criticise corruption and shortcomings of an individual or a society by using humour, irony and/or exaggeration. Ultimately, the writer feels obliged to expose these vices to for the betterment of humanity. The fundamental function of satire is to warn the public about prevailing corruption and disorder within a society. [1] Furthermore,