A Midsummer Night’s Dream play explores various aspects of friendship and love. Through the main characters such as Lysander, Hermia, and Helena, the author endeavors that the path of love is one that is full of struggles and obstacles. However, Shakespeare noted that if a person is faithful and committed, they can defy any obstacles, thereby achieving success in love. In the ply, Lysander affirms that being successful in love is never easy (Shakespeare 1.1.134). To portray the theme of love efficiently, Shakespeare uses illusion, lust, confusion, and imagination. The author of the play does not incorporate a main plot; rather, Shakespeare creates random thoughts and emotions. The essay will focus on imagination as analyzed by Robert Dent in his article; to achieve this, the paper will summarize the arguments present by Dent and evaluate them from a personal perspective.
Summary
Robert Dent criticized A Midsummer Night’s Dream in 1964 after noting that there was no sufficient analysis done on the play. According to Dent, A Midsummer Night’s, previous critics did not address the play as a whole; for instance, the final act of a play has not been evaluated by many scholars where Shakespeare provides the final message. Essentially, Dent focuses on the aspect of imagination, which is the ultimate determiner of action. From Dent’s perspective, imagination connects the inner play with the theme of love as a whole. As such, Shakespeare subverts the normal relationship between reason and imagination in terms of love; evidently love is not determined by reason, but by imagination. With this notion, Dent acknowledge that from the start of the play, Shakespeare illustrates that true love does not use the eyes, which are sometimes used in inspiring love (Dent 135).
Dent is keen to note that Shakespeare’s use of a play within a play serves two purposes; first, it reflects the lover’s journey into the woods and back. Second, it gives the listeners and readers a glimpse into the creative process used in creating the play. In essence, imagination affects the characters in the play with regard to reasoning and judgment. Dent notes, “Nothing is more common than the observation that the play is about love, about lovers’ lunacy, where reason and love keep little company together nowadays.” (Dent 116) The argument regarding imagination is summed up by Dent saying that people may be ignorant if they choose to ignore the grace that blesses true love and infer from the play (Dent 122).
Conclusion
I agree with Dent’s analysis considering that he has criticized the whole article with regard to the theme of love. In his article, Dent concentrates on imagination as used by Shakespeare to convey the central theme in the play, love. Providing the various instances of imagination, Dent seeks to establish the play’s idea that there is no smooth path in the course of undertaking true love. Therefore, those seeking to be successful should be deeply committed; such as aspect will enable them overcome all the obstacles that may come their way. Dent’s criticism serves to show that love cannot be found in laws, compatibility quizzes, or in arranged marriage. Additionally, it does not possess a logical path; as such, it cannot be explained through conventional means, but will defy better judgment and explanation. Evidently, these arguments are the basis for criticism on the play by Shakespeare.
Work Cited
Dent, Robert W. "Imagination in A Midsummer Night's Dream." Shakespeare Quarterly 15.2
(1964): 115-129.
Shakespeare, William. Peter Brook's production of William Shakespeare's A midsummer night's
dream for the Royal Shakespeare Company. Royal Shakespeare Company, 1974.
