An Analysis of the ‘Happy Ending’ of Shakespeare’s a Midsummer Night’s Dream.
All’s Well That Ends Well… Or Is It?
An analysis of the ‘Happy Ending’ of Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream.
It is commonly said that “all’s well that ends well.” In the case of the comedies of William Shakespeare, this is almost universally true. With specific regard to A Midsummer Night’s Dream, the machinations of Oberon are able to bring together Lysander and Hermia, as well as Helena and Demetrius, in a way that provides for the happiest of conclusions. As readers of the play, however, this is also a conclusion that we can anticipate from the first scene. The comedies trace formulaic patterns in which even the most unbelievable circumstances can be resolved by the play’s end, and the performance can end with marriage and the prevailing certainty of love. In comedy, the “happy ending” is inevitable. That inevitability, however, raises some concerns with darker elements earlier in the play. The fact that the ending is, indeed, a convention allows Shakespeare to end well without all being well, and so the “happy ending” is not entirely as happy as we are led to believe. Even if the action has not reached a point of idealism, the ending does unmistakably possess all the elements of a truly joyful conclusion. Most directly, we see that happiness in the victory of love by the play’s end. Within these circumstances, however, the playwright is able to be critical of the difficulties of love. Theseus, the Duke of Athens, and his wife Hippolyta open the play in anticipation of their approaching wedding. While the play does not progress so far as to include that happy occasion, it does bring the pair one step closer to the bliss that they are each hopeful for. It is important to realize here that Shakespeare is framing the action of A Midsummer Night’s Dream within the span of little more than a day. Theseus and Hippolyta may be joyful and contented over the course of these five acts, but Theseus suggests that it has not always been so.
An analysis of the ‘Happy Ending’ of Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream.
It is commonly said that “all’s well that ends well.” In the case of the comedies of William Shakespeare, this is almost universally true. With specific regard to A Midsummer Night’s Dream, the machinations of Oberon are able to bring together Lysander and Hermia, as well as Helena and Demetrius, in a way that provides for the happiest of conclusions. As readers of the play, however, this is also a conclusion that we can anticipate from the first scene. The comedies trace formulaic patterns in which even the most unbelievable circumstances can be resolved by the play’s end, and the performance can end with marriage and the prevailing certainty of love. In comedy, the “happy ending” is inevitable. That inevitability, however, raises some concerns with darker elements earlier in the play. The fact that the ending is, indeed, a convention allows Shakespeare to end well without all being well, and so the “happy ending” is not entirely as happy as we are led to believe. Even if the action has not reached a point of idealism, the ending does unmistakably possess all the elements of a truly joyful conclusion. Most directly, we see that happiness in the victory of love by the play’s end. Within these circumstances, however, the playwright is able to be critical of the difficulties of love. Theseus, the Duke of Athens, and his wife Hippolyta open the play in anticipation of their approaching wedding. While the play does not progress so far as to include that happy occasion, it does bring the pair one step closer to the bliss that they are each hopeful for. It is important to realize here that Shakespeare is framing the action of A Midsummer Night’s Dream within the span of little more than a day. Theseus and Hippolyta may be joyful and contented over the course of these five acts, but Theseus suggests that it has not always been so.