Theme Of Appearance And Reality In A Midsummer Night's Dream

Man sees what he so desires. Man usually misinterprets information, instead believing appearances to represent reality or truth in cohesion with the prior beliefs or longings of an individual. As a result, distortion and confusion find themselves prevalent in the thoughts of all, specifically the thoughts of those individuals who become involved in a relationship. In the Renaissance Era of the 15th century, William Shakespeare suggests, through the romantic comedy A Midsummer Night’s Dream and the motif of the magic flower, that appearance and reality in the eyes’ of lovers become distorted due to desire, and the resulting foolishness derives from the immaturity of their youth.
Lovers tend to idealize certain situations, interpreting them
Shakespeare certainly agrees, emphasizing the theme of appearance versus reality throughout A Midsummer Night’s Dream in order to enlighten the population about the hasty decisions of those same youth, specifically regarding youth in relationships. For example, Shakespeare portrays the scene involving Demetrius and Lysander and their newfound love for Helena in order to display how quickly youth can change their minds and create an appearance of love that contradicts with reality. As Helena states, “…now I perceive they have conjoined all three/ to fashion this false sport in spite of me…” (III.ii.198-199). She believes that the sudden change of behavior from Demetrius and Lysander towards her signifies a mere joke, as the situation (where Lysander and Demetrius seemingly love her) seems to her ridiculous. The reality in this situation becomes subdued by the false appearance caused by the flower, depicting how rushed and foolish feelings typically among youth) can result in a distorted reality. Lysander and Demetrius address the concept of youth through their constant, immature bickering. For example, Lysander proclaims, “…I swear by that which I lose for thee,/ to prove him false that says I love thee not…” (III.iii. 259-260). As their arguments continue, Shakespeare addresses the absurdness of the situation, regarding how the immaturity of youth creates a falsified appearance that contradicts