Magic In A Midsummer Night's Dream

“Magic” has never been just a rabbit and a hat. It has been around for thousands of years and continues to entertain people. Magic is used in the arts, literature, and entertainment as one of the most favored topics. In A Midsummer Night’s Dream by William Shakespeare, magic is one of the key players of the plot and problems shown in the play. William Shakespeare uses magic to create conflict, emphasize humor, and balance out the play. Magic is used very early on in the play to establish the main conflicts in the plot. A conflict is aroused in the beginning by Puck: “Churl, upon thy eyes I throw… when thou wakest, let love forbid…” (Shakespeare 2.2. 65-67). With the magic in his hands, Puck causes the lovers to become unbalanced and confused throughout the play. This unbalance is the cause of the initial conflict presented in the play. Conflict is also aroused regarding the changeling boy- the offspring of one of Titania’s friends: “But she, being mortal, of that boy did die. And for her sake do I rear her boy, and for her sake I will not part with him” (Shakespeare 2.2. 121-132). The death of this woman was caused by the magic that does not allow her to live when she gave birth to the boy, causing Titania to take him in. The conflict begins when Oberon decides he wants the boy and

Puck corrects his mistake by placing a remedy in the lover’s eye: “on the ground sleep sound. I’ll apply to your eye. Gentle lover remedy…. True delight in the sight of the former lady’s eye” (Shakespeare 3.2. 102-108). One of the main conflicts between the characters is now resolved, which gets them one step closer to being back to normal. This causes part of the lovers’ problems to be balanced out and less conflict in the play. Also towards the end of the play, Shakespeare writes “When his love doth espy Let her shine as gloriously as the Venus of the sky” (Shakespeare