Book Anatomy · A Midsummer Night's Dream
A Midsummer Night's Dream: Theme and motif
12 lenses on theme and motif for A Midsummer Night's Dream by William Shakespeare. Count lenses are exact for our text. AI lenses are our reading and cite only quotes that passed a word for word check.
Jump to: J1 J2 J3 J4 J5 J6 J7 J8 J9 J10 J11 J12
J1. Where is the theme first stated, and by whom? AI
The theme of love versus law is stated in c1 when Hermia must choose between obedience and love. Theseus presents the law; Hermia defies it. The question is whether love or duty matters more.
Scenes (numbered through the play): Scene 1
Either to die the death, or to abjure For ever the society of men. (Ch 1, para 17)
J2. The theme question, and how each subplot answers it. AI
Hermia and Lysander show love conquers law (c7). Helena and Demetrius show magic can force love but true feeling is better (c7). Oberon and Titania show power and control harm love (c7). The craftsmen show earnest effort matters (c9).
Scenes (numbered through the play): Scene 1, Scene 3, Scene 4, Scene 6, Scene 7, Scene 9
Jack shall have Jill; Nought shall go ill; The man shall have his mare again, and all shall be well. (Ch 6, para 140)
I will hear that play; For never anything can be amiss When simpleness and duty tender it. (Ch 9, para 19)
J3. Motif tracker: recurring images by chapter. Both
Law and obedience, Magic and enchantment, Dreams and reality. See the full lens on the book page.
J4. Symbols, and how their meaning shifts. AI
The magic flower shifts from tool of revenge (c3) to source of chaos (c4 to 6) to instrument of healing (c7). The wood shifts from escape route (c1) to place of danger (c6) to place of magic and truth (c7).
Scenes (numbered through the play): Scene 3, Scene 4, Scene 5, Scene 6, Scene 7
Fetch me that flower, the herb I showed thee once: The juice of it on sleeping eyelids laid Will make or man or woman madly dote Upon the next live creature that it sees. (Ch 3, para 24)
Thou hast mistaken quite, And laid the love-juice on some true-love’s sight. (Ch 6, para 24)
J5. Theme words and their frequency over the book. Count
Theme words and how often they come in each tenth of the book.
| Word | Total | By tenth |
|---|---|---|
| love | 159 | 30 25 18 6 45 0 9 0 26 0 |
| dream | 16 | 3 0 1 0 1 0 9 0 2 0 |
| law | 6 | 3 0 0 0 0 0 3 0 0 0 |
| mischief | 2 | 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 |
| obedience | 1 | 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 |
| magic | 0 | 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 |
| transformation | 0 | 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 |
| enchantment | 0 | 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 |
| reality | 0 | 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 |
| performance | 0 | 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 |
J6. The moral argument: who stands for which side? AI
Hermia and Lysander stand for love and freedom. Egeus stands for law and paternal control. Oberon stands for power and manipulation. Theseus stands for justice tempered with mercy. Puck learns that mischief has consequences.
Scenes (numbered through the play): Scene 1, Scene 3, Scene 6, Scene 7
Either to die the death, or to abjure For ever the society of men. (Ch 1, para 17)
Fare thee well, nymph. Ere he do leave this grove, Thou shalt fly him, and he shall seek thy love. (Ch 3, para 44)
Jack shall have Jill; Nought shall go ill; The man shall have his mare again, and all shall be well. (Ch 6, para 140)
J7. The title: its meaning and echoes in the text. Both
How often the key words of the title appear in the text.
| Word | Times |
|---|---|
| Midsummer | 0 |
| Night's | 0 |
| Dream | 14 |
The title refers to the magical night when the lovers' dreams become real. 'Midsummer' suggests the longest day and shortest night, when magic is strongest. Puck's epilogue asks if the play itself was a dream.
Scenes (numbered through the play): Scene 1, Scene 3, Scene 7, Scene 9
If we shadows have offended, Think but this, and all is mended, That you have but slumber’d here While these visions did appear. (Ch 9, para 133)
J8. Epigraphs, allusions and borrowed texts. Both
No well known books or writers are named outright. (rough estimate from word lists)
The craftsmen perform Pyramus and Thisbe, a classical tale of doomed lovers from Ovid. This mirrors the lovers' near-tragedy and provides comic contrast. No epigraphs are used.
Scenes (numbered through the play): Scene 2, Scene 3, Scene 9
Marry, our play is The most lamentable comedy and most cruel death of Pyramus and Thisbe. (Ch 2, para 6)
J9. Opening image against final image. AI
Opening image: Theseus prepares for his wedding with law and order. Final image: Puck addresses the audience, blurring dream and reality. The play moves from rigid law to magical freedom to acceptance of both.
Scenes (numbered through the play): Scene 1, Scene 9
If we shadows have offended, Think but this, and all is mended, That you have but slumber’d here While these visions did appear. (Ch 9, para 133)
J10. Pairs and contrasts, such as light and dark. Both
Counts of each side of the main contrasts.
| Pair | First word | Second word |
|---|---|---|
| love / hate | 114 | 9 |
| law / freedom | 6 | 0 |
| magic / reality | 0 | 0 |
| dream / waking | 14 | 7 |
Light and dark: the wood is dark and magical (c3 to 7), Athens is ordered and lawful (c1 to 2, c9). Love and madness: the lovers are mad with love (c4 to 6). Order and chaos: magic creates chaos that must be undone.
Scenes (numbered through the play): Scene 1, Scene 3, Scene 4, Scene 5, Scene 6, Scene 7
Lord, what fools these mortals be! (Ch 6, para 31)
Lovers and madmen have such seething brains, Such shaping fantasies, that apprehend More than cool reason ever comprehends. (Ch 9, para 3)
J11. Core values at stake: life, love, justice, truth. AI
Love is at stake: will the lovers marry for love or obey law? Justice is at stake: will Theseus enforce the law or show mercy? Truth is at stake: are the lovers' feelings real or magical illusions?
Scenes (numbered through the play): Scene 1, Scene 3, Scene 4, Scene 6, Scene 7, Scene 9
Either to die the death, or to abjure For ever the society of men. (Ch 1, para 17)
I have had a most rare vision. I have had a dream, past the wit of man to say what dream it was. (Ch 7, para 67)
If we shadows have offended, Think but this, and all is mended, That you have but slumber’d here While these visions did appear. (Ch 9, para 133)
J12. What the book leaves open on purpose. AI
The play leaves open whether the lovers' love is real or magical. Bottom's dream is never fully explained. Puck's epilogue suggests the entire play may be a dream. The boundary between reality and imagination remains blurred.
Scenes (numbered through the play): Scene 7, Scene 9
I have had a most rare vision. I have had a dream, past the wit of man to say what dream it was. (Ch 7, para 67)
If we shadows have offended, Think but this, and all is mended, That you have but slumber’d here While these visions did appear. (Ch 9, para 133)
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