One of the things that I found the most compelling about A Midsummer Night’s Dream is how hysterically disorienting it can be. That goes for much more than the blatant confusions of the fairy-engineered chaos that ensues in acts two, three, and four. It really is not hard to catch yourself trying to figure out minor details, such as the moon position, and how it could possibly have such a prevalent theme of moonlight despite Theseus’ comments of, “four happy days to bring in another moon” to denote the time of the ceremonies.

Perhaps liberties were taken for the theme of moonlight, or there are alternate ways of interpreting what Theseus meant, but it would not be surprising if either were the case. Both fit into how disorienting it can be by adding to the numerous dualities in the play: sanity and insanity, civilization and wilderness, elite and commoner, and, of course, the confusion these dualities cause. I cannot imagine where we would be without the moon as a perfect scapegoat to explain the actions of the four youths in the woods and the mysterious disappearance of Bottom. Let’s also not forget about how disorienting of a time the players must have had trying to pull a performance together with their lead character off in the woods with a fairy queen and a horse head.

And, of course, what better to include in a play centered on marriage and love than a prominent theme of disorientation?  I would assume that it is safe to say that Shakespeare sought out to comment on the inner-complexities of love in this play in the same was as he did so with dreams and social standings. Whether it is Hermia and Helena caustically doting over each other’s opposing features, or subtle commentary on two men falling for the same woman, Shakespeare does not shy away from tackling dense topics in order to delve into social ideas that are certainly not unique or confined to the setting of the play. It makes these characters very real and believable in the cleverest of ways, and even gives a brief second of clarity, just as the last act of the play seems to do.