Compare and contrast the fairy world to the human world in “A Midsummer Night’s Dream”. by Mr T Bugaj https://padlet.com/t109/sz844jsveoir What does this question require you to do? en-us 2020-03-30 10:06:21 UTC 2020-04-07 07:38:44 UTC hello@padlet.com The human world seems dull in comparison to the open and magical fairy world. s171122 https://padlet.com/t109/sz844jsveoir/wish/487961793 This point puts emphasis on how different the two worlds are, but there can be similarities in their societies and hierarchy despite the different lifestyles and attitudes towards the other world.]]> 2020-04-02 02:40:03 UTC https://padlet.com/t109/sz844jsveoir/wish/487961793 The human world is controlled by the fairy world s171151 https://padlet.com/t109/sz844jsveoir/wish/488268329  The balance in nature in the human world is maintained through the harmony between fairy king Oberon and queen Titania, suggesting that the wellbeing of the human world is dependent on that of the fairy kingdom. Moreover, Puck uses magic from the love-in-idleness flower to control who Demetrius and Lysander fall in love with. Humans do not know about the fairies’ power over them, nor can they fight the effects of magic, showing that the human world is vulnerable to magic and the fairies.]]> 2020-04-02 08:08:17 UTC https://padlet.com/t109/sz844jsveoir/wish/488268329 Similarity of the human and fairy world -- they both encounter conflicts and resolution s1820031 https://padlet.com/t109/sz844jsveoir/wish/488293212 The fairy world and the human world share a similarity of having conflict and resolution in the play. The Athenians encounter the alterations of relationships, coupled with the long-term resentment and jealousy, trigger the irrational and dramatic fight between the four lovers. The conflicts are then resolved by Puck re-applying the love-in-idleness to Lysander, which turns the four lovers into two couples. Similarly, the leaders in the fairy world, Oberon and Titania, fight over the ownership for the Indian boy, but then resolves their conflict and restore peace and harmony at the end of the play. Thus, the fairy world and the human world are similar in terms of their encounters. ]]> 2020-04-02 08:20:48 UTC https://padlet.com/t109/sz844jsveoir/wish/488293212 The Human World is a mortal representation of the Fairy World s171097 https://padlet.com/t109/sz844jsveoir/wish/492169442 Theseus and Hippolyta are basically the human representation of Oberon and Titania. Theseus and Oberon are both misogynistic and commanding, and they don't make the best decisions. Hippolyta and Titania are both headstrong and proud women, and they both don't bow down to their companions (Theseus and Oberon) at the very start. However, the conflict between Theseus and Hippolyta is just Hippolyta being unimpressed and unwillingly follow Theseus' orders, while Oberon and Titania are on a full on war against each other that affects both the fairy and mortal world. Therefore, the mortal characters and in relation the mortal world are weaker representatives of the fairies and the fairy world. 

]]> 2020-04-04 06:38:31 UTC https://padlet.com/t109/sz844jsveoir/wish/492169442 Both humans and fairies are weak and powerless when they face love. s171167 https://padlet.com/t109/sz844jsveoir/wish/492350604 In A Midsummer Night's Dream, love is a force that characters cannot control or resist from, the power of love is amplified by the workings of the love potion, which makes people "slaves" to love. 

Human world: 
Due to the love potion, conflicts are brought up among the four Athenian young lovers. The confusion created by the love potion leads Lysander to believe he hates Hermia. He said this to Hermia “Why seek’ st thou me? Could not this make thee know the hate I bear thee made me leave thee so?” This reflects that humans are weak when facing the destructive power of love, they can’t do anything to alter the destruction to relationships nor realize that they are being controlled by love. Love is so easily extinguished and turned to hatred shows that humans’ affection and rationality are nothing when being compared to the ultimate power of love.

Fairy world:
Titania is the Queen of the woods in the play. She is the fairy queen of high social status, who is well-respected and holds dignity. However, once love potion is applied to her, she is unable to control her feelings and falls in love with Bottom, who is a mechanic with low status. This is seen as a humiliating act, where Titania loses her dignity totally as a woman for flirting publicly with a lowly and uneducated man, saying "Come, sit thee down upon this flowery bed, While I thy amiable cheeks do coy," when she has a husband herself. Titania is supposed to be a sophisticated fairy who holds superpowers to control nature, however, all of her strong powers fail to fight over the strong power of love. She is blinded by love and her acts are irrational. This reflects that even fairies that are normally seen as more powerful than humans due to their supernatural powers are too unable to resist the attracting love power, thus fall into the trap of being in love.

This similarity between the human and fairy world is seen as important as it brings out the idea of love is blinding and destructive: you can’t control nor escape from love. The theme of “Love is uncontrollable” is well-portrayed in the play. 

It is also ironic for the love potion is an idea brought up by Oberon, but fairies (Titania; who are of the same kind as him) also failed to resist the potion's power.]]> 2020-04-04 11:36:21 UTC https://padlet.com/t109/sz844jsveoir/wish/492350604 The human world’s characters are often have logical and rational behaviours while the fairy world’s characters’s action are often driven by emotion s1710782 https://padlet.com/t109/sz844jsveoir/wish/492855965 Athens is a civilised city ruled by the strict laws of men and follow the society’s norm at that time. It’s laws and leaders discourage its citizens from acting irrationally or make rash decisions. A good example is Egeus’ thoughtful decision choosing what he thinks is an acceptable mate to wed his daughter based on rational reasons like economic, social and political factors. On the other hand, Oberon, who is the king of the fairies, is the symbol of human impulsiveness. He decided to poison Titania purely based on his intense jealousy of the Indian boy being with Titania and his desire for the child. There is no rationality in Oberon’s thinking as he didn’t consider what his actions might do to the relationship between Titania and him and also the possible dangers and humiliation the use of the flower juice brings.]]> 2020-04-05 02:02:43 UTC https://padlet.com/t109/sz844jsveoir/wish/492855965 Through the effects of love, both the human world and the fairy world will act upon jealousy. s1710295 https://padlet.com/t109/sz844jsveoir/wish/492903474
In the human world, jealousy is played out the most among the four lovers. Right at the start of the play, we can already see how Lysander and Demetrius feel about each other. Demetrius is jealous of Lysander getting Hermia’s affections while Lysander wants to gain the approval of Egeus to marry Hermia, perhaps also jealous of Demetrius getting her father’s approval. Helena is jealous of Hermia, getting two men to love her when she has none, and also feels bitter for her because of Demetrius’ affections towards Hermia, but not towards her. When Puck mixed things up, it caused a fight between the four lovers, Lysander and Demetrius now fighting over Helena, while Helena goes into her own jealous rage. 

Jealousy also is played out in the fairy world, through the rift between Oberon and Titania. Through the argument between the two, we know that Oberon has feelings for Hippolyta, while Titania for Theseus, who are getting married soon in the human world. They accuse each other for loving another, which causes chaos to nature, winds, contagious fogs, and more. This jealousy rift between them cause Oberon to want to embarrass Titania, commanding Puck to use the magic flower on her, which then causes chaos and confusion to both the human and the fairy world.

]]> 2020-04-05 04:46:18 UTC https://padlet.com/t109/sz844jsveoir/wish/492903474 Both humans and fairies can act irrationally s1711541 https://padlet.com/t109/sz844jsveoir/wish/492960546 In the beginning of the play, Helena pursues Demetrius when she knows he does not treat her well and despises her. She even asks him to "spurn her, strike her" and says that she is his "spaniel". Helena is being irrational when she chases after Demetrius. She does not conform to the social norms, and instead runs after Demetrius into the forest at night. Lysander and Hermia's plans to escape Athens can also be viewed as irrational as they do not seem to have prepared for the possible dangers in the forest or thought of the repercussions if they were caught. Oberon devises a rash plan to take the Indian boy from Titania. He possibly does this out of jealousy, but there is little rational reason for his actions. This is a similarity between the inhabitants of the two worlds: both can act irrationally. This emphasises that no matter how powerful one is, one can still behave irrationally. ]]> 2020-04-05 07:14:48 UTC https://padlet.com/t109/sz844jsveoir/wish/492960546 The fairies are similar to the humans under the effects of magic s1710941 https://padlet.com/t109/sz844jsveoir/wish/494180473 In the play, the fairies think that they are superior compared to the humans. However, the fairies and humans are actually similar as both fell for the love potion. Under the effects of the love potion, Demetrius and Lysander act blindly and their thought and actions are fully controlled by the potion. In the fairy world, after Oberon puts the love potion on Titania, she also loses all her dignity and falls in love with an ass. In this way, even though the fairies are more powerful, they behave similarly to the humans under the effects of magic.]]> 2020-04-06 07:52:35 UTC https://padlet.com/t109/sz844jsveoir/wish/494180473 One possible approach is to look at the relationship both groups have with the natural world: How does the Fairy world and the world of the humans relate to nature? Why is this important? t109 https://padlet.com/t109/sz844jsveoir/wish/494410493 2020-04-06 09:53:33 UTC https://padlet.com/t109/sz844jsveoir/wish/494410493 The human world is constructed around laws and traditions, while the fairy world revolves around emotion and magic. s171032 https://padlet.com/t109/sz844jsveoir/wish/494430855 There are a lot of restrictions and laws in the human world, people can’t act according to their feelings. These laws encourage the citizens to act rationally and to be logical, they should pick the most reasonable option after analysis. Hermia has to marry Demetrius because her father says so, the society thinks that fathers have more experience and would pick the best option for his daughter. Ignoring the fact that Hermia is a person and has feelings. In contrast, the fairies act upon their emotions, doing whatever they want to. Oberon decides to drug his wife because of a small fight they had, only thinking about himself and his desire for the boy, disregarding the possible repercussions of his actions. His actions are without reason, seeming very impulsive in our eyes. It is also the case with Puck, who likes pranking others for his own entertainment, not thinking about the feelings of other people. ]]> 2020-04-06 10:04:40 UTC https://padlet.com/t109/sz844jsveoir/wish/494430855 Both humans and fairies are vulnerable and can't control themselves under the power of love s171101 https://padlet.com/t109/sz844jsveoir/wish/494652693 In "A Midummer Night's Dream", the human lovers, Hermia, Helena, Demetrius and Lysander get tangled up into a big love mess. Puck put the love potion of a flower on both Demetrius and Lysander's eyes and they started losing control of their actions and blindly pursuing Helena with no idea why they are doing so. This shows exactly how helpless they are under the power of love. Not just the men, Helena is also affected by her love for Demetrius and uncontrollably chases after him and is so weak in front of him. She tells Demetrius to 'strike her, spurn her, use her as his spaniel'. On the other side, in the fairy world, Oberon puts a love potion in Titania's eyes, and she loses all reason and falls in love with Bottom who had an ass' head. A fairy like Titania who is always high-up and needs the best things becomes vulnerable and out of power under the effects of love. As seen, both human and fairy have no self-control or strength under the power of love. ]]> 2020-04-06 12:32:45 UTC https://padlet.com/t109/sz844jsveoir/wish/494652693 contrast: while the fairies are active, humans are rather passive s171009 https://padlet.com/t109/sz844jsveoir/wish/495096734 The fairies tend to have the power to decide what gets done to the humans, while humans can only respond to the situation they are in.

For example, Oberon decides to make Lysander love Hermia again with just a simple sentence but Lysander and Hermia have to wait until Lysander gets affected by the love potion to have a happy relationship.]]> 2020-04-06 15:31:43 UTC https://padlet.com/t109/sz844jsveoir/wish/495096734