Midsummer Nights Dream
This article focuses on two important aspects of “A Midsummer Night's Dream,” reality and imagination. Hutton asserts that underneath this seemingly light comedy, Shakespeare reveals some very profound social criticism and insight. Within the play, there are two separate worlds that exist simultaneously. On the one hand, we have the comic animist world of Athens (289). This world is exemplified by a structural hierarchy and is portrayed as a relatively orderly society under the guidance of a fairy King and Queen. On the flip side, we have the tragic Babylonian world in the play-within-a play of Pyramus and Thisby,” which is appears to by much more chaotic (290). Hutton points out that by creating this play-within-a-play, Shakespeare reveals a prophetic glimpse and warning into future things to come. The play-within-a-play is performed by soulless mechanicals that only seem to experience a connection with the world of commerce, industry, and technology.