A Midsummer Night's Dream
William Shakespeare's comedy A Midsummer Night's Dream was composed in 1595 or 1596. The play is set in Athens and features multiple subplots centered on Theseus and Hippolyta's marriage. A fight between four Athenian lovers is one of the subplots. Another scene follows a group of six amateur actors as they rehearse the play that will be performed before the wedding. Both parties end themselves in a forest inhabited by fairies who influence people while being engrossed in their own family drama. The play is one of Shakespeare's most well-known and is frequently performed.
Within the play, one can argue that the fairies mock love by misunderstanding the lovers and injecting a love potion into Queen Titania's eyes, causing her to fall in love with a donkey. Both couples are plagued by issues in the forest. Puck meets both Hermia and Lysander in the forest, providing some comedic relief in the play by perplexing the four lovers. The play does, however, refer to serious subjects. Hippolyta and Theseus, who are blissfully married at the end of the play, are able to appreciate and laugh at the play about the tragic lovers, Pyramus and Thisbe. Helena and Demetrius are completely ignorant of the dark side of their relationship and what may have transpired as a result of the events in the forest.