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Question
The characters are a part of the stage setting. How does this reflect when the characters of the play range from the Duke and the Indian boy to the faeries?
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Solution
The play, 'A Midsummer Night‘s Dream‘, revolves around Athens, a city in ancient Greece. The Duke‘s palace inside the walls of the city and the Woods outside the walls of Athens are the two major backdrops. The city of Athens along with the Duke‘s palace symbolise law and order, whereas the Woods outside Athens is the magical and dream-like land of the fairies, which represents lawlessness and chaos. As Athens is governed by rules and regulations, the Duke is obligated to enforce the law and instruct Hermia to marry Demetrius. Hermia chooses to elope with Lysander into the Woods, so as to escape from the laws that bind her to marry a man of her father‘s choice. The Woods, for her, represent freedom from the law. The drama unfolds in the Woods, where King of the fairies, Oberon, meddles into the lives of the four lovers and causes chaos in the process. The mystical qualities of the land and the mischievous aura of the setting is aptly conveyed through Oberon‘s and Puck‘s schemes – their usage of the magical love potion and the comical transformation of Bottom. Oberon‘s desire to have the Indian boy in his custody drives him into a jealous rage, where he decides to teach the Queen of the fairies, his wife, Titania, a lesson after she refuses to give up the boy. The Indian boy represents the power struggle between Oberon and Titania. Though the Indian boy never appears on the scene, the land where he was born is mentioned in Act II. As Titania and Oberon argue over the custody of the Indian boy, Titania tells Oberon how the boy belongs to her as the boy‘s mother was one of her devotees from India and how she used to spend time with this friend looking at the ships that sailed into the harbour.
Towards the end of the play, Egeus, Theseus, and Hippolyta venture into the Woods to search for the lovers, and as if influenced by the magical land, Theseus sees how Demetrius is happy with Helena and allows Hermia to marry Lysander. The presence of the Duke in the Woods does bring some order to its chaos. Order is finally restored when the lovers return to the lawful world of Athens with Theseus, Hippolyta, and Egeus.
Thus, the characters form a part of the stage setting and change as the setting changes. The setting is therefore versatile and apt as it perfectly complements the mood of the characters and happenings of the play.
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