Essay Act V in A Midsummer Nights Dream by William...

Act V in A Midsummer Nights Dream by William Shakespeare A: The final act at first seems completely unnecessary to the overall plot of the play. After all, in Act Four we not only have the lovers intent on getting married, but there has been a happy resolution to the overall conflict. Thus, the immediate question which arises is why Shakespeare felt it necessary to include this act. The answer lies in part with the entrance of all the characters in the final scene (with the exception of Egeus); this acts as a sort of encore to resolve any unanswered questions the audience may have about any of the characters. In Act Five the play is resolved with a typical happy ending with Lysander and†¦show more content†¦This too has to be done if the happy ending is to be maintained. Philostrate is another example of disgruntled party in Act Five as well as Egeus as he didnt want to see the mechanicals play again, but in the end was simply overruled by Theseus. Perhaps Shakespeare is trying to make the point that this, like many plays conclusions, might be a manufactured happy ending. When you had read halfway through the play the last thing that you would have seen coming was a happy ending, in this way the happy ending isnt cheap and wasnt predictable. It was also most clearly the result of crucial help from the fairies. Perhaps the most telling line of the last act is when Theseus asks, How shall we find the concord of this discord? but that is exactly what has happened in the play itself, namely there has been a resolution to the discord of the lovers in the initial scenes, which by the end has turned into concord. This makes the play perfect for an epithalamium (a play put on at a wedding). Perhaps Shakespeare may even have been contracted to write this play as an epithalamium. The sub-plot, revolving around the mechanicals, also ends happily. Bottom is not transported as they had feared, but arrives in time to save the interlude, which,Show MoreRelated William Shakespeares A Midsummer Nights Dream Essay1591 Words   |  7 PagesWilliam Shakespeares A Midsummer Nights Dream In William Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream, there are endless images of water and the moon. Both images lend themselves to a feeling of femininity and calm. In classical mythology, the image of water is often linked with Aphrodite, goddess of passion and love. Born of the foam of the sea, Aphrodite was revered as an unfaithful wife to her husband Hephaestus (Grant 36). 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