A Student Analyzes “Midsummer Night’s Dream Fairies”

To give you an idea of what a high school student can do when assigned to write a research paper on Shakespeare, I’m offering my summary of 2400-word paper written by a 10^th grader, Kaitlyn M., who had never written a research paper before. She proved to be not an ordinary student but an outstanding one, especially when it came to research papers, so don’t take this as typical, just typical of her! The paper was documented by 24 footnotes drawn from a bibliography of nine books and articles.

Here is Kaitlyn’s opening paragraph (I have underlined her thesis statement).

William Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream is full of forest magic. Fairy creatures maintain the forest as well as create mischief. Today, many think of fairies as cute little children in tutus and wings. But Fairy King Oberon’s underling Puck calls him King of Shadows and the other fairies call Puck a shrewd and knavish sprite. From these two descriptions, one might reconsider the previous observations. Many self-described conservative Christians may avoid viewing this play because they would think of the magic as evil and coming from the devil. However, the typical whimsical fairy behavior can be found in Fairy Queen Titania and her attendants. The “Disney fairies” of today’s culture seem more closely based on Titania’s fairies. They are ethereal, acorn-nesting sprites. Shakespeare presents his audience with two stereotypes of fairies, one being evil and sinister embodied in Puck and Oberon, the other being charming and whimsical, found in the behavior of Titania along with Peaseblossom, Mustardseed, Moth, and Cobweb, her assistants.

The four major points of Kaitlyn’s outline, with the most significant content from each briefly paraphrased, are as follows:

I. Oberon is Cruel. Examples include his obsession with taking the changeling boy from Titania, taking unfair advantage of her with a magic spell, seeking to unnecessarily humiliate her, and his unfounded jealousy about her. It also seems malicious that he—and Puck--are unable to function in the daylight, similar to the ghosts and “damned spirits” to which Puck refers. Oberon’s only redeeming quality may be that he limits himself and withholds the full force of his potentially destructive powers.

II. Puck is Sinister. Oberon’s chief fairy servant is often described, and self-described, as a serious trouble-maker, not just a lively prankster. Scholar Harold Bloom points out that the word “puck” originally meant a demon up to no good, or a wicked man. Puck is comical to the audience, but his tricks are more painful to his victims than viewers might realize.

III. Titania is compassionate. Her protective care of the changeling son of her deceased friend is generous and heart-felt. She seems concerned about the suffering visited upon the humans by the horrific weather conditions stirred up by the conflict between her and Oberon. She is forgiving toward Oberon after his mistreatment of her. She favors the night, as Oberon does, but displays a different spirit about it and does love the full moonlight which Oberon seems not to.

IV. Titania’s fairies are charming and whimsical. They are vivacious and innocently wild, speak in cute rhymes, and are captivatingly tiny. Many scholars testify that this representation of fairies, so common today, was introduced as a novelty to Shakespeare’s audiences who were accustomed to the “darker” image of fairies.

Kaitlyn’s closing paragraph:

William Shakespeare in A Midsummer Night’s Dream portrays two stereotypical views of fairies, one being evil and sinister, represented by Oberon and Puck, and the other represented by charming and whimsical Titania and her fairies. With these two stereotypes, Shakespeare acknowledges history’s view of a more evil fairyland and introduces a fairydom that is more light-hearted.

[Grade: A+]