Illusion is a form of dream. Humans like to dwell on dreams, for instance, as a little girl I always watched fairy tales such as Cinderella, Sleeping Beauty, and Little Mermaid because these fairy tales allowed me to imagine myself in a well-respected environment, where I would not have to wait for a prince to come rescue me but knowingly that he will come. One form of illusion is the illusion of love. Illusions are base upon matters of interpretation; Puck shows this by creating a world full of illusion with the flower “love-in-idleness”.
In A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Puck-Robin Goodfellow, makes illusions occur as he makes havoc among the young lovers: Lysander, Hermia, Demetrius, and Helena. Not only was the young lovers but the queen of all fairies-Titania was put under the illusions of love at first sight. When it comes to love, humans “…look not with the eyes but with the mind. And therefore is winged Cupid painted blind. Nor hath Love’s mind of any judgment taste-Wings and no eyes figure unheedy haste. And therefore is Love said to be a child, because in choice he is so oft beguiled. As waggish boys in game themselves forswear, so the boy Love is perjured everywhere” (Shakespeare, 23 Act 1 scene 1). Cupid is depicted as a child and blind because he is reflecting love itself and of how man and woman tend to make rash decisions when in love or believe that they are in love. Basically they make a fool of themselves. Puck takes all of the lovers’ emotions and turns them into an illusion. And as he switches up the lovers the story becomes a mess of foolish commitments.
In A Midsummer Night’s Dream, the Forest is where the illusions occur as the lovers-
Lysander and Hermia, set out to escaped the City of Athens and into the Forest where they can be together; however, with some twist of fate, the two lovers are separated- Lysander turns his attention to Helena and leaves Hermia by herself as she wakes up from her slumber. Similar to that of human experience, love when started out is full of sweetness but as two people become so engrossed in each other their love will include some sourness-“She sees not Hermia-Hermia, sleep thou there. And never mayst thou come Lysander near! For as surfeit of the sweetest things the deepest loathing to the stomach brings, or as the heresies that men do leave are heated most of those they did deceive, so thou, my surfeit and my heresy, of all be hated, but the most of me.”
(Shakespeare Act 2 scene 2) Hermia loves Lysander and he her but under the illusion of the
“love-in-idleness” (Shakespeare Act 2 scene 1), a western flower that contains a magical juiceonce put on a person, that person when he or she wakes up he or she will fall in love with the first person that they see, Lysander changes his love that he have for her and aim it towards
Helena. This is a great example of cupid being blind and shooting his arrow towards a man who has love he wants within his grasp but loses it because Cupid’s bow blinds his eyes. Take for instance a situation in which a man looks for another girl when he practically had the one that he been looking for by his side, such as Lysander.
Puck can be seen as Cupid, playing a game of match making, switching the lovers around and creating a world full of illusions ; for example, Bottom turning into an ass. “O Bottom, thou art changed! What do I see on thee?” (Shakespeare Act 3 scene 1) Upon rehearsing Pyramus and
Thisbe for the Duke’s wedding Bottom changed into an ass because Puck thought that it would be interesting and funny to see the reaction of the group when they see Bottom with an ass head.
It is ironic that Bottom is changed into an ass because Bottom mentions that man would be an ass if he tries to interpret a dream (Shakespeare Act 5 scene 1). Bottom’s face changes into an ass and he ends up becoming Titania’s love.
Puck is childish, riding a bicycle around the forest, telling jokes, playing tricks on others
and