A Midsummer Night’s Dream is often cited as one of Shakespeare's best comedies, but I wanted to look at it in a different light and consider what I see as the more scary side of the play - a dreamy, near-nightmarish mental fog, the feeling of constantly being watched, the strange and sometimes sinister nature of religion and ritual, and much more.

 

It’s easy to fall into the trap of seeing a work like this as one unchanging thing. Shakespeare’s legacy can feel suffocating for both artists and audiences who first encountered it in a context that stressed adherence to the “rules” and “brilliance” of his writing. Within that context, A Midsummer Night’s Dream is light and comedic. Its pastoral themes and oft-discussed “green world” seem idyllic, and the conflicts in the play such as Bottom’s transformation and the love potions controlling the lovers’ minds exist for the sake of humour.

 

I don’t think these interpretations are by any means wrong, but I don’t see them as telling the whole story either. The notion of a love potion, or anything capable of controlling or altering the behaviour of someone without their consent, immediately stands out as problematic to a modern audience. The efficacy and immediacy of said potion in A Midsummer Night’s Dream further heightens the potential concern of the audience and raises questions surrounding consent and personal autonomy - is the idea of losing control over one’s actions not terrifying, doubly so when the agent controlling you is otherworldly like the fairies of the play?

 

The “green world” itself is another source of horror within the play. Many of us in the modern age are somewhat alienated from the outdoors, seeing ourselves as distinct from a natural world that can be terrifying and difficult to navigate. Humans yearn for control, and the uncontrollable creates fear within us. Becoming lost in the woods is a common source of horror and the starting point of many folk stories meant as a warning - think Little Red Riding Hood. This aspect of the play and its potential darkness has been explored before, such as in Robert Lepage’s version, wherein the “green world” is transformed into a swamp that the actors have to wade through (Hemming).