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Dreams in A Midsummer Night's Dream Essay example

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Oprah Winfrey once said, “The best thing about dreams is that fleeting moment, when you are between asleep and awake, when you don't know the difference between reality and fantasy, when for just that one moment you feel with your entire soul that the dream is reality, and it really happened.” But, what actually is a dream and what do dreams really have to do with one’s everyday life? In essence, a dream is a series of mental images and emotions occurring during slumber. Dreams can also deal with one’s personal aspirations, goals, ambitions, and even one’s emotions, such as love and hardship. However, dreams can also give rise to uneasy and terrible emotions; these dreams are essentially known as nightmares. In today’s society, the concept …show more content…

This quote really sets the tone and the atmosphere for the entire play because it allows readers to create a time line of events and essentially immerse within it. This quote is stating that four days will quickly come and go, the days will turn into nights, and the dreaming that occurs during one’s slumber will allow the time to pass even more quickly. Because of Hippolyta’s unique circumstances, it is easy for one to assume that this quote was merely said because of her unconventional and rapid marriage to Theseus. Theseus is the Duke of Athens, and it has been previously mentioned that Hippolyta is the Queen of the Amazons. Upon the beginning of the play, it is known that Theseus has just defeated and returned from a battle with the Amazons. As victor, his spoils include, among other things, marrying Hippolyta. While Theseus is expressing his undying love for his future wife, Hippolyta obviously does not return the sentiments. It is possible that this quote is Hippolyta’s way of merely cursing the effect of dreams because they are ultimately shortening the time that she has left as an unmarried woman. Because she is not in love with Theseus, and is just a victim of an arranged marriage, her dreams permit each day come and go with ease, yet ultimately make the

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