Published Paper Details:

William Shakespeare was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and world's greatest dramatist. "A Midsummer Night's Dream" is one of Shakespeare's most beloved comedies. The plot involves four Athenian lovers running away to the forest only for Puck the fairy to make both boys fall in love with the same girl. Ultimately, Puck undoes the enchantment, leading to the reconciliation and matrimonial union of both couples. "A Midsummer Night's Dream" borrows many ideas from Roman poet Ovid's "Metamorphoses", but the story which is of the most obvious importance for the play is that of Pyramus and Thisbe. One of the most striking features of Shakespeare's comedies is that the underplot parodies the theme treated in the main plot. Here, the central theme of "A Midsummer Night's Dream" is romantic love. This is ridiculed first in the fairy story - in the foolish infatuation of Titania towards the idiotic Bottom. It is once again parodied in interlude of Pyramus and Thisbe. This paper shall attempt to show that Shakespeare uses this interlude to reinstate many of the important themes and main ideas present within the main storyline. It also demonstrates the importance of knowing one's craft and shows how easily a tragedy can be satirized with a poor performance. While the interlude of Pyramus and Thisbe serves as a comedic reflection of the main plot, it also reinforces its themes and adds a layer of humor to the proceedings.