Transformation in A Midsummer Night's Dream.
Throughout each of Shakespeare's dramas, the thematic inclusion of mistaken identities, hidden identities, and deceptive identities permeates many of the conflicts between the characters. While many times these characters experience a transformation in identity, be it physical, emotional, or spiritual, these transformations reflect the concept of an ever-changing society. As I once heard, "nothing is constant except change itself" - a phrase that is undeniably indicative of all of Shakespeare's dramas. Shakespeare's dramas are filled with points of view, ideas, and notions that cause its audiences to question their points of view, experience other points of view and possibly, to "transform" their points of view accordingly. A Midsummer Night's Dream assimilates this concept of transformation with images of vision and appearance, dreams, and that of a fantasy world that augments and characterizes the transformation of a particular character, scene, or the entire play.
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Appearance and physical vision plays one of the most important roles in defining this play and its characters. A Midsummer Night's Dream begins with Hermia wishing that her "father look'd but with [her] eyes." Although this reference to eyes mainly eludes to her father looking at Lysander in the way that she looks at him, - such at with the heart and soul - this reference to eyes seem to possess materialistic implications. With reference to Egeuses accusations against Lysander in which Lysander supposedly has "stol'n the impression of [Hermia's] fantasy with bracelets of thy hair, rings, gawds, conceits, knacks, trifles, nosegays, sweetmeats - messengers of strong prevailment in unhardened youth"; it seems Egeus has a fetish for materialism; he does not see these gifts as love tokens as does Hermia but merely as love bribes. He sees with his physical eyes what is on the outside instead of looking also on the inside with emotional eyes.
