hello the next in this mooc on the renaissance
and shakespeare is going to be delivered by
professor shirshendu chakrabarti of the department
of english university of delhi professor chakrabarti
is going to be talking about shakespeares
play a midsummer night's dream he is going
to talk about the dream light quality of the
play the various dreams that the various character
seem to experience he is going to relate this
to notions of neoplatonism and make a beautiful
insightful point about how they can be a sense
of love without power or control that finds
expression in the dream like quality of the
play
ah one of the first things that we need to
take into account in shakespeare in comedy
is that there are many sources that can be
identified as in the tragedies but shakespeare
reallly had no pattern or paradigm as he had
in tragedy greek or semican or the there were
some precursors of course green and lily and
the the poetry and romances but in this sense
we should remember that shakespeare comedy
centered on laugh i have try to this lecture
the idea of dream in midsummer nights dream
one is interesting is that many of the characters
in the play undergo the experience of dream
oh why is the play called a midsummers nights
dream virtual everybody has a dream and he
had not in plural but in the singular to put
it very simply why is the play called a midsummer
nights dream so why want to draw you attention
to the dream like quality with many people
you have also drawn attention too of the play
and in some of shakespeares comedies to create
and the dream like world
this world is created as we enter from athens
into the forest among the world of paris but
this is shakespeares ambivalence and a problem
that we must challenge a question or encounter
or a it is that the world of paris seems to
be almost exactly the same as the word of
human beings the play begins for the between
father and daughter over choosing husband
and the first line when the ferry queen and
king meet is ill met by moon light there is
a this half a control
so over all wants to control titania in the
ferryland just has the idea of control implied
in these uses wall of victory over he fully
touch he is a work price and the father he
gives us attempt to control the daughter hermia
was hermia doesnot listen to his her fathers
ah dictates but this is the question why is
this movement away there they run away from
atoms in the world of low into a apparently
a magic world ah when we enter that world
we find that it is in many ways same the problems
are the same series
so this dream like world is not a pure world
world pure fantasy but it has to be seen in
turns of certain ideas in the renaissance
particularly the product of the neoplatonic
academy ah we will discuss this in a minute
but in which an attempt is made to answer
to major challenges made by platoreans heart
one is that heart has no truth in it everybody
knows from republic book ten the second is
from republic book three particularly and
there upon books is that heart allows us fashions
and so the control or reasons over fashions
which is an axiom almost for plato is disturb
when we go to see a play
so the play right or the artist is either
committed to worlds about heros and gods worship
otherwise honored respected and thrown out
of the so called republic of plato now to
answer this charge we find the first point
about truth we find here that the idea came
from platonic academic in the following way
we have to very briefly put it actually because
this not a lecture on new patriotism but before
the academy on the whole the new platonic
theory on the cost moss was involved a kind
of chain of be a continual graduated cosmos
a when with the recovery of classical values
and classical texts in the renaissance equal
red plato original be academic particularly
enforce and common world in return on plato
on the basics of original greek text they
discovered that plato argued not in favour
of a continuous chain but in unbridgeable
gulf always between the finite and the infinity
between the actual and the ideal or it very
briefly what the platonic academic did was
to go back to the original text of plato in
greek and discover that instead of the medieval
neoplatonic notion of a continuous graduated
cosmos
the cosmos of plato was always in two parts
defined by mutual legation incoming with with
each other finite and infinite ideal actual
terminology as being expanded infinitely [laughter]
here also but this is where the problem is
because in the in previous earlier neoplatonism
through the centuries there was continuous
chain now there is an unbridgeable gulf between
the finite and infinite what which now did
particularly as a leader of course is a team
limited was to construct the notion of an
eros and this is what is called the erotic
cosmology
so because there is separation between the
finite or the actual and the infinite or the
ideal because separation there is participation
or methexis how by anchoring of the finite
for union with higher forms of life is infinite
the finite is defined in dynamic terms always
in the state of moment towards a union with
the infinite but by definition that union
will never be possible because there is always
an unbridgeable guff a friction knows argument
it has come to the point very quickly because
this is not an lecture on new patriotism is
that this works in the world of cosmos we
forget about that because we are now in the
scientific world
but man is one of this these lengths between
the higher and the lower at once are the highest
points linked to the lowest point and inside
man of course also that this dichotomy of
spirit and flesh these correspond according
to fulchino to form an content in art art
also for in occupies a middle space an intermediary
space among the source is of course is this
is no doubt about that and there is no time
me have to talk about that immediately but
with the idea is to define the ontology of
art where does art ah what kind of space does
art occupy it is not the actual nor it is
ideal and therefore plato is argument that
it is nothing to do with truth
but the proteomics academy argued that the
truth can only be accessed acquired approximated
truth by the disable sensible the nominal
word the sensuous so therefore the defense
of art or due you shakespeares constant use
of that contrast substance and shadow but
what i have said earlier also is that these
are to be found in the poetry so on your sequences
romances spends and particular but in the
hardly any precursors of the kind let us say
we have an tragedy i dont mean immediately
exhibit on precursors but the great models
of greeks and we dont have classical comedy
is critical is punitive full of ridicule is
basically centered upon the exposure of the
of the protagonist
here something else is we done with love at
the center so the question truth as i tried
to answer very briefly here that truth can
only be approximated to and therefore art
is that approximation and that constitutes
the renaissance theory of style the style
is a called constant movement towards the
truth you often referred to the theory over
the unfinished or as mountain lets say the
accessory and have an attempt every attempt
must be followed by another attempt and the
opposite section did not now between truth
and false but even truth and another truth
and another truth and another truth unending
into safe extension as it where this is important
if you go back to one or two dates
with summer nights dream which produced fifteen
ninety five ninety six the same year as romeo
juliet was and it gives a some understanding
of shakespeares mind if you see that the romeo
juliet story intends love of very young lovers
parental opposition of serious kind and then
death tragedy death because of that that story
is classically travesty in midsummer nights
dream in the pyramus thisbe performance which
is rehearsed and planed and put up for the
wedding of theseus by the the roude mechanical
so this is the kind of mind your shakespeare
in the same year is writing romeo and juliet
where this love is seen its great an intend
tragic dimensions at the same time same year
apply in which the same story is termed into
a travesty this is what i meant by say truth
verses truth that is one way of looking at
life that is another way of looking at life
it is often compared to prospective so one
prospective to another prospective to another
prospective and thus unending and therefore
unfinished
so the territory occupied by art is in determined
its dream light not in the modern sense so
much but as a territory which is neither actual
nor ideal and therefore this similarity that
when we enter the so called dream land the
wood land etcetera even i as we like it various
other place one need an examples of we enter
into a different word by the same time a similar
word very confusing sometimes to find that
ah from the kind of problem with which the
play begins midsummer nights dream we enter
into patriarchy into the ferry land so this
is the answer i think to play those problems
about the truth of art
second problem of course is that art arrows
its fashions and so when you go up to theater
and come out of it your balance and equilibrium
is all being lost this is of course answered
by aristotle mind you in aristotle answering
this he is operating within the concepts in
categories of play do we shares it that he
does not fashions should take over not like
dage loherance for instance but reason controlling
fashions of course but for him they arousal
a chapter six poetics they arousal of these
emotions in this case tragedy of course pretty
and fair
the arousal enables the dramatist accomplish
catharsis such emotions where with he says
the arousal of pretty and fair where with
to accomplish the catharsis of such emotions
for the arousal is in a the audience knows
not in an actual world or nor in an ideal
invisible intelligible world merely but this
is a world which is somewhat controlled by
the form of heart dance music rhythm etcetera
it is like sufficiently light life in sufficiently
unlight life
so this is the first point that needs to be
made about midsummer nights dream as why aim
midsummer nights dream when there are so many
people dreaming is because of the dream light
quality many people have talked about this
and this is like ah ah you know ah its like
a symphony its like a musical symphony says
and it was put to music by musician of his
time shakespeares time later minoless person
then mendelssohn kind of operatic quality
sterilized form yes we know that
but we must go back to the question of ambivalence
many editors including ah they they noted
that moon light is mentioned twenty eight
times in the play but there are so many meanings
to the moon light so many ways are there in
moon light the marriage of theseus and hippolyta
they in the take place in four days or time
whatever i needs exactly exactly three or
four days time the new moon is accuse of who
in am i by moon light oberon and titania however
followed by moon light
the rude mechanical that is the artisans bottom
and company they there place by moon light
by moon light is light itself nothing else
its kind of light but simply that the moon
is a symbol of chastity virginity it is a
symbol of fertility in the play throughout
there is that sense of so these oppositions
truth one truth verses another truth this
seems to be closer to shakespeares ambivalent
vision of reality and that is not i am not
saying that this is a very peculiar reducing
credit to shakespeare but this is i think
the renaissance notion of ah the as in a sculpture
they use the concept of contrapposto of the
sonet to turn around this kind of contrasting
ah concepts of reality gradually building
up a totality which is unending and therefore
in that sense unfinished like the form of
man
similarly the form of heart 
now question is why does this re now we come
to the question of why why does shakespeare
use this kind of let us take this play little
must specifically entrained to the ferry land
and yet show it than to be infected if i may
say so with this same kind of problems and
contaminated by same kinds of power relations
in equations there are references to rate
violence etcetera and of course the idea of
domination rules over so where have we entered
we have entered from into a magic world this
magic world has sometimes of course been seen
in naturally into the psychological terms
foreordain terms understandably but i think
it has sometimes been overdone specially in
the titanium bottom relationship it seared
up has been made to somber ah according to
my judgement but we enter in his world which
is supposed to be different and yet similar
in many ways
so what kind of a world is this at we enter
into this is where we ah make to discover
ourselfs we are release the nemansifanted
freshers of pragmatic everyday life into recognizing
certain kinds of forces that we will not aware
of within us for instance and for this is
a shakespearantly and nothing that this is
a peculiar to this play the most intimate
a friends brothers or sisters its where they
fall apart suddenly in great hightrant you
know the story of tempest you know the story
of as you like it the two brothers duke brothers
also every where people who are very close
to each other suddenly expressed hetric and
there is no reason given for it as here for
instance hermia and her friend helena they
was close as to friends like double cherry
you know like it two cherry of same stem etcetera
etcetera there are various examples given
and they himself say helena says we grew up
together we used learned everything together
we were like we where why has this come it
is this question that is important
suddenly sudden onset of hatric jealously
etcetera this can be explained at one level
in the play because of the confusions stated
by the user magic by but it happens too often
in shakespeare in comedy i think to suggest
to my mind a certain in scrutability irrationality
and inexplicability which renders us vulnerable
to the world of fashions the many of fashions
is very close to the modern new still of the
passive wording as like passive victims in
structures that what fashions is
so people say they got back to athens please
go to here and nothing has changed in athens
of course nothing has changed but the certain
kind of self knowledge has been apart by the
characters and in that sense the magic portion
is a metaphor its fun i am not dining the
ferry aspect and the confusions created because
of that primarily and metaphor of the vulnerability
to the world of fashions the sudden onset
and inexplicable onset of for instance and
then later theseus another comment upon the
lovers three sleeping closed by each other
since so closed to each other hatred and love
suddenly brought back to you at how where
you will see magic or magic is a comment upon
the in its plicability in human affairs and
there is an element of irrationality in helenas
love particularly
helenas love for who is a bit of there is
a triangle and beginning so to speak wants
her husband has her husband against her fathers
wishes again not an uncommon motivant shakespeare
and those of who where othello you of course
know the best example but and that is to extent
endorsed by the king so patriarchal endorsement
helena on the other hand is still in love
with demetrius and demetrius seems to be playing
with fashions because he he is a he was in
love with helena supposedly and now we wants
hermia but when the lovers that is lysander
and hermia are given the choice either man
either sorry hermia is given the choice either
marry according to the fathers wishes oh phrase
banishment death or you know banishment to
the so they decide to go away from athens
to escape from athenian law
but before going they inform helena of a friendship
hermia says that they are going to beyond
the athenian the arm of athenian law in order
to get married or whatever and helena says
arone that she would also like to go there
informing demetrius before going there so
that she says she wants to enrich per pain
strange psychological element here almost
bordering upon the masochistic and she is
very intelligent girl in the whole play but
she says that i prefer to be your demetrius
treat me like your dog but i do not mind she
changes later its true its so different from
the independence of hermia it seems again
plato
plato in the symposium seems to suggest that
love begins with love of the ah human body
and gradually scala amoris like a ladder of
love you rise to love of philosophy and the
state of water rational account helena perhaps
realize that this was too rational and so
in the fredous we have soul being described
as a charity with two horses one dark and
one white and the dark and the dark wants
to process a object to beauty at ones this
is psychological metaphor of course and it
has to be touchier wept etcetera in order
to bring into obedience but the charity cannot
make it journey towards truth and beauty and
goodness without the two horses you need both
these horses so i am not an helena and hermia
correspond to two horses but that there is
an irrational and darker element in love that
this is one of the most lyrical comedies people
say many people have said that many critics
but even within that there is operation there
is a darkness of helenas love and then the
discovery of where does it come from helena
and hermia for apart and we discover that
hermia is capable of scratching with her nails
the eyes of helena this is violence inside
the forest now if you go back to there your
dream you will see that everybody has dreams
and they say with strange dreams we have had
and in for in the forth act they seem to wake
up demetrius and other it seem like far away
ah mountains etcetera
but ah its seems that we have just woken from
a dream overall says when she that is titania
when she is even the right ah you know portion
etcetera she will also wait from her dream
yes so we have said a fair amount about the
dream world in turn of truth one or two things
more just about to question of fashions and
the third book of the public which some people
dont read and the effect as he said go to
the theater emotions are aroused and you come
out unbalanced person
so very dangerous in the republic later finds
is very dangerous the effect unsettling a
reasons control over fashions which is almost
an axiom for and he works i said within this
tradition but for him going into the theater
and experiencing as his they arrows a love
emotions but within a an environment which
you call artistic form so this is a definition
which i come neither why dream like because
this is not the actual world but you go to
the play you know its relationship recognize
its relationship to the actual world clearly
nor is it the ideal world we know but the
aspire into that approximate into that
so there was style as ah conflict style as
struggling to its mastery of language this
is very common well known etcetera but aristotle
says that the arousal with this in the theater
because of the mastery which is implicit in
the notion of poetic form and that is the
mastery of rhyme rhythm etcetera etcetera
etcetera music dance in theater lot of dancing
and all this links to the catharsis of search
emotions
sometimes people do not stand to neglect the
first part arousal love emotions arousal of
important but to where with to complete the
catharsis search emotions so that aristotle
is saying from within the platonic relation
in some ways and when you come out of the
theater actually you are all more balanced
person more aware of the way in which fashions
and reason are related so your passiveness
your your fashions do not hold you in fashions
to hold the clutches like a pray as much as
before you are so the theater as a kind of
effect as a kind of romances and say that
we f n lookers used to say long ago that the
theater is not a hospital vagation of such
emotions
but in this view i am saying the theater is
like a hospital actually you go there and
it is like a therapeutic effect for the greeks
for your control your understanding of the
world fashions if you want to call it the
sub conscious i know problem in that using
the older language i am but ah but understanding
of that is enough so when they go back characters
it is ah i think little foolish to accept
that athens changed and a athenian law is
changed
but consciousness has to some extent being
certainly effected and this knowledge is very
important to die dialogues for a movement
there are many dialogues in mahabharata between
yudhisthira and dharma and in one this dialogues
dharma says because kunti yudhisthira mothers
pandavas mother was supposed to be was ever
last in youth more beautiful say so do you
not feel last full towards your mother attracted
desire and yudhisthira says yes i do and that
is why i do not submit to it
so knowledge of that why did enables you towards
certain kind of possibility of self master
being this is the important point that one
needs to make here now we need to bring in
also the role of the common people in all
shakespeare actually but in this play particularly
the way there is a royal wedding but in it
for it and in fact that is chosen by theseus
this play is to be put up tragic story called
comedy and of course fasically presented everybody
knows that affair
but it is their life and their perception
which is contrasted with the kind of a love
tradition i wont call it love really but upper
class love let us say a lovers are role upper
class while this and therefore moon light
in something else and so on but for these
people common people there is a different
kind of life and the abroad side by side typically
always first scene and the second scene itself
we had again road mechanical people who are
with the hands they are here in further play
and they do nothing about really the play
they comedy and so on
but it is a view which is important to pick
up later the view of the common man it is
present in tragedy but in a different form
where even a play like sitting their when
they are discovers his common you manage one
can go on give an examples but the presence
is a contrast but it is a interesting contrast
because the upper lovers are fun of them even
but if you notice what pug says about the
fully of foolish mortals inclusive not just
these rude mechanicals
so when they put up the performance in the
end we have the familiar shakespeare pattern
where we are sitting in the audience and bottom
and company are putting up the episode the
story and there is a another layer of level
audience that is the etcetera was sitting
with theseus watching the play and they are
making fair amount of snide comments upon
these place in the whoever they are doing
but not realizing that there falling in love
and the what episodes to through which they
go may be subjected to that prospective so
there is a kind of etcetera extended towards
the common people the to some extend back
to these courtyards and they way of live and
the question there ah so this is very important
the presence of a common humdrum one point
of view this is what substance us
use your language one means to make a point
here using prose of course specially when
the rude mechanicals are present using fairly
exhausted blank virus as theseus comes in
ah announces the date of his marriage or whatever
discussions and sometimes rhymed couplet you
know we say in the opening after a people
live it begins with the virtually a quarrel
as i repeatedly see hermia comes wants to
marry lysander father does not father chooses
the matrious so reason is given and he gives
says i am sorry that i have right among in
the right over you an parental right and supported
by theseus
so we begin with that kind of quarrel but
as we proceed as we of course they have they
go into the ferryland and very and as i said
they discover that the problems ah say because
there husband and one wife are quarreling
over position of a indian child the famous
example now the point the where commonness
is important because bottom has a dream everybody
has dream bottom is actually one who comes
and says i had a strange dream they have no
bottom in it but he is unable to relate the
dream what the dream means is unable to relate
now critics are perfectly free to see this
in terms of complicated modern psychology
why not that there are very disturbing and
strange things he saw i think though with
runs against the grain of the play but anyway
in possible but i am suggesting something
else i am suggesting that the is very important
here we have the wisdom of in tragedy the
classic case is a where for instance everybody
for wisdom to find out what the past including
your cluster not only the profit that is used
its similar
but he wants to find out the past even though
he knows i think his sense is this mighty
to self destruction the truth at any cost
so this is one way of looking at reality socratic
ah phrase remember which is often used now
like g k now general knowledge that unexamined
life is not work living 
but human kind cannot be too much reality
that is also true if i may go to and for common
man particularly if not others also there
is a kind of need for indusion at a certain
stage
friendship can now begin and i am thinking
partly of phrase of of course love cannot
begin affection cannot begin without in measure
of evolution you think your mother is the
best person in the world that is the first
step to your love for your mother or your
husband or your friend whatever and this is
really a kind one sense of kind of wisdom
which sustains us so should be see bottoms
dream and is inability to describe it in terms
of this wisdom of which enables us to live
on the surface of life with the knowledge
that underneath there is a darkness there
are entanglements there are dangerous things
underneath
comedy in that sense is concerned with survival
we survive we dont rush to or move to truth
at the cost of self destruction which is a
great tragic paradigm of course but there
is another paradigm which is the of the grave
diggers of the common people of the beggars
etcetera and think of shakespeares play actually
and common people lets say in the history
place ah and the life is spend they carry
on it carries on with the knowledge that if
art of results a radian surface which enables
us to see in site the darkness if there is
no clarity on the surface the darkness cannot
be made visible i am thinking of its metaphor
here digressively says that ah well which
has no water and its filled with a seems to
be very profound and deep it to the dark but
actually there is nothing inside it or one
which has water clear water you can see to
the bottom
so it brings what is unconscious up to the
surface similarly this radiant surface is
also the radiant surface of life so that is
my defense of the folly of bottom and the
way people go back and there is happy marriage
etcetera etcetera and so on but i have digressed
from the question of style after the first
scene when everybody leaves and that is a
threat given to hermia either marry or choose
celebasy or even even execution necessarily
severe punishments is but then they leave
and only lysander and hermia around stage
and then they speak in rather stilted kind
of language metaphors images exaggerated hyperpolis
hake need and somewhat outmoded ah devices
already used by the sonatears from italy down
to england and the effect of this mind seem
that shakespeare as you know made a mistake
for the lovers are doing it because they are
actually expressing that the their kind of
love through this this is an expression intermecy
where you is this language self consciously
and that suggests a kind of implicit understanding
between the two ah characters a lysander and
hermia
precisely the use of stilted language ah kind
of language here is not to be taken as a affectation
but rather as transparent affectation when
used as a almost like kind of a joke between
two lovers so of course this points meets
to be made repeatedly the poem play operates
at various levels and registers of style there
is no doubt about that it can demonstrated
also how from one to the other it moves and
so on and that is characteristic of shakespeare
now to go back to ah sorry the question of
dream dream light it is one which enables
you to discover your identity or there is
nothing closed in the renaissance concepts
conceptualization of style or the discovery
of identity is a continuing process but this
links the ah this be episode and the rude
mechanic mechanical with the life of the courtyards
when they say with there any mistaken they
maybe you know people might great afraid of
the effect of that place what will do says
i will give a prolong etcetera bottom says
that i pyramids i am pyramids [noise but though
viewer this is a of course not this but this
is a this is the kind of identity on ward
comes to movement towards search for who you
are and that later hermia getting up as it
from a dream you want exact references it
would be access to line two seventy three
if not i can read it you have at a time you
can read one or two sections hermia saying
here of course up to the confusions etcetera
what hermia nine two seventy one can you do
me greater harm then head head me where fore
or me what news my love i am not hermia or
not you lysander so this of course is also
related to the device of this guys which is
often used in this respect there are many
ah meanings to this guys of course in shakespeares
comedies where women apply men etcetera etcetera
but search for an identity is made possible
by this uncertainty that is why we need to
enter into the ferry land
so the ferry land is not archadio or paradises
before the form of a certain a fall of adam
but it is an uncertain world indefinable world
between the actual i said which enables us
to come to terms with ourselves and discover
that identity is a constant process 
in the renaissance text themselves actually
we are told its called as a like on the of
the gods his man is has too natures he is
born with the nature and he cultivates on
that raw soil another nature higher nature
maybe of course that we see can cultivate
a lower nature of course and of course everybody
knows a more familiar text of the background
to that is this as put it look at renaissance
philosophy
the seems and preoccupations are the same
as those in medieval philosophy immorality
sole etcetera so what is new what is new is
as cluster is put very well that they are
not talking about the existing of god but
the possibility of knowledge about the existence
of god so the transference of a focus from
a object to the subject and therefore we are
constantly as it work discovering ourselves
because here not in the missed of objected
truth where the missed of condition on truth
I want to finish i will looking at a too famous
quotations it has speech if we shadows are
offended think but this an over is men did
that you have but slumbered here while these
visions did appear and this we can ideal theme
no more yielding but a dream so whole thing
the place like a dream and of course more
famous well known but i will read it nevertheless
tempest nor oriented prosperous speech these
are actors as i for told you for all spirits
and are melted into air into sin air and like
the base less fabric of this visions the temples
the great globe itself here all which in inherit
shall dissolve and like this insubstantial
pagent faded leave not a rake behind we are
such stuff as dreams are made on and a little
life is rounded with a sleep
so the insubstantiality of life this is important
because it rive through bottom dream and inability
to describe dream or i called folly and the
need for minimal gullibility you cant exist
with the microscope in your eyes in life comedy
is survives he is enables us to leave on the
surface but with the knowledge that under
the surface there is a dangerous and dark
and uncontrollable world only with that knowledge
can be enjoy the surface so 
to speak and its a different theme i have
not discussed this in substantial dream light
also because they represents not because of
an attempt to emancipate oneself from the
drive to its power drive to its power phosphorous
banishment was the power drive to power of
his brother his own drive to power and of
course here also we find this is a concerned
with shakespeare and many of his place including
tragedies you will find very common people
common soldiers questioning the whole idea
of glory demanding glorial for a common soldiers
kept says why are they going that is army
has been i have to march through for a piece
of land which where nothing etcetera twenty
thousand people will die so this is the kind
of common used wisdom that i was thinking
off disability to see life from to position
which is potentially emancipated from power
