A Midsummer Night's Dream Shakespeare's Syzygy of Meaning
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Date
2008
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Departmentof English & Applied Linguistics, University of Peshawar
Abstract
This dissertation applies Jungian psychology to the study of William Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream. The dreamlike nature of the play provides a rich context for exploring its symbolic meaning and psychological dimensions.
The events of the play take place in a strange, magical, and psychological world. The characters and their experiences can be understood through Carl Jung’s concept of individuation, which refers to the integration of opposing aspects of the personality and the development of a complete and balanced self.
The structure of the play symbolically represents the continuous interaction between the conscious and unconscious mind and between the different aspects of the human psyche. The play also deals with two important stages of human life: adolescence and middle age. The experiences and development of the characters are examined from a Jungian psychological perspective.
The young lovers in A Midsummer Night’s Dream express their emotions and behave in ways that often go beyond social and cultural restrictions. Their major psychological challenge is to confront the shadow, or the hidden aspects of the unconscious mind, and gradually move toward emotional and psychological maturity.