In a fine example of Shakespearean irony, scholars have suggested that A Midsummer Night's Dream was originally written as entertainment for a aristocratic marriage. The Lord Chamberlain's Actors provided the noble spouses, the ultimate symbol of harmony and true love, with a delightful comedy of gender conflict, transformed emotions, myth and magic. Shakespeare avoids the social conventions of the civilized world by introducing a "green world" (Introduction, MND, 808) where fairies rule. It is within this metaphysical world, and the suspended disbelief associated with it, that he calls upon the imagination of myth and magic as a means of exploring the idiosyncrasies behind human behavior. More importantly, it is only by accepting the possibility of Puck's love juice or the power of Cupid's arrow that we can understand and forgive the intolerable behavior between Demetrius, Lysander, and their scorned lovers. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an Original Essay As each man changes his affections from one woman to another, he hurls brutal verbal insults towards his past love. These irrational and undeserved reproaches build a relationship of “engagement and detachment” with the audience, which is fundamental to the mechanics of comedy. Audience involvement is invited with the sharing of the secrets of Lysander and Hermia's elopement in Act 1.1; however, the gratuitously cruel statements that follow in points 2.1, 2.2 and 3.2 force the audience to detach or distance themselves from the painful insults, and in doing so generate laughter ("Introduction" to MND, 810). The words themselves, despite their disturbing character, are not of primary importance. It is the tone established between the characters and the resulting sense of injustice that shocks the audience in this highly manipulative relationship. The biting observations made by Lysander and Demetrius highlight several areas of conflict that drive the play. To begin with, it is essential that the public accepts that such evil words are the direct result of the power of the metaphysical world. The hierarchy of creation is reversed in this "green world", and the caustic words and irrational actions of mortals are the direct result of the fairies' malice. Social conflict is evident from the loss of decorum that occurs when Lysander and Demetrius, gentlemen of the city of Athens, become unjustifiably ruthless in their treatment of their past lovers. The social courtesy expected between a gentleman and a young maiden is conflicted by Lysander's rude and gratuitous appellation when he refers to the innocent Hermias as an Ethiopian, a cat, a drool, and a dwarf (3.2). To be considered positive, male dominance must be in balance with his role as protector. When Demetrius threatens to "do [his] evil in the woods" (2.1.237) when lovesick Elena follows him into the forest, the relationship appears irrevocably damaged. This observation, shared with other thinly veiled threats, forces the audience to explore gender conflict. Not just limited to the stage, a secondary conflict is created between the players and the audience. When Cupid's powerful arrow causes Demetrius to fall in love with Hermia and abandon Helena, the tone set by his biting words ensures the audience's sympathy. Likewise, Lysander's transformation under the influence of Puck's love juice is dramatic and powerful. His terrible and prolonged rebuke to Hermia in Act 3.2 equates him with Demetrius in the audience's mind. By creating one type of character, it becomes difficult to distinguish the two men and the audience is conflicted when,1997.