A Midsummer Night's Dream, the title evokes the warmth of summer and sweet, pleasant dreams. The play, however, has little to do with warm summer nights and happy dreams. Instead, the play repeatedly mocks the unfortunate situations the character finds himself in. As one literary analyst puts it: “The action of the plot emphasizes their helplessness in the face of forces beyond their control” (Dunn 19). Various characters find themselves victims of this story. First there are the queens, Hippolyta, forced to marry the man who defeated her, and Titania, forced to worship a man with the head of a donkey and abandon her child. There are also the young lovers, who are repeatedly manipulated and humiliated, and poor Bottom whose head is transformed into that of a donkey. Every joke falls below the belt and every laugh comes from someone's misfortune. A Midsummer Night's Dream mocks, manipulates, and demeans Hippolyta, Titania, the mechanics, and the young lovers, in a way that falsely gives the impression that such actions are socially acceptable. The tone of the play is set early on with a conversation between Hippolyta, the fierce queen of the Amazons, and her future husband, Theseus. While Theseus is in a hurry for his wedding night to arrive, Hippolyta fears "the rapid pace that will transform the moon into a companion weapon for Theseus' sword, 'a bow of silver,' and force her into his bed" (Pollack-Pelzner 580). Hippolyte is forced to be a trophy wife after Theseus defeats her in battle, a fact he displays in her face at the beginning of the play starting in line 17 when he states, "Hippolyte, I I wooed with my sword, and I won. thy love, doing thee harm” (Shakespeare Act 1. Scene 1. Lines 17-18). Although his predicament does not provoke laughter...... middle of paper ...... using cheap humoWorks citedPollack-Pelzner, Daniel. "'Another key to the fifth act of A Midsummer Night's Dream." Notes and Queries 56.4 (2009): 579-583. Academic research completed. Internet. December 9, 2013. Shakespeare, William. A Midsummer Night's Dream. Ed. K. Deighton. London: Macmillan, 1891. Shakespeare Online. February 20, 2010. Web. December 9, 2013HILLMAN, RICHARD. “A Midsummer Night’s Dream and Diana by Nicolas De Montreux.” Review of English Studies 61.248 (2010): 34-54. Academic research completed. Internet. December 9, 2013. Weller, Barry. “Identifying Disfigured: A Midsummer Night’s Dream.” Kenyon Review 7.3 (1985): 66. Military and Government Collection. Internet. December 9, 2013. Dunn, Allen. "The Indian boy's dream in which every mother's son rehearses his role: Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream." Shakespeare Studies 20. (1988): 15. Literary Reference Center Plus. Internet. December 5. 2013.