to the fairies, such as their speed. According to Shakespeare's invention, fairies are capable of flying at very rapid speeds. For example, the fairy that first converses with Puck at the beginning of the scene says that he has traveled everywhere "[s]wifter than the moon's sphere," meaning as fast as the moon can circle the earth (I.i.7). Even Puck describes himself as being able to search the whole earth for the "love-in-idleness flower" in forty minutes, as we see in his line, "I'll put a girdle round about the earth / In forty minutes" (178-179).

Other magical elements we see in this scene are references to other magical or even divine beings, such as mermaids and the god of love, Cupid. Oberon refers to a night when he heard a mermaid singing while sitting on a dolphin's back in his lines, "...And heard a mermaid, on a dolphin's back / Uttering such dulcet and harmonious breath" (152-153). Also, Cupid is mentioned as having shot an arrow at a maiden but having also missed, resulting in the arrow landing in a flower instead.

A third magical element we see referred to in this scene is the "love-in-idleness flower." This is what the maidens now call the flower that, after having been hit by Cupid's arrow, has now turned "purple with love's wound" (170-171). The flower now has magical properties and can be used as a love potion. If a person's eyelids are sprinkled with the juice of the flower, when that person wakes up, he or she will fall in love with the first living creature he or she sees. Oberon wants to use the flower to trick Titania into giving him the beautiful Indian boy by distracting her with another love interest instead. Also, when he witnesses Demetrius being cruel to Helena, he wishes to use the flower on Demetrius, thereby solving Helena's love problems.

The supernatural refers to anything that is beyond normal. It can refer to anything magical, anything paranormal, such as ghosts, goblins, or fairies, or even anything related to a deity. There are many elements of the supernatural found in A Midsummer Night's Dream. One of those elements is the magical flower that creates both some of the conflicts of the story and the resolutions.

The magical flower is referred to as "love-in-idleness," which is also another name for a "pansy" (II.i.171). Oberon describes the flower as having turned from white to "purple with love's wound" because the flower was hit with Cupid's arrow (170). The flower now has magical powers, and if a person's eyelids are sprinkled with the flower's juice, upon waking, that person will fall in love with the first being he or she sees. The flower is an example of the supernatural due to its magical, abnormal properties.

One of the conflicts the magical flower creates is with respect to Titania's true self vs. how she is being influenced by the flower. As a result of the love potion from the flower, Titania falls in love with something she would have never fallen in love with naturally; she falls in love with a man who has the head of a donkey, creating a conflict within herself that she becomes aware of once she has been released from the spell, as we see in her line, "O, how mine eyes do loathe his visage now!" (IV.i.79).

However, the magic flower also creates resolution by uniting Titania with Oberon. Oberon uses the flower with two motives in mind. The first is to avenge his wife for refusing to give him the Indian boy he covets, as we see in his lines, "Well, go thy way; thou shalt not from this grove / Till I torment thee for this injury" (II.i.148-149). However, the second motive is the strongest and explains the reason behind the choice of a love spell. As literary critic Shirley Nelson Garner points out, Titania's love for the boy is distracting her from fully bestowing her affection on Oberon; hence, the true reason why Oberon is jealous of the boy is that he wants all of Titania's affection for himself. Making Titania fall in love with something else gives Oberon enough time to remove what is impeding their relationship. Hence, the supernatural flower creates resolution by removing the obstacles between Titania and Oberon's relationship.

In A Midsummer Night's Dream, the supernatural serves both to create conflict in the play and to create resolution.

Conflict is created when Oberon decides to punish his wife Titania for not obeying his will and refusing to relinquish the changeling Indian boy to him. Oberon is immensely jealous of her possession of the boy because the boy is particularly beautiful and Oberon had wanted to raise him to be on of his knights, as we see Puck explain in his lines:

She [Titania] never had so sweet a changeling;
And jealous Oberon would have the child
Knight of his train, to trace the forests wild. (II.i.23-25)

Since, Titania refuses to obey her husband, he decides to play a trick on her using a love potion. He is aware that Cupid hit a particular flower with his arrow and that if the juice of the flower is squeezed onto a person's eyelids while he/she is sleeping, when that person awakes, he/she will fall in love with the first seen. Oberon asks Puck to bring him the flower. Oberon's plan is that, while Titania is distracted with amorous feelings over any creature she sees, he can more easily convince her to hand over the boy. Of course his trick also creates a conflict of self within Titania because she falls in love with a man who, due to Puck's own trick, has a donkey's head. Hence, we see that in this instance, the supernatural created conflict within the story line. However, once Oberon has secured the boy, he uses magic, or the supernatural, again to restore Titania and now that their quarrel is over, the supernatural has successfully restored the married couple's unity.

A second instance of conflict we see the supernatural creating within the story line is that Puck, according to Oberon's wishes, uses the magical flower to make an Athenian man fall in love with poor, brokenhearted Helena. However, Puck has no idea that there are actually two Athenian men in the forest that night and innocently mistakes Demetrius for Lysander. He then puts the love potion on Demetrius's eyes as well so that now both Athenian men are pursuing Helena. This mistake creates a great deal of conflict amongst the characters for a few of reasons: 1) Helena does not believe that either man is being sincere and believes that both men plus Hermia are playing a joke on her; 2) Now that Lysander is pursuing Helena instead, poor Hermia has been left without a mate; 3) The mix-up creates a great deal of animosity amongst the characters, especially the two women who now feel betrayed by each other. Hence, we see that the magical flower, or the supernatural, created conflict within the story, conflict that Puck takes great enjoyment in, as we see in his lines, "Shall we their fond pageant see? / Lord, what fools these mortals be!" (III.ii.115-116). However, again, everything is put to rights by the end of the play. Puck uses the magic to make Lysander fall for Hermia again while Demetrius remains in love with Helena.

Hence we see that the supernatural creates both the conflicts and resolutions in the play through the fairies and their use of magic to manipulate individuals.

The supernatural plays a role in A Midsummer Night’s Dream by holding up a mirror to relationships and allowing the play to explore them.

The main supernatural element in the play is the fairies.  Through the intervention of the fairies, we are able to see how foolish we mortals can be.  The fairies cause the lovers to fall in love when they don’t intend to, and make fools of themselves.  When the spell is lifted, they see their mistakes.  Even Titania falls victim to fairy magic.

My Oberon! What visions have I seen!(75)

Methought I was enamour'd of an ass. (Act 4, Scene 1)

Ultimately, she is able to realize her mistake and fall back in love with the one she belongs to, Oberon.  Hermia, Helena, Demetrius and Lysander also are able to break their spells and be in love with the one their supposed to love.

Demetrius is an example of the mirror effect that magic has in the play.  After he wakes up, he realizes that he loves Helena.

But, my good lord, I wot not by what power,—(165)
But by some power it is,—my love to Hermia,
Melted as the snow, seems to me now
As the remembrance of an idle gaud
Which in my childhood I did dote upon ... (Act 4, Scene 1)

No longer head over heels in love with Hermia, Demetrius is puzzled by the clarity he now has.  The potion's effects have worn off, and everyone seems to know who to be in love with.  Though Demetrius was not originally enchanted, losing the recent magic allowed him to see things more clearly and realize he should be and was in love with Helena.

The supernatural in A Midsummer Night's Dream is mostly represented by the fairies. In addition, the most dominant theme in the play is illusions. More specifically, most of the Athenian characters have their own illusions and while in the woods they become disillusioned, but their illusions are also restored. It is due to the fairies' conduct that the Athenians become disillusioned, but the fairies also restore their illusions. Hence, one role of the supernatural in the play is to point out that the nature of mankind is to be guided by illusions as well as to nurture those illusions.

While even the mechanicals have their own important illusions, all four of the Athenian lovers are also proven to be guided by illusions. Hermia and Lysander run from Athens into the woods because they are under the illusion they are in love and need to escape Athenian law condemning Hermia to death if she does not marry Demetrius. Demetrius even pursues her into the woods because he is under the illusion he is in love with her. However, all love is proven to be merely an illusion when Puck mixes up the lovers and uses a magical flower to make both Lysander and Demetrius now in love with Helena. Since both men switch so easily from loving Hermia to loving Helena, we can easily see that Shakespeare is portraying their love as being just an illusion. Essentially, through his mix-up, Puck has made the lovers become disillusioned about love. Mankind's ability to become both so easily guided by illusions and disillusioned is part of what makes mankind so foolish, which is best portrayed in Puck's famous lines, "Shall we their fond pageant see? / Lord, what fools these mortals be!" (III.ii.115-16).

However, the couples do not remain disillusioned. Instead, Puck, upon Oberon's command, rights his wrongs and pairs Demetrius back with Helena, whom he was engaged to before he started pursuing Hermia, and Lysander back with Hermia, showing us that the role of the supernatural in the play is not just to expose mankind's absurdities but also to nourish mankind's illusions.

The supernatural pertains to anything out of the ordinary. It can relate to ghosts, fairies, magic, even anything divine. There are many elements of the supernatural found in A Midsummer Night's Dream. One of those elements is the fairies, or more specifically, Puck. One of Puck's roles as the supernatural is to portray one of Shakespeare's most critical themes in the play, that mankind is foolish.

It is ironic that Puck helps to elaborate on the theme of the foolishness of men as Puck is one of Shakespeare's fools in the play, alongside Bottom. However, Puck is a fool in the traditional sense that he serves as a fool, or a court jester, to King Oberon, as we see in his lines, "I jest to Oberon, and make him smile" (II.i.45). Puck, like one of Shakespeare's traditional fools, is amusing and quick witted, even proclaiming many astute observations. Bottom, in contrast, while he does say one thing enlightening, is generally ridiculous, causing all sorts of problems with his ridiculousness. Puck portrays the theme of man's foolishness by literally making a proverbial "ass" of his fellow fool, Bottom.

Puck, as one of the elements of the supernatural, portrays the theme of the foolishness of men by turning Bottom into a donkey, using magic. A slang term for a donkey is an "ass," which is also a slang term used to describe a particularly conceited, stubborn, and foolish person. Hence, by turning Bottom into a donkey, Puck is commenting on Bottom's foolishness. We especially see Puck commenting on Bottom's foolishness in his line, "A stranger Pyramus than e'er play'd here!," which is a direct reference to just how poorly Bottom is rehearsing his part as Pyramus, despite Bottom's earlier confidence (III.i.81). Aside from turning Bottom into a donkey, we further see Puck relaying the theme of men's foolishness when he comments on the foolishness of the Athenians, as we see in Puck's famous line, "Lord, what fools these mortals be!" (III.ii.116).

Hence, we see that Puck's role as an element of the supernatural is to relay the theme of the foolishness of mankind. We also see that one purpose of the supernatural in general is to relay critical themes.

While this play does not deal with theology or religion, the activities in the forest are still “a-natural” and serve an important function in the way the play works its theme.  Of course the fairy-world of Titania, Oberon, and Puck is far from “natural” and the purpose of this setting is to contrast it with the “real world” setting of the regal couple Hippolyta and Thesus (whose classical names suggest an other-worldliness of their own), about to be married, and more importantly the quartet of young lovers, whose tumultuous mixture of attractions and affections must repair to the magic woods to find their resolution.  Shakespeare’s motive is mixing these worlds together (and the town rustics rehearsing a classic play in the same forest reinforces the device) is to make the statement that Love is more than a political or financial logical choice; it must also contain an ineffable touch of “other-worldiness” about it, a magic that retreats from the everyday into the wonderland of imagination, of “dream” for it to be a successful marriage of the two worlds. 

One of the roles of the supernatural in A Midsummer Night's Dream is to create a dreamlike state that helps portray Shakespeare's theme of fantasy vs. reality.

Critic Northrop Frye points out that in Shakespeare's time May 1st was believed to be "a spooky time" when both "benevolent and malignant" spirits came out ("Mythological Background"). We know that the play begins on the eve of May 1st and ends on May Day because, when Theseus finds the four lovers asleep in the woods, he remarks that they must have awoken in the woods in observation of May Day, which was celebrated with sunrise singing, as we see in Theseus's lines:

No doubt they rose up early to observe The rite of May; and, hearing our intent,
Came here to grace our solemnity. (IV.i.132-134)

Hence, it makes sense that during their night in the woods, the lovers encountered spirits and experienced some spooky enchantment. The enchantment the lovers experience creates a dreamlike state, showing us that one of the roles of the supernatural is to create a dreamlike state in honor of the First of May and which also helps to portray Shakespeare's theme of fantasy vs. reality.

The fairies create a dreamlike state by manipulating the minds of the lovers. Before they go into the woods, both men are pursuing Hermia; now that they are in the woods and enchanted by Puck through the magic flower, both men are now pursuing Helena. For the lovers, the dreamlike state is one of madness, especially for both women. Helena disbelieves the sincerity of Lysander and Demetrius, believing that they are actually mocking her. Helena then begins to believe that even Hermia is in on the joke, as we see in Helena's line, "Lo, she is one of this confederacy!" (III.ii.195). The dreamlike state is actually a nightmare for Helena because now she believes that Hermia has intentionally severed their life-long friendship that began in childhood. Likewise, the dreamlike state is a nightmare for Hermia, because she has now lost the true love she has endangered her life to elope with. However, the story is resolved at the end, giving the "dream" the lovers experience a happy ending. Hence, we see that the role of the supernatural is to create a dreamlike state that is actually also a bit spooky and nightmarish, portraying Shakespeare's theme of fantasy vs. reality.

We see the supernatural in A Midsummer Night's Dream portrayed through the activity of gods, such as Cupid, through magic, and through fairies. The supernatural serves to join the flawed mortal world with the dreamlike state of the ideal world.

We learn in the play that a certain flower has been given magical powers because Cupid shot an arrow that missed aim and landed in the flower (II.i.168-171). Oberon and Puck decide to use the flower to alter individuals' states of mind into believing that they are in love with the first thing they see. This magical, supernatural act of deception did not at first create any sort of ideal state.  Instead, it created chaos by making two men fall in love with Helena and potentially destroying her friendship with Hermia. However, once things have been righted, Lysander is properly coupled with Hermia while Demetrius is rightfully coupled with Helena, whom he was engaged to before he began pursuing Hermia. The rightful pairing of the lovers puts an end to a great deal of grief and sorrow for all members of the couple, especially poor Helena who had been cheated by Demetrius. Because the supernatural, or magic, used created an ideal, peaceful state of love and unity for all of the couples involved, we can say that the supernatural served to link flawed humanity to the dreamlike state of the ideal world.

We know the supernatural created a dreamlike state for the lovers because when they awoke, they felt like they were still in a dream. We especially see the characters confuse reality with a dream when they are found in the woods by Theseus and Egeus and still feel that they are dreaming. Demetrius phrases their state of mind best when he asks:

Are you sure
That we are awake? It seems to me
That yet we sleep, we dream. (IV.i.195-197)

Hence, since the happily united lovers feel that their reality is a dream, we can say that supernatural functions in the play to unite flawed humanity with the ideal, which is seen in a dreamlike state. 

At the end of  A Midsummer Night's Dream by William Shakespeare, Puck appears  and says:

"If we shadows have offended,
Think but this, and all is mended,
that you have but slumber'd here
While these visions did appear.
And this weak and idle theme,
No more yielding but a dream" (V.i.423-28).

In certain ways, the play, like the supernatural, is being cast by Puck (who, as a fairy is a supernatural character) as both belonging together in the realms of the imaginary. The play itself, its title suggests, may itself be something dreamed; as a play it is not real.

The two main settings and themes for the play are those of classical legend (Theseus is a legendary rather than historical Greek figure) and British legend (Puck and the fairies). The two pairs of young lovers and the actors wander into (or dream of) the supernatural world. Like poets who can create happy endings, so after many twists and turns, the magical beings of the play ensure the three couples prosper. Puck, Titania, Oberon, and the fairies are the most strongly supernatural characters, but in another way the play itself is set in an idyllic imaginary world rather than a real one and thematically identifies poetry with the supernatural in its ability to separate ourselves from the everyday.

The supernatural is explained as something that is above or beyond what is natural and is generally associated with magic or divine power. In A Midsummer Night's Dream the supernatural is magic in and from a fairy world that is connected with our world through dreams.

When discussing the role that the supernatural takes in the play it could be argued that those characters who are above and beyond the natural world use that power to manipulate others. Oberon uses his magic to manipulate Titania into giving him the little boy. Consequently, Puck messes with poor Bottom and changes his head into that of a donkey's in order to do Oberon's bidding to manipulate Titania. Also, Puck makes mistakes with the young lovers when trying to execute Oberon's commands and winds up causing more trouble and confusion which add to the play's comedy.

Clearly, Titania, Bottom, Lysander, Demetrius, and Hermia all get manipulated because of Oberon's and Puck's ability to use magic on others; and, this seems to be one way to look at the role of the supernatural in the play-- as a manipulating device. :)

Click on the link below for further insight.

In his famous speech in Act V, Theseus says to Hippolyta

More strange than true. I never may believe
These antic fables, nor these fairy toys.

Magic is an essential part of the "dream" aspect of "A Midsummer Night's Dream". In this magical dream world the fairies, Titania, Oberon, Puck, and their compatriots who permeate the woodland world, not only resolve their own, but also the mortal lovers' romantic difficulties. This magical dream world, which mixes classical Greek and English myth traditions, is one in which danger lurks, but also a beauty which evokes some of Shakespeare's most lyrical lines. The title, and even Puck's final speech, though, suggest that the magical world created for us in the play is only a dream world, bodied forth by the poets pen, and only existing for us as long as we are in the theatre.

Of all Shakespeare's plays, A Midsummer Night's Dream is the most magical. Magic is an element of the supernatural, as it's traditionally believed to come from outside the natural world. In other words, magic is not of this world but can certainly be used in it by those with special powers.

The mischievous fairy Puck has such powers. He uses his magic powers on numerous occasions throughout the play to startling effect. For instance, we see him sprinkle a love potion on the sleeping Lysander's eyes. Puck is supposed to have work his magic on Demetrius, but he gets him mixed-up with Lysander and ended up sprinkling his love potion on the wrong man. As a consequence, it is Lysander and not Demetrius, as Oberon had originally planned, who falls head over heels in love with Helena when he wakes up.

Puck's magic is also on display when he turns Bottom's head into that of a donkey. Unlike the episode with Lysander, Puck isn't acting at the behest of Oberon this time. He's using his magic purely for the purposes of entertainment. And besides, there's something appropriate about a man called Bottom being turned into an ass.

However, magic can also be used to much nicer effect, such as when Puck restores all the lovers to their rightful partners, thus ensuring a happy ending. And in this happy ending, we can observe an amicable reconciliation between the natural and the supernatural.

The most obvious supernatural elements in Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream are the fairies. Oberon and Titania clearly rule over the fairy world, paralleling the political positions occupied by Theseus and Hippolyta. The conflict between Oberon and Titania over the changeling boy parallels the war Theseus waged against the Amazons, both bringing disruption to their respective worlds. The spilling over of the fairy conflict affects the natural world, where weather is disturbed and crops fail. Restoring peace to the supernatural world seemingly will restore health to the natural world, and further grant blessings to the political world.

Puck's ability to circle the globe and return with the love-in-idleness potion is a supernatural analog to "love at first sight," such as occurs in plays like Romeo and Juliet, where love itself takes on the language of religion.

Similarly, Puck's transformation of Bottom into an ass and back again depend on magic, yet the effect on Bottom is to produce a dream, Bottom's Dream." Many have noted that Bottom's language when he returns to his natural self is filled with a jumbled version of St. Paul's "Eye hath not seen" passage (1 Corinthians 2:9), which brings us to the supernatural realm.

All these elements point the characters and the audience to a supernatural world outside their narrow political and natural one. As in many of Shakespeare's romantic comedies, this world is based on a type of self-giving love, such as Paul refers to as agape.

The supernatural world of English fairies, pagan deities, and Shakespeare's Christian world suffuse the audience in a sense of wonder and magic.

The supernatural can be defined as anything that is not normal. The supernatural is beyond what is natural and is abnormal. When we talk about the supernatural, we can refer to ghosts and goblins, anything magical, or even anything related to the divine. Some of the supernatural elements that we find in A Midsummer Night's Dream are references to fairies, magic, and even references to gods.

Fairies play a central role in A Midsummer Night's Dream. They both create the conflict of the play and also the resolution. We see them creating the play's conflict when Puck mistakenly enchants Lysander into falling in love with Helena instead of Demetrius. The conflict is further enhanced when Oberon and Puck enchant Demetrius into falling in love with Helena as well. Now, both men are in love with Helena when previously they were both in love with Hermia. Not only that, Helena believes that all three are conspiring to mock her, as we see in her lines accusing Hermia of joining forces with both men:

Lo, she[Hermia] is one of this confederacy!
Now I perceive they have conjoin'd all three
To fashion this false sport, in spite of me. (III.ii.195-197)

We see the fairies create the play's resolution when we see Puck and Oberon properly unite Lysander with Hermia and Demetrius with Helena, whom Demetrius was engaged to before.

We also see the supernatural in the play through the use of magic. The flower Oberon tells Puck to bring him has been hit by Cupid's arrow and now serves as a love potion. Oberon explains to Puck about the magical powers of the flower in the lines:

The juice of it on sleeping eye-lids laid
Will make or man or woman madly dote
Upon the next live creature that it sees. (II.i.173-175)

Not only do we see magic being used as a supernatural reference in this play, but since the magic comes from Cupid, who is the god of love, Cupid also becomes another supernatural element in the play.

The play A Midsummer Night's Dream is teeming with elements of the supernatural. First of all, much of the action in the play occurs in a magic forest filled with fairies and sprites. These magical creatures have some pretty fantastic powers, too. For example, Puck transforms Bottom into an ass--literally, and then later returns him to his former human state.

Another very important bit of magic in the play is the existence and use of a mystical flower that releases a nectar which causes whoever has the juice dripped in his or eyes to fall madly in love with the first being they see. Puck and Oberon use the magic nectar to play a prank on Titania and to help Helena win her love (with a few bumps along the way).

For a good summary of the play, check out the link below:

The greatest role of the supernatural in Shakespeare's play A Midsummer Night's Dream is the setting itself (which includes the location of the play and the characters who inhabit the dream-like world). The setting of the play includes a fantastical world filled with spirits and fairies. On top of these characters, dreams and spells also add to the supernatural collective in the play.

The play, overall, exists in a world created to be imaginative. Through this imagination, both humor and love are attended to in a way that only the supernatural can breed. Characters are changed, love is tested, and spirits fly about in order to bring chaos to an already chaotic world. Without the inclusion of the supernatural, the play would have the substance it needs to teach the lessons embedded in the action.

Essentially, without the supernatural, the play would lose its magical setting, the characters, and the lesson. It is only through the continuous use of the fantastical that the play can reach its desired climax.

The forest in A Midsummer Night's Dream is populated with a world of supernatural beings: Oberon and Titania, king and queen of the fairies, and a cadre of charming magical creatures who serve them, including Peasebottom, Cobweb and Moth, and Puck or Robin Goodfellow, a mischievous fellow from folklore who would have been familiar to English audiences at the time. Puck can traverse the globe in moments, and Puck and the fairies flit about serving at the command of their monarchs. Puck puts the magical potions in the eyes of the humans that cause comic (and potentially dark) mishap and mayhem.

The fairies add to the magical, upside-down world of the Midsummer's night forest, where the irrational—love—trumps reason in many ways. These fantastical creatures represent the imagination and the way imagination creates love, so that

Love looks not with the eyes, but with the mind . . .

These creatures may be "real" within the logic of the play, and Shakespeare goes to great length to describe the forest in rich sensory detail—or the entire action, as Puck suggests, may be a dream. Whatever their literal reality within the play, the "potions" and "magic" the fairies dispense represent love's mad side. Do we humans need a potion to suddenly fall in or out of love with a person? Do we need a charm to fall in love with an "ass"? The supernatural characters in the play thus symbolize the irrational mystery at the heart of love. As Puck comments, "what fools these mortals be."