A Midsummer Night's Dream- Play within a play

... Discuss the role of the play- within- a- play in Act V of A Midsummer Night's Dream. Does the Pyramus and Thisbe story have any relevance to the main story, or is it simply a comical interlude? What effect does the mechanicals production of their play have on the tone of the play as a whole? The Pymamus and Thisbe story in Act V of A Midsummer Night's Dream plays an important role to the main story. Not only does the play- within- a- play echoes with the story of the four lovers- Helena, Hermia, Lysander and Demetrius, it also serves as a reinforcement of the theme: love. Though the mechanicals' production seems to be a comic interlude, it is a warning to both the pairs of lovers and to the audience about the potential danger brought by love's blindness. Despite the tragic content of the play- within- a- play, the

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