1 themes , motifs 1.1 carnivalesque 1.2 love 1.3 problem time 1.4 loss of individual identity 1.5 ambiguous sexuality 1.6 feminism themes , motifs lovers bliss prior christian st. john s day, in ancient greece, marking midsummer event called adonia. first festive day (and night) when adonis allowed depart underworld spend 6 months paramour, aphrodite.* considered time celebrate first bliss of new , reunited lovers. wedding of theseus , hippolyta , mistaken , waylaid lovers, titania , bottom, erstwhile acting troupe, model various aspects (and forms) of love. carnivalesque both david wiles of university of london , harold bloom of yale university have endorsed reading of play under themes of carnivalesque, bacchanalia, , saturnalia. writing in 1998, david wiles stated that: starting point own analysis proposition although encounter midsummer night s dream text, historically part of aristocratic carnival. written wedding, , part of festive structure of wedding night. audience saw play i...