The success of the narrative arc of Sophocles' tragedy Antigone and Shakespeare's comedy A Midsummer Night's Dream relies heavily on the characters' interactions with the natural world. Respectively in each work, the protagonists must propose and negotiate elements of nature to achieve their particular goal. The plot of Antigone revolves around the return of Polyneices' body to the natural world through a process of ritual burial. Likewise, A Midsummer Night's Dream involves a necessary pastoral escape to nature to resolve issues of intertwined and unrequited romance. Because in both plays the natural world drastically hinders the protagonists' progress in achieving their goals, this conflict is emphasized as the central antagonistic force in both A Midsummer Night's Dream and Antigone. In Shakespeare's classic pastoral play, the conflict between character and environment is emphasized for the main human protagonists. Therefore, the natural world is clearly intended to be the central antagonist in A Midsummer Night's Dream. More importantly, the central goals of human lovers to connect romantically with specific other characters are ultimately delayed by a very specific natural element. Lysander, one of the lovers, declares his main goal in the lover's first scene in the forest. He tells Hermia that he wishes they would become “Two breasts bound by an oath” (II.ii.49). The realization of this goal is entirely prevented by the interference of a powerful “little Western flower,” which is endowed with the ability to “drive a man or woman mad at the next living creature he sees” (II.i. 164 -172). Instead of allowing Lysander and Hermia's love for each other to continue undisturbed (and thus achieve Lysander's goal), this natural element directly interferes with Lysander's love agenda by causing him to lustfully pursue Helena, which Lysander (after the interference of nature) now considers to be “the most worthy maiden” (II.ii.116). Likewise, the flower directly interferes with the goal that Hermia has tenaciously fought for since the beginning of the play: to be able to love Lysander, despite having been betrothed to Demetrius by her father. This specific element of the natural world proves to be an equally antagonistic force in Demetrius' ability to achieve his goal in the play. Aside from his desire to marry Hermia, Demetrius' central goal in the plot is probably to escape Helena's disgusting love (II.i.212). He repeatedly makes this goal clear by threatening Helen with “the mercy of the wild beasts” and “malice in the wood” if she continued to pursue him romantically (II.i.228, 237). It is the same Western flower that causes Demetrius to abandon his clearly established goal and act in a completely opposite way. Since a natural element directly causes this removal and reversal of self-agency in a major character decision, it is clear that nature is also an antagonistic force in Demetrius' individual narrative. Puck, the character who initiates the antagonistic contact between natural element and human character, cannot be considered an antagonist due to the removal of intentionality from his actions. Before leaving to perform the flower-man interaction, Puck makes it clear that he is performing these actions solely as Oberon's servant (II.i.268). By saying this, Puck distances himself from the ramifications of his interference and passes on the consequences of his actions to the fairy king. By contributing to the lovers' antagonism, Oberon symbolically becomes part of the worldnatural. This integration of character into the fiber of the natural world is supported by the Studio Theatre's production of A Midsummer Night's Dream. Alison Yanota's costume purposely dresses the actor playing Oberon (Stuart McDougall) in a garment composed almost entirely of wood fragments and earth-toned fabric to convey that Oberon is indeed part of the natural world that opposes the lovers. The opposing force of nature becomes the central antagonist of the work because the lovers are the central protagonists of the story. Among the groups of characters in A Midsummer Night's Dream, the lovers must overcome the greatest vicissitudes to achieve happiness. Therefore, their numerous conflicts make up the majority of the narrative body of the work. Additionally, the lovers are probably the most relatable characters that speak to the human experience. As a result, audiences can viscerally and more tangibly relate to their story, which gives the narrative a distinctive importance. Since the natural world directly interferes with the achievement of the lover's character goals, and there is no character who directly takes on the role of antagonist, nature must be considered the primary antagonistic force for these characters and, by virtue of this association, the natural world becomes the central antagonistic force of the entire work. The conflict structure of Sophocles' legend Antigone follows a similar pattern. The natural world is created as a relatively denigrated force that takes the central antagonistic role within the work. Antigone, undoubtedly the protagonist of the text, clearly declares her narrative objective already at the beginning of the first act. He intends to “pile a mound of earth above [his] brother” despite King Creon having expressly forbidden this action (Sophocles, 128). This stated goal is further clarified when supported by historical evidence. In an article on death and the afterlife in ancient Greece, the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City states that: Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an original essayAncient literary sources emphasize the need for proper burial [in order to progress in the afterlife] and refer to the omission of burial rites as an insult to human dignity (Iliad, 23.71). The deceased's relatives, mainly women, conducted the elaborate burial rituals... (The Met, 1) When supported by this contextual evidence, it is clear that Antigone's central goal is to enable her brother, Polyneices, to progress in afterlife through proper burial. in the earth. It is the achievement of this goal that is entirely hindered by the interference of the natural world. Nature is explicitly invested with the authority to grant Polyneices post-mortem happiness in the afterlife, but repeatedly prevents the complete completion of this process. After Antigone first buried her brother's body, the sentry, following Creon's orders, “swept away all the earth that covered the body” (137). After this action, Antigone is forced to repeat the entire burial action again, which causes her to be captured by the Sentinel, and ultimately ends in her punishment and death by King Creon (138). It is through this action that nature prevents the achievement of Antigone's central goal, as well as inciting the pressures of a contagious force to confront the play's protagonist character. Due to the complexity of a proper burial that nature requires to allow Polyneices to progress into the afterlife, Antigone's goal in the play is never fully realized due to time.