What is the significance of Shakespeare's presentation of magic, madness, fairy folklore, and the resolution of conflict in A Midsummer Night's Dream?

1. Magic: Shakespeare uses "magic" in the play to represent the inexplicable events that seem to occur in the lives of human beings for no apparent reason. Magic "explains" the state of mental and emotional chaos that typifies the state of being in love.

2. Madness: Madness is the outward manifestation, in this play, of the unstable conditions existing within those who have fallen under Cupid's influence. Theseus compares the "madness" of love to the madness of poets, thereby defining love as a state of creativity that is out of the ordinary.

3. Fairy Folklore: In Elizabethan England, there was a rich tradition of fairy stories and tales, particularly among country folk. Shakespeare appealed to this tradition for the pleasure of these people and in order to explain the state of otherworldliness experienced by people who have fallen in love.

4. Resolution of Conflict: Shakespeare uses all the above devices like an alchemist's mortar and pestle, in which all the lovers are tumbled about until, because of these devices acting on them, all obstructions to true love are ground away and love is victorious. This is typical of his romantic comedies. Love always wins in the end.