How is the internal play, "Pyramus and Thisbe," related to the thematic concerns of A Midsummer Night's Dream as a whole?

The comically tragic play-within-a-play in A Midsummer Night's Dream is presented as a condensed form of the important themes and ideas of Shakespeare's play itself. Further, the bumbling performances of the actors render the tragedy of "Pyramus and Thisbe" certain farcical elements that serve to satirize the melodramatic Athenian lovers. This contribution of the internal play thus lends Shakespeare's play a comedic and happy ending.

Here are some thematic concerns of A Midsummer Night's Dream:

Love's problems

Lysander's observation, "The course of true love never did run smooth,” becomes pragmatic in this play because the action of the play revolves around different lovers' attempts to unite with the ones with whom they want to be, rather than those with whom they are made to be by the oppression of patriarchy. Hermia the daughter of Egeus, an Athenian courtier, loves Lysander and he loves her. Helena loves Demetrius, but Demetrius loves Hermia instead of Helena.

Another problem connected to resolving the problems of love exists in the fact that there is an imbalance of male with females. Also, in "Pyramus and Thisbe" there is the dramatization of the love of the main characters as forbidden, just as Hermia is forbidden to be with Lysander. 

Art and Culture

Interestingly, Shakespeare composed A Midsummer Night's Dream close to the time he also wrote Romeo and Juliet, a play heavily influenced by the story of Pyramus and Thisbe. Therefore, Shakespeare may have questioned the relationship of life to art, as well as the role of the artist.

As the craftsmen discuss how they will construct their play, Shakespeare utilizes their interaction as a way to reflect upon the nature of the theater. Although well-meaning, the craftsmen are badly suited to acting. Their wishes to place themselves in roles for which they are not suited may suggest some satire of actors on Shakespeare's part. For instance, when Quince tells Flute that he will play the part of Thisby, Flute asks, "Who is Thisby? A wand'ring knight?" (1.2.37) Quince replies that she is the lady that Pyramus loves. Flute immediately rejects the role:

Nay, faith, let not me play a woman, I have a beard coming. (1.2.38) 

Snug wants the lion's part and asks if it is written down. Humorously, Quince tells him he may play the part extemporaneously. 

Versions of Reality

With so much emphasis upon the relationship of art to reality, there emerges in A Midsummer Night's Dream the blurring of lines between reality and imagination. Such blurring is best exemplified with Titania who, under the influence of magic, perceives Bottom much differently from the reality of his appearance, as for instance, she speaks to him in Act IV:

Come, sit down upon this flowery bed
While I stroke your lovely cheeks
And stick musk roses in your sleek, smooth head
And kiss your beautiful, large ears, my noble love. (4.1.1-4)

The performance of the tragedy by the craftsmen, men who are such bumbling actors, makes the performance a farce, rather than a tragedy. Because of this transformation of the drama by the farcical actors, their performance serves to poke fun of the actions of the melodramatic lovers from Athens. This change in tone then lends the central play a dream-like, happy, and comedic ending. It also challenges the motif of art reflecting life.

The publishers of William Shakespeare: The Complete Works, Jonathon Bate and Eric Rasmussen said, "Good comedy is tragedy narrowly averted." It may be that this idea applies to the performance of the craftsmen who have generated good comedy.