This essay takes A Midsummer Night’s Dream as a case study for exploring Shakespeare’s relationship to pacifism. We argue that this play, which uses a love potion to end conflict and to suggest parity across various competing spheres, taps into early modern discourses about peace as well our own contemporary anti-war discourses. We take inspiration from Bernie Boston’s photograph “Flower Power” and Allen Ginsberg’s essay that first articulated that notion as we imagine the play’s faeries to be “flower children.” The essay ultimately argues that Shakespeare’s play, as well as its play-within-a-play, dramatize the power of love as an anti-war and pacifist force.

本文以仲夏夜之梦为案例研究莎士比亚与和平主义的关系。我们认为，这部戏利用爱情药水来结束冲突并建议各个竞争领域之间的平等，它涉及了关于和平的早期现代话语以及我们自己的当代反战话语。我们从伯尼·波士顿（Bernie Boston）的摄影作品《花的力量》（Flower Power）和艾伦·金斯伯格（Allen Ginsberg）的文章中汲取了灵感，因为我们认为这部戏的名声是“花童”，因此首先阐明了这一概念。这篇文章最终认为，莎士比亚的戏剧以及其内部戏剧，将爱情的力量戏剧化为反战和平主义者。