As a twenty-first century academic, historical authors such as Shakespeare, Tolstoy, Dickenson, and Thoreau are praised for innovative style and concepts; Historical events such as 9/11, the American Revolution, and the Holocaust are accepted as usual and influence our culture and writing. These influential roots of modern culture shape contemporary writing in the form of various allusions that bring significant connotations, contributing to a larger theme. Allusions incorporate important anecdotes, characters, and historical events into a written piece. However, allusions vary from culture to culture and period to period. An allusion to Tom the Tiger might be common knowledge in the town of Wheaton, but it would be completely trivial to someone in Luxembourg without basic knowledge of the school mascot. Likewise, William Shakespeare's allusions tailored for a 16th-century audience are often overlooked by a modern audience, despite the development of the literary device towards a broader theme. To fully understand Shakespeare's motivations for his works, twenty-first century students must delve deeper into Shakespeare's allusions. Shakespeare uses allusions throughout A Midsummer Night's Dream to bridge the gap between the human and the divine by embodying mortal achievement and humanizing the divine, in hopes of motivating individuals to reach their full potential. The intertwined and blurred line between fantasy and reality creates a similar wavering line between celestial beings and humanity. As Shakespeare introduces the magic flower that will create the basis of missing love in this drama, a subtle allusion to Queen Elizabeth is referenced. “How should one hundred thousand h...... middle of paper ......fection similar to that of the divine pass through? What is the height of human potential? In A Midsummer Night's Dream, Shakespeare humanizes the divine world by arguing that mortal individuals are opposed to the division between celestial perfection and mortal imperfections. Allusions play an important role in Shakespeare's work by associating complex events and stories that he knows his audience will be familiar with to develop a larger message. Using an accepted cultural basis, Shakespeare constructed the theme of his play by comparing and contrasting his characters such as Bottom, Titania, Helena, and Demetrius to mythical stories from ancient times. Through various examples of imperfect deities and celebrated mortals, Shakespeare elevates the capacity of human potential so that every individual can relate to and strive for the perfection of the imperfect divine..