Fairies, mortals, magic, love, and hate all intertwine to make A Midsummer Night’s Dream by William Shakespeare a very enchanting tale, that takes the reader on a truly dream-like adventure. The action takes place in Athens, Greece in ancient times, but has the atmosphere of a land of fantasy and illusion which could be anywhere. The mischievousness and the emotions exhibited by characters in the play, along with their attempts to double-cross destiny, not only make the tale entertaining, but also help solidify one of the play’s major themes; that true love and it’s cleverly disguised counterparts can drive beings to do seemingly irrational things. In the first part of the play Egeus has asked the Duke of Athens, Theseus, to rule in …show more content…
Oberon, riddled with jealousy over his queen’s beloved “changeling”, plots to make a fool out of Titania with his magic potion so he may steal away the child. Oberon's love-potion has the same effect of that of the famed Cupid's arrows, it charms the sight of those it is anointed upon, and gets them to fall in “love” with the first creature they see. Oberon anoints the eyes of Titania and she ends up falling in “love” with the first creature she sees, Bottom, an actor who is rehearsing in the woods, who’s head has been turned into that of an ass by Puck. Oberon plan is successful, he is in fact able to steal away the child while his queen dotes upon Bottom, but then things start to get more complicated in the moonlit woods. Two other mortals have entered the woods that night as well, Demetrius and Helena. Helena, hopelessly in love with Demetrius, is following him on his mission to find his betrothed, Hermia, and they are also subjected to the mischievous workings of Oberon and Puck. Oberon, after observing the two young mortals, feels bad for “sweet” Helena, that even though she is professing her undying love and devotion to Demetrius he rejects her at every turn. Demetrius hatefully tells Helena “ I’ll run from thee and hide me in the brakes, and leave thee to the mercy of wild beasts’’, along with other loathsome statements, in rebuttal to Helena’s
There are many instances in A Midsummer Night's Dream where love is coerced from or foisted upon unwilling persons. This romantic bondage comes from both man-made edicts and the other-worldly enchantment of love potions. Tinkering with the natural progression of love has consequences. These human and fairy-led machinations, which are brought to light under the pale, watery moon, are an affront to nature. Shakespeare knows that all must be restored to its place under fate's thumb when the party of dreamers awaken.
True love’s path is paved with every step. Through the assistance of fanciful elements as well as characters Puck and Oberon, the true message of love in William Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream is revealed. The four lovers know the direction in which their hearts are inclined to turn, but when the love potion is administered, the bounds of their rectangle are thrashed without knowledge or consent. The rapid shifts in affection between the play’s “four lovers” is representative of the idea that love isn’t a conscious choice, but a cruel game in which we are the figurines, being controlled by whomever the player may be, relating the characters’ karmic fates.
Titania is uncertain whether her vision is a dream or reality, because dreams are soon
Have you ever wondered what love would be like if magic existed? In one of Shakespeare's most renowned plays, A Midsummer Night's Dream, this thought becomes a reality. In a story about love, heartbreak, friendship, and a little bit of fantasy, four young characters-Demetrius, Helena, Hermia, and Lysander-find themselves tangled up in a convoluted love triangle. However, as if things weren't confusing already, mischievous magical fairies exist in the background and interfere with the love triangle, turning everything into a huge mess. Shakespeare carefully crafted this play, and every detail he included on the nature of young love became a metaphor for real life. Using A Midsummer Night's Dream, Shakespeare clearly conveyed the message that young love is unpredictable, painful, and sometimes rewarding.
Therefore, no marvel though Demetrius. Do, as a monster, fly my presence thus.” (2.2.110-13). Helena reveals that a beast more fearsome than a bear would run from her tormented self. Her comparison to Demetrius acting as a monster flying from her may represent an underlying and unrecognized disdain felt for him not loving her in return. These are majorly complex emotions running through my favorite afflicted female in A Midsummer Night’s Dream. Helena’s comparison to Hermia is particularly relevant. Humans have a tendency of comparing and questioning why they should bother to contend with someone. Helena complains of a “wicked and dissembling glass” which made her compete with Hermia’s beauty (2.2.104-5). In A Midsummer Night's Dream, there is the presence of unrequited love, which is shown by Helena and Demetrius' relationship: "The more I love, the more he hateth me" (1.1.199). This evidently shows Helena's love for Demetrius, and yet her love for him is not returned for he is blinded by his love for Hermia. This unrequited love shows the cruel nature of love which is represented when Demetrius say, “Tell you I do not nor I cannot love you” (2.1.201). “Tempt not too much the hatred of my spirit, for I am sick when I do look on thee” (2.1.211). Demetrius ignores Helena in an attempt to push her away, when she is madly in love with him. However, his plan backfires and only causes her love and desperate desire for him to grow,
Different Types of Love in A Midsummer Night’s Dream by William Shakespeare A Midsummer Night’s Dream is a comedy, written in 1595 during the reign of Queen Elizabeth I. This was when the society was dominated by men. During the period, England was ruled by a powerful and well respected queen.
Demetrius delivers this line in the forest after Helena has provided him with the information concerning Hermia and Lysander's plans to elope. Since Demetrius has taken what he wants from her and tells her to leave him alone. This shows that love can possess a cruel and abusive nature.
Love is a very common theme that is seen in literature, and love is one of the most powerful things that can be felt for someone or something. Love can drive a person to do incredible or horrible things, and we see many forms of love that take place in A Midsummer Night’s Dream. This is demonstrated in the book by many characters including Hermia and Lysander who demonstrate true love. Titania and Bottom show magical love. In the play, love is also the cause of a few broken hearts. While there is no one common definition of love that suits all of the characters, the romantic relationship in the play all leans to one simple rule laid out by Lysander, “The course of true love never did run smooth.”
Although love is typically a positive emotion or concept, it is most often truly a more negative notion, due to its consequences. Love is known to bring people together in the beginning, but also tends to customarily pull or even break people apart by causing chaos and rivalry. The loss of love could even cause insecurities to surface. In Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream, one of the lovers, Helena, is scorched by love’s misfortunes when it comes between her and her ex-lover, Demetrius.The misfortunes of love force Helena into becoming an insecure woman who allows her emotions to cloud her judgement.
Exerting the type of power that is influenced by malicious intentions can cause one to make decisions that are not beneficial to others. A Midsummer Night’s Dream is written within a time period and setting that favors men instead of woman. In other words, men have all the authority to control the events that occur in their own lives as well as the lives of others whom are considered insignificant. The plot displays the catalysts that ignite many characters’ desire for control that is misused by higher status people. Shakespeare’s use of characterization demonstrates how the wanting of control causes the characters to act irrationally through the misuse of power. Shakespeare’s use of setting, plot and characterization causes the ordeals
In this play, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, true love plays a huge role in the play.
The love story is one of the oldest and most cherished traditions in any world culture. The prevalence of romantic works throughout history, whether Greek myths, Jane Austen’s dramatic narratives, or today’s dime-a-dozen romantic novels, ultimately encourages us to believe in the power of true love. We identify with the archetypal star-crossed lovers, who combat established convention in order to assert their romance, because we too yearn for our own “happily-ever-afters.” When used in conjunction with reason, love is the highest form of compassion – without it, we could not possibly interact productively with one another or develop as individuals. But when we take a new perspective and examine love as an independent,
The rise of tension between characters is another characteristic of comedic plays. After Oberon sees the way that Helena has been treated by Demetrius, he orders Puck to apply the juice to the eyes of Demetrius. Puck accidentally applies the juice to Lysander’s eye, which causes him to fall in love with Helena. After the mistake had been caught, Oberon sends Puck to watch Helena and Oberon applies the juice to Demetrius’ eyes. This causes both men to fall for Helena and now the battle is for Helena and not Hermia. Helena is convinced that this is a joke or prank because neither of the two men loved her before. Now because of Puck’s mistakes the four decide to find a
As the play opens, Theseus, Duke of Athens, and Hippolyta, his fiancée discuss their upcoming wedding. With the introduction of Theseus and
A young couple, Lysander and Hermia wish to be married but Hermia’s father wants her to marry Demetrius. Helena, another young woman, is in love with Demetrius but he does not love her. Lysander and Hermia decide to run off through the woods to elope, and they tell Helena of their plans. Wanting an excuse to see Demetrius, Helena tells him about the couple running off to elope and he chases after them. In a similar part of the woods, the fairy King Oberon and Queen Titania argue, which leads him to play a trick on her. He makes her fall in love with the first person she sees, which happens to be a man with the head of a mule. He notices Demetrius and Helena argue and tells Robin, a fairy subject, to use the love potion on Demetrius. Robin mixes