A Midsummer Night’s Dream by William Shakespeare explores different versions of love. Theseus and Hippolyta are to be married as a result of her defeat in war, causing their love to be forced. Demetrius and Helena’s love is unrequited because he does not initially love her back. Titania and Oberon’s love is struggling because they often disagree. Titania and Bottom’s love is strictly physical and only exists because of the effects of Cupid’s potion. Because of these reasons, Lysander and Hermia are the only example of true love. In the exposition of the play, Theseus, the king of Athens, is set to marry Hippolyta: “Now, fair Hippolyta, our nuptial hour draws on apace. Four happy days bring in another moon,” (1.1.1-3.7). Their marriage is …show more content…
Her feelings are unrequited: “Teach me how you look and with what art you sway the motion of Demetrius’ heart!” (1.1.196-197.19). Because of the strength of her feelings, she is willing to divulge the information of her dear friend Hermia’s plan and put her happiness at risk in an attempt to get Demetrius to acknowledge her: “I will go tell him of fair Hermia’s flight,” (1.1.252.23). She begs him to “be used as you use your dog,” (2.1.217.49) and wishes he would “spurn me, strike me, neglect me, lose me,” (2.1.212-213.49). She does not feel she is worthy of his love, so she settles for the little attention he gives her, despite it being hateful and rude. However, after Puck anoints Demetrius’ eyes with Cupid’s potion, his feelings toward her change. He falls deeply in love with her and expresses his admiration: “O Helen, goddess, nymph, perfect, divine! To what, my love, shall I compare thine eyne?” (3.2.140-141.93). At first, Helena believes he is making fun of her: “O spite! O hell! I see you all are bent to set against me for your merriment,” (3.2.148-149.93). After the lovers awake from their sleep, Helena believes Demetrius truly loves her: “And I have found Demetrius like a jewel, mine own and not mine own,” (4.1.199-200.135). Later that day, Demetrius and Helena are married. Although the play results in feelings of love and happiness between Demetrius and Helena, their love is not real. Demetrius only loves …show more content…
Hermia’s father wants her to marry Demetrius: “Stand forth, Demetrius. -My noble lord,- this man hath my consent to marry her,” (1.1.25-26.9). However, Hermia is deeply in love with Lysander: “Lysander, thou hast given her rhymes and interchanged love tokens with my child,” (1.1.29-30.9). Hermia betrays her father by refusing to marry Demetrius because she is loyal to Lysander. Theseus’ threat to Hermia to either “die the death, or to abjure forever the society of men,” (1.1.9.67-68.11) does not phase her feelings. To be able to be together, Hermia and Lysander are willing to run away and leave behind their friends and family: “There gentle Hermia, may I marry thee; and to that place the sharp Athenian law cannot pursue us,” (1.1.163-164.17). While in the forest, Lysander wants to sleep beside Hermia, but she expresses her discomfort with this. Lysander accepts her wishes and does not pressure her into anything: “O, take the sense, sweet, of my innocence!” (2.2.51.57). This is a sign of real love, that he is patient with her and does not force her to do something she is not ready for. In the climax, Lysander is placed under the magic potion and falls in love with Helena: “And yours of Helena to me bequeath, whom I do love and will do till my death,” (3.2.169-170.93). Hermia becomes upset and jealous that Lysander has left her: “What love could press Lysander from my side?” (3.2.189.95). The only reason
Lysander tells Theseus that Demetrius "Made love to … Helena, And won her soul.” Helena says that before Demetrius looked upon Hermia, "He hail'd down oaths that he was only mine.” In an attempt to win back some of Demetrius's affection, Helena tells him of Hermia's plan to meet in the wood and elope with Lysander.
The Greek myth of Theseus and Hippolyta tells of Theseus kidnapping Hippolyta in order to take her as his wife (“Theseus”). In the play, the character Theseus alludes (within the allusion) to these circumstances: “. . . I wooed thee with my sword and won thy love doing thee injuries. But I will wed thee . . . with pomp, with triumph, and with reveling” (Shakespeare 1.1.16-19). Interestingly, in the myth, Theseus never marries Hippolyta like he does in A Midsummer Night’s Dream. Hippolyta instead escapes, and Theseus is forced to look elsewhere for love (Theseus). This might make one wonder why Shakespeare chose to change the story’s ending. Perhaps this change helps to foreshadow Hermia’s eventual escape from Demetrius’s
In act two scene two Lysander continues to insult Hermia. For example in the book it states “ Content with Hermia? No, I do repent…” (2.2.118-120). This shows that Lysander wants Helena’s love, but he is trying to hard to get it. In act three scene two Helena finds that both Lysander and Demetrius are “mocking” her. For example in the book it states “ ...I pray you,though you mock me, gentlemen.” (3.2.314). This shows that Helena doesn’t believe that Demetrius and Lysander “love” her. Oberon and Lysander find it impossible to control love.
Despite the fact that Demetrius was profusely adamant in gaining Hermia’s hand in marriage, instead, the young man was recently spotted betraying his promises to wholly devote to Hermia. After disappearing into the forest for some days, Demetrius’s intention of pursuing his fiancée was replaced, and Demetrius proclaimed his love to another maiden: Helena.
Furthermore, Lysander and Hermia are the true lovers in the play Midsummer Night’s Dream. The reason the love between both Hermia and Lysander is true is because they both love each other equally. Hermia’s love is mirrored by Lysander’s love in full detail. True love is not a one way street. True love is not one person loving another person more the significant other.
A Midsummer Night’s Dream, penned by the acclaimed author William Shakespeare, demonstrates erratic relationships in the form of a romantic comedy. The play takes place in ancient Athens where Theseus, duke of Athens, and his fiancé, Hippolyta, prepare for their grand wedding. During the preparations, Theseus must settle a dispute between a man named Eugeus and his daughter, Hermia. Hermia desires to marry a charming young man by the name of Lysander, however, her father forces her to wed Demetrius. Throughout the story, Hermia and many other women, battle with their love affairs. Through these chaotic love affairs, the predominant female characters show their strengths as well as their weaknesses through various events in the play. Two
One of William Shakespeare's famous play A Midsummer Night’s Dream is well known for its romantic, comical and magical plot line. It tells the story of young lovers, their encounters with fairies, and curses to seek revenge. All of which takes place in mythal Athens and a enchanted forest. In the opening scene Hermia is desperately arguing with her father Egeus who wants her to marry Demetrius an Athenian man who deeply is in love with Hermia. In her defense she compels her father to change his mind because in reality she is in love with Lysander. Therefore to escape this arranged marriage she decides to run away with Lysander. However, along the way Demetrius secretly follows them, and little does he know that he too has a companion behind him. Helena, Demetrius’ former lover still loves Demetrius and she follows him through this forest, ironically Helena happens to be one of Hermia’s closest friends. And from then a love quadrangle is formed within these young lovers.
Unlike Lysander, Demetrius is not willing to take “no” for an answer. This is expressed not only in his persistent demands to marry Hermia, but also in his interaction with Helena in the woods. “You do impeach your modesty too much, to leave the city and commit yourself into the hands of one that loves you not; to trust the opportunity of night, and the ill counsel of a desert place, with the rich worth of your virginity,” (2.1.214-219). This line, if his previous actions had not done so already, reveals the true character of Demetrius: an arrogant, violent, selfish
Helena was the younger sister of Hermia. It often bothered her that her sister got all the attention, and she even want it. Helena was madly in love with Demetrius, However Demetrius was arranged to marry Hermia. Helena truly believe she was not good enough, and could not understand why Demetrius did now want
Love is an immeasurable force that is the greatest bond that people can hold in the world.True love lasts a lifetime and is able to sustain itself through hard times. Temporary love lacks the ability to sustain power and only lasts a limited amount of time. In William Shakespeare's play, A Midsummers Nights Dream, love is shown through many unique and plentiful relationships. The contrast between temporary and true love are shown through relationships that are based established on lust are shown by relationships like Oberon and Hippolyta as well as Titania and Theseus. Fabricated love, through relationships that are influenced through Cupid's flower or arranged marriages. Finally true love is shown through Lysander
A Midsummer’s Night Dream, written by William Shakespeare, is a complicated love story that involves four teenagers. Hermia and Lysander are so in love; however, Hermia’s dad wants her to marry Demetrius. Helena is chasing after Demetrius, who treats her like a dog. The speaker is none other than the love-struck Helena. Her speech is not directed to anybody because Helena was alone, yet she still wants to make it clear how deeply in love she is with Demetrius. Shakespeare uses many literary devices to further explain and state that Helena loves Demetrius.
Even though Demetrius has left Helena for Hermia, she still still loves him. This causes her to do insane things in order to try to win his affection. For example, When Hermia tells Helena her plot to run away, Helena reveals the plot to Demetrius. She says, “ I will go tell him [Demetrius] of fair Hermia’s flight” (1.1. 246) Helena’s attempts at winning Demetrius’s heart displays her insanity because her plans are just shots in the dark, and in no way could they help her. By telling Demetrius of Hermia’s plan, she has hurt herself in two ways. First, She has betrayed her best friend. Second, she has enabled Demetrius to find Hermia, bring her back to Athens and possibly marry her. Demetrius Marrying Hermia would ruin Helena’s ability to marry Demetrius, therefore ruining Helena’s plan. Helena’s plan demonstrates how crazy her love for Demetrius has made her, because she will do anything to try to win Demetrius’s affection, including things that have a very little chance of working.
The relationship between Demetrius and Hermia is problematic, in that Demetrius is seeking the affections of Hermia, while she is in love with Lysander. However, Hermia’s father approves of Demetrius and tries to force her to marry him, but Hermia refuses because of her love for Lysander (A Midsummer Night’s Dream 1.1.22-82). Lysander points out the flaw in the situation through this comment, “You have her father 's love, Demetrius –/Let me have Hermia 's. Do you marry him,” (A Midsummer Night’s Dream 1.1.93-94). The second flawed relationship is between Lysander and Helena, as a result of an enchantment put on Lysander that made him fall in love with Helena. Helena does not want the affections of Lysander, but rather the love of Demetrius, and believes that Lysander is taunting her. In addition, this relationship creates tensions because Hermia is in love with Lysander (A Midsummer Night’s Dream 2.2.109-140). Both relationships are not desirable due to a lack of mutual admiration and the creation of non-peaceful and unsatisfying
The Role of the Fairies in A Midsummer Nights Dream Introduction = == == == ==
Demetrius, Helena, Lysander, and Hermia are the for young teens of the story. At the beginning of the play it is Lysander and Helena who are madly in love, and are planning to to escape from Athens to elope. Helena is in love with Demetrius, and Demetrius cared for Helena and liked her a lot but was not in love with her. As soon as Demetrius sees Hermia he immediately stops having any feelings for Helena whatsoever and is deeply in love with Hermia. Demetrius thought that he had fallen in love at first sight, but Helena was determined to show him differently. Demetrius: ³ Tempt not too much the hatred of my spirit,/ For I am sick when I do look on thee.² Helena: ³And I am sick when I look not on you.² (Act II, sc. i, lines 218-220) This piece of dialogue shows how much Demetrius is now in love with Hermia from just seeing her, and how disgusted he feels when he looks upon Helena who he used to care about. Helena is simply just expressing how much she is love with Demetrius and how bad she feels that he is treating her in such a manner of hatred.