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.
In the beginning Helena vouches to be madly in love with Demetrius although his adoration lies with another (Hermia). Demetrius’ passionate hate for his admirer isn’t in the least hidden, scorning her with the harsh truth: “ Do I entice you? Do I speak you fair?/Or rather do I not in plainest truth/Tell you I do not, nor cannot love you?” (II.i. 199-201). Words from the heart, told before threatening to rape and abandon ...
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.
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.
“The course of true love never did run smooth” ~William Shakespeare. In the play A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Theseus and Hippolyta plan their wedding, which includes a play by the craftsman. While the other characters are trying to figure out their love for one another, the fairies interfere. Throughout the play the characters alternate lovers often. Although they bicker at one another, everyone finds their way to their true soul mate. The characters in William Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream are successful, after many trials and tribulations, in acquiring their desired relationships.
Love is chaotic and free, and because love is so powerful, we often do extreme and erratic things to capture it. The tradition of marriage, or mawage, is so firmly established in history that the gender roles common to marriage are often inescapable, no matter how strong love is, or how powerful a person is. In A Midsummer Night’s Dream, William Shakespeare uses imagery to portray the theme of gender roles and show how love has the spell-bounding power to either change or reinforce those roles.
What is love? Love is a very powerful emotion! Love is something that can come at any time in your life. It can appear in any way, shape, or form. In the famous play “Midsummer Night's Dream,” by William Shakespeare, love is a major theme that affects many people and causes many challenges. In order for love to conquer these challenges one needs to stay true to their love, they may need the help of some magic, and must be persistent.
A Midsummer Night’s Dream, written by William Shakespeare, is a tale of when trickery interferes with love, causing lots of twist and turns in the romantic relationships of the characters Hermia, Lysander, Demetrius, and Helena. Within the first 100 lines, preliminary stressors are revealed. Hermia’s father, Egeus, has spoken his complaints to King Oberon about his trepidation regarding the love triangle Hermia has put herself into with Lysander, her lover, and Demetrius, Egeus’ choice. Even though Demetrius is aware of the love Lysander and Hermia have, this does not discourage him from continuing to pursue her. Furthermore, another Athenian woman, Helena, repeatedly professes her love to Demetrius just to be ridiculed
Infatuation causes Helena to lose all sense of dignity, as can be seen when in the woods, she desperately pleads with Demetrius to ?but treat me as your spaniel?. Here, Helena also becomes irrational, obsessed with pursuing Demetrius, though it is obvious that Demetrius is fixated on winning Hermia?s hand in marriage. Helena?s infatuation also causes her to see things from a skewed perspective, for she falsely believes that when she divulges Hermia?s plans for eloping with Lysander, Demetrius? love for Helena will rekindle. As the audience, we know that the most probable course of action for Demetrius upon hearing such news is to pursue Lysander and Hermia, or to report them to Theseus or Egeus. Clearly, infatuation has clouded Helena?s ability to think clearly, and she sees things in her own idealistic way.
Love is a powerful emotion, capable of turning reasonable people into fools. Out of love, ridiculous emotions arise, like jealousy and desperation. Love can shield us from the truth, narrowing a perspective to solely what the lover wants to see. Though beautiful and inspiring when requited, a love unreturned can be devastating and maddening. In his play, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, William Shakespeare comically explores the flaws and suffering of lovers. Four young Athenians: Demetrius, Lysander, Hermia, and Helena, are confronted by love’s challenge, one that becomes increasingly difficult with the interference of the fairy world. Through specific word choice and word order, a struggle between lovers is revealed throughout the play. In A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Shakespeare uses descriptive diction to emphasize the impact love has on reality and one’s own rationality, and how society’s desperate pursuit to find love can turn even strong individuals into fools.
William Shakespeare has a habit of creating complicated plots, and A Midsummer Night’s Dream is no exception. Three distinct worlds are presented within the play, and the story’s theme is most prevalent when they collide or mirror one another. Shakespeare’s allusions very intentionally cast light on these themes as he uses them to develop characters, settings, and comedy. The point of that development is the effective delivery of the theme that love renders us equals.
The overriding theme of the play "A Midsummer Night's Dream" by William Shakespeare deals with the nature of love. Though true love seems to be held up as an ideal, false love is mostly what we are shown. Underneath his frantic comedy, Shakespeare seems to be asking the questions all lovers ask in the midst of their confusion: How do we know when love is real? How can we trust ourselves that love is real when we are so easily swayed by passion and romantic conventions? Some readers may sense bitterness behind the comedy, but will probably also recognize the truth behind Shakespeare's satire. Often, love leads us down blind alleys and makes us do things we regret later. The lovers within the scene, especially the men, are made to seem rather shallow. They change the objects of their affections, all the time swearing eternal love to one or the other. In this scene Shakespeare presents the idea that both false love and true love can prevail..
Love can be quite chaotic at times. As much as poets and songwriters promote the idea of idyllic romantic love, the experience in reality is often fraught with emotional turmoil. When people are in love, they tend to make poor decisions, from disobeying authority figures to making rash, poorly thought-out choices. In the play A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Shakespeare uses various motifs to illustrate how love, irrationality, and disobedience are thematically linked to disorder.
During much of the play, Helena relentlessly chases Demetrius, giving him love no matter how many times he spurns her. While in pursuit of him in the woods, where he tells her that he will never reciprocate her feelings, she tells him, “I am your spaniel; and, Demetrius,/The more you beat me, I will fawn on you” (II.i.203-204). She is so desperate to win him over that she lowers her own status, calling herself his dog; no matter how many times he may abuse her, she will always adore him. Out of love, Helena is willing to swallow her pride to prove her devotion to him. More evidence of Helena’s blind love towards Demetrius can be found in her overlooking the flaws in Demetrius’ character. For example, he proves himself to be quite insensitive towards Helena: when they are in the woods, he says he will “leave [her] to the mercy of the wild beasts” (II.i.228) if she doesn’t stop following him. He also says to her, “…I am sick when I do look on thee” (II.i.212). Lastly, he threatens her, saying “…if thou follow me, do not believe/But I shall do thee mischief in the wood” (II.i.237). Helena acknowledges this aspect of his character, though choos...
Namely, Helena is very jealous of others, especially her best friend Hermia. Helena says to Hermia, “O, teach me how you look and with what art/You sway the motion of Demetrius’ heart!/O, that your frowns would teach my smiles such skill” (1.1.196-200). Helena is jealous because both Lysander and Demetrius love Hermia. Her jealousy hurts her because it makes her selfish wanting Demetrius more. Considering this, Helena also has problems trusting others. Helena does not believe that Hermia will let her have Demetrius. Helena says, “He hailed down oaths that he was only mine” (1.1.249). Demetrius used to love Helena but then fell in love with Hermia. Now Helena has lost her trust in others. She does not trust that Hermia will stay with Lysander and not take Demetrius. She still believes that Hermia and Demetrius will marry because of her insecurities. Similarly, Helena is also insecure on how she looks. She claims, “Through Athens I am thought as fair as she. But what of that?/Demetrius thinks not so” (1.1.233-234). Demetrius was in love with Helena but once he met her best friend Hermia, he fell in love with her. Helena’s jealousy allows her to hurt her own friend because she is insecure. For Helena to find love she must move past her insecurities and focus on herself rather than
In his A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Shakespeare contrasts the love existing in the relationships of friends and of lovers. Love here does not refer to romantic emotion exclusively; “love” means connection and empathy with another being. The female relationships in the poem, between Hermia and Helena, and Titania and her fairies, exist with a love based on connections between the females. However, the lovers’ relationships arise from a love produced by desire for another’s differences. The females produce a strong bond with each other that exists to provide the other person with a better version of themselves and protection from destruction. Love can only exist in this relationship because it exists away from outside forces, such as sight. True love does not originate from desire but connection. This connection cannot exist romantically because lust and perception interfere. Shakespeare contrasts the love existing between the same sex versus opposite sexes to reveal the female friendship’s importance in love and virginity: the love between two females in friendship exists independent of outside forces, without domination or penetration, therefore providing the sole form of true love.
Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream is often read as a dramatization of the incompatibility of “reason and love” (III.i. 127), yet many critics pay little attention to how Shakespeare manages to draw his audience into meditating on these notions independently (Burke 116). The play is as much about the conflict between passion and reason concerning love, as it is a warning against attempting to understand love rationally. Similarly, trying to understand the play by reason alone results in an impoverished reading of the play as a whole – it is much better suited to the kind of emotive, arbitrary understanding that is characteristic of dreams. Puck apologises directly to us, the audience, in case the play “offend[s]” us, but the primary offence we can take from it is to our rational capacity to understand the narrative, which takes place in a world of inverses and contrasts. The fantastical woods is contrasted to the order of the Athenian law, and Elizabethan values of the time are polarised throughout the narrative, such as Helena’s feeling ugly even though she is tall and fair. A Midsummer Night’s Dream is thus not solely a comedic meditation on the nature of the origin or meaning of love, it also cautions against trying to rationalise the message of the play. Puck, who by his very nature cannot exist in rational society, propels the action of A Midsummer Night’s Dream. He is a manifestation of mischief and the unpredictability of nature, which governs not only the fantastical woods outside of Athens, but also the Athenians themselves when it comes to love. Yet, it is Puck, and thus nature, which rectifies the imbalance of the lovers in the beginning of the play. Rationalising, o...