In A Midsummer Night's Dream, one of the masterpieces of William Shakespeare, Shakespeare explores various aspects of love and friendship. With the help of the main characters such as Lysander, Demetrious Helena and Hermia, he endeavors that the path of love is full of obstacles, however, if one is committed and faithful, he/she can defy those obstacles leading him/her to success. As Lysander says “The course of true love never did run smooth”, the love stories presented in the play undergo difficult situations but eventually the genuine love is recognized by the triumph of the true loves.
As in virtually every love story, Lysander and Hermia’s love story has a twist to it: Hermia's father demands Hermia to marry Demetrious. This is a very classical situation. In the past, parents had the rights to arrange their daughter’s marriage to whoever they please. Usually they would exercise their rights which is the very case in Hermia’s life. This creates a big problem and cause a tremendous pressure for Hermia and Lysander, as they love each other. In addition, the Athenian rule that governs father's right to choose groom for his daughter promotes the duke to warn Hermia to make a decision in very short period of four days that either she wants to be a nun for life or marry Demetrious.
Furthermore, the absence of Hemia's mother in the story seems to make it difficult for Hermia, however it’s can’t be said that her mother’s presence could have alter the situation. If her mother was alive, as a women herself she might have understood where Hermia stands. At least Hermia would have gotten some more support. Nevertheless, even if her mother had supported her, women had very little to say in any major decisions during those...
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...heir love lives.
Despite the fact that all the difficulties lovers face, eventually everyone gets along and they get their loves and problems seems to be fixed at least for the time being. The Duke finally supports Lysander and Hermia's marriage and Helena gladly accepts Demetrious although she is skeptical of his unexpected change in his behavior. The Duke changing his mind over Lysander and Helena's love and deciding not to enforce the Athenian rule that requires him to support Hermia’s father’s poition. Even after the opposition from Hermia’s father he allows to Lysander to marry Hermia in his own wedding day along with Demetrious and Helena. The story gets a happy ending unlike many of the Shakespeare work such as Romeo and Juliet. Although the characters journey to their love were full of challenges, ultimately they are victorious in achieving their love.
Hermia , Lysander , Helena and Demetrius represent young love in Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream . They are potrayed as foolish and fickle , acting like children and requiring a parental figure to guide them . The parental figures are Hermia’s father , Egeus , and figuratively Theseus , the mortal ruler , and Oberon , the mystical ruler.
The hilarious play, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, by William Shakespeare, tells the twisted love story of four Athenians who are caught between love and lust. The main characters: Hermia, Helena, Lysander, and Demetrius are in a ‘love square’. Hermia and Lysander are true love enthusiasts, and love each other greatly. Demetrius is in love with Hermia, and Helena, Hermia’s best friend, is deeply and madly in love with Demetrius. Hermia and Lysander try to elope in the woods because Egeus, Hermia’s father, disapproves of Lysander. Helena, hearing about their plans, tells Demetrius, and all four of them end up in the woods where Lysander’s quotation, “The course of true love never did run smooth”(28), becomes extremely evident due to several supernatural mix-ups, authority, and jealousy.
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.
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
Presented with many obstacles and complications to overcome, we know that Hermia is the protagonist in the play. She has relations with almost all the characters in the play. The first and most important relationship is her love, Lysander. From the very beginning we see that Hermia loves Lysander with all her heart and soul and he loved her the same. The only tragic flaw in their relationship was when Puck put the magic juice in Lysander's eyes and he fell in love with Helena. Hermia felt sad and rejected when that happened. But when Puck finally realized that he had made a mistake and corrected it, Hermia and Lysander were in their heavenly bliss of love once again.
The story starts with a fight about love. Egeus, who is Hermia’s father, does not want Hermia to be in love or with Lysander at all. Egeus wants his daughter to be with Demetrius who is in love with Hermia, but Hermia does not love him. Egeus goes to Theseus who is the Duke of Athens. Egeus tells him about the situation, and of course the Duke will go with Egeus side since he is the father of Hermia and he decides what she should do. Now Hermia is stuck with marrying Demetrius, becoming a nun, or being put to death. Hermia and Lysander decide to run away in the woods where there are no rules and where nothing can stop them from being in love. Hermia trusting Helena, who is her best friend with the secret she tells her. Helena is in love with Demetrius. She goes to tell Demetrius that Hermia has decided to run to the woods in hopes Demetrius would take her back.
Hermia showed lack of concern for authority and consequences because of her love for Lysander. Immediately, Hermia showed rebellion against not only her father who had literal ownership over her, but also against the Duke Theseus. Despite her father and the Duke’s orders Hermia was willing to put her life on the line out of her love for Lysander. She was even bold enough to say, “I know not by what power I am made bold, nor how it may concern my modesty…but I beseech your Grace that I may know the worst that may befall me in this case… (3).” Hermia
Love, lust and infatuation all beguile the senses of the characters in this dreamy and whimsical work of Shakespeare, and leads them to act in outlandish ways, which throughly amuses the reader. True love does prevail in the end for Hermia and Lysander, and the initial charm of infatuation ends up proving to have happy consequence for Helena and Demetrius as well. Even when at first the reader thinks that, in theory, the effects the potion will wear off and Lysander will once again reject Helena, Oberon places a blessings on all the couples that they should live happily ever after.
In the struggles of Hermia and Lysander to find a place where they can freely express their true love, it is evident that the course of something as scarce as true love always comes with obstacles. Lysander says: “How now, my love? Why is your cheek so pale? / How chance the roses there do fade so fast?” (1.1.130-131), showing that he and Hermia make a faithful couple truly showing their adoration for each other. However, Hermia’s father Egeus refuses to allow to these two lovers marry. This is the conflict Hermia faces: to disobey her father (and the Athenian law), or to mind her father’s will and allow this “edict in destiny” to lose course. “O hell, to choose love by another’s eyes!” (1.1.142), Hermia decides. Hermia chooses to follow the path her true love brings rather than to do what her father insists. In this example, complications manifest in the troubles with true love. In addition, even Titania and Oberon have difficulties
Demetrius and Lysander both speak in figurative language and both are very handsome. Their love for Helena and Hernia deal mainly with physical attraction and flirtatious acts than love that captures body, mind, and soul. If any of the four characters posses anything of realistic love, it would be Hermia. She was willing to risk death in order to be with Lysander. This act of love goes beyond any other in this play, and demonstrates Hermia’s devotion to Lysander. "My good Lysander, I swear to thee by Cupid’s strongest bow- Tomorrow truly will I meet with thee" (Act 1, Scene 1, Line #).
Hermia is a gentle, beautiful and loving soul that has been oppressed by societal norms. In her time, women were seen as property. For instance, her own father and The Duke of Athens demand that she marry Demetrius or face death. Hermia’s autonomy is violated and she is having her sexual experiences regulated by family and state. However, she is brave and courageous enough to take on the challenge of being sexually autonomous. This will cause her to feel torn and insecure about her identity, since her society is one that does not respect her beauty or independence.
...ities. Love is a long hard road and cannot be reached by taking a straight, clear-cut path. Even though throughout the scene Hermia and Lysander are in constant conflict, a resolution is eventually reached. Hermia and Lysander remain in love, proving that true love can prevail.
The commencement to both relationships are very different. Lysander and Hermia are in love from the very beginning and decide to run away to get married when they find out Hermia will be killed if she does not marry Demetrius. These two are truly in love that they will even risk their lives to be together. Their counterparts Demetrius and Helena start at a much different place in their relationship. Demetrius is in love with Hermia and chases her and Lysander into the
The principal power struggle present in the play exists between Egeus/Theseus and Hermia. In Act 1 Scene 1, Hermia straightforwardly resists Egeus' wishes for her to marry Demetrius rather than Lysander. Through Egeus' eyes, Hermia is seen to have a 'stubborn harshness' (I.i.38) and she won't 'consent to marry with Demetrius' (I.i.40). She challenges Egeus despite knowing that tradition allows the father to wed his daughter off to whoever he wishes. Anyhow, she plots with Lysander and consents to his arrangement of leaving Athens to Lysander's widow aunt whose house is out of reach from the 'sharp Athenian law' (I.i.162). While fleeing may appear like a nuanced and modest form of insubordination, it is still a corroboration of Hermia's rights and opportunity as a woman to pick who she
Each of the lovers proves that they are fools: Demetrius, because he is unaware how his love changes, Helena, because she cahses Demetrius even though he does not love her, Lysander, because he persuades Hermia to run away with him, and Hermia, because she risks death for love