Love and Marriage in A Midsummer Night’s Dream
There is something to be said for the passionate love of young people, and Shakespeare said it in Romeo and Juliet. The belief that any action can be excused if one follows one's feelings is a sentimental notion that is not endorsed by Shakespeare. Thus, Theseus' suggestion in 1.1 of A Midsummer Night’s Dream, that Hermia marry a man she does not love rather than "live a barren sister" all her life would seem perfectly sensible to Shakespeare’s contemporaries.
Shakespeare writes for a public who views marriage unsentimentally. At all levels of society, from king to commoner, marriage is entered into for commercial and dynastic reasons. People marry to increase their property and to secure its inheritance. Wise parents, who may dispose of their children in marriage, will of course try to avoid matches which the contracting parties find intolerable, but there are limits to this. On the other hand, children have a duty of obedience. And the husband Egeus proposes for Hermia is by no means unattractive; his chief defect is that he is not Lysander, whom Hermia loves, perhaps intemperately.
The play shows how the ideal relationship is that in which the affections and the reasonable mind are both in harmony. At the start of the play, both Demetrius and Helena are clearly at fault. Demetrius has allowed his love for Helena to abate; she, by fawning on him, is guilty of doting, which exacerbates his dislike. An honourable man would stand by his promise and try to re-discover his love for Helena, and it is this which draws Lysander's taunt that Demetrius is "spotted and inconstant". In time, perhaps, Demetrius might reconsider Helena's merits, but in the brief ti...
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...up with mud", for example; we learn of "the farthest steep of India", of Oberon's various favorites.
Against the beautiful lyric and exotic account of the changeling's pregnant mother we have the homely jollity of Puck's pranks on the "fat and bean-fed horse" or "wisest aunt". Oberon gives us many set-piece descriptions: of the "bank whereon the wild thyme blows", of the "fair vestal" whom Cupid's bolt failed to hit, and of Titania's "seeking sweet favours for this hateful fool" (Bottom), among others. Here Shakespeare shows us what can be done "in this kind", lest the failure of Pyramus and Thisbe lead us to the conclusion that the theatre can only depict what can literally be brought on stage. In watching a play filled with references to moonlight, darkness, day-break we do well to recall that it was first performed in open-air theatres in daylight!
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.
In Act I Scene I, Egeus, father of Hermia, is clearly upset with his daughter’s choice in Lysander as a suitor. Egeus’ has so much love for Demetrius that he has chosen him to be Hermia’s husband in an arranged marriage. Egeus’ desire to have Hermia marry Demetrius is so strong that he would rather Hermia be dead than marry another. Egeus implores upon Theseus, “As she is mine, I may dispose of her, which shall be either to this
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.
Demetrius is a fool because he is unaware that his love changes through out the play. We learn from Demetrius that he has loved Helena before bestowing his affections on Hermia ( 1.1 106-107 , 242-243 ). It is not for nothing that he is termed “spotted and inconstant man'; ( 1.1 110 ). Athough at the start of the play Demetrius no longer loves Helena. ( 2.1 195 ) Demetrius says, “I love thee not , therefore pursue me not.'; ( 2.1 201 ) “Hence , get thee gone , and follow me no more.'; In Act 3 Scene 2 , Demetrius after being juiced begins to love Helena. ( 3.2 172-176 ) Demetrius says , “Lysander , keep thy Hermia; I will none. If e’er I loved her , all that love is gone. My heart to her but as guest – wise sojourned , And not to helen is it home returned , there to reamain.'; This proves how fickle he is , for he is not aware of his changing love once for Helena then for Hermia then returning to Helena with the help of the mystical father Oberon.
Let’s first talk about Helena and Demetrius. Helena is “damaged goods” because of Demetrius. Demetrius is still a perfectly fine match for anyone. The girls in Athens at this time are disrespected and only seen as items that one can own. In the play, it says “Your wrongs do set a scandal on my sex/We cannot fight for love as men may do. (2.1.244-245) In the play, since men are well-respected, they can do whatever they want and not have to pay the consequences. Since Helena has the “broken seal”, she is not respected, and no boy wants her. Yet, Demetrius is the same way, except that nobody cares whether or not he is...
Jack had a bit of a war-mongering stripe in him. His need for conflict and competition is evident throughout the book, such as butting heads with Ralph and bullying Piggy. Even worse, he was the “Leader of the choir boys…who followed him everywhere.” (Golding 16). He had a following before he reached the island, whereas Ralph had to build his own faction. As a final advantage, Jack was also one of the older boys on the island, so anyone younger would automatically look to him for advice and help, along with Ralph. However, being that many of the other boys owed their loyalties to Jack due to their collective participation in choir, some of the stragglers might seek to go to the larger “side” that developed in the latter half of the book. Solomon Asch’s explained this in his work on conformity, which states that if a large number of individuals are moving in a direction, more should follow. Luckily for Ralph and Piggy, it was not unanimous, or the likelihood of them gaining followers would be almost nil. Piggy had predispositions that were better earlier on in the story, but soon faded into obscurity. Piggy was representative of the educated man of society; the one society produces so that the individual can be successfully adapted to society. While his keen ideas were useful at the beginning of their endeavors, his physical shortcomings ultimately doomed him.
“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.
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
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.
In the first part of the play Egeus has asked the Duke of Athens, Theseus, to rule in favor of his parental rights to have his daughter Hermia marry the suitor he has chosen, Demetrius, or for her to be punished. Lysander, who is desperately in love with Hermia, pleads with Egeus and Theseus for the maiden’s hand, but Theseus’, who obviously believes that women do not have a choice in the matter of their own marriage, sides with Egeus, and tells Hermia she must either consent to marrying Demetrius, be killed, or enter a nunnery. In order to escape from the tragic dilemma facing Hermia, Lysander devises a plan for him and his love to meet the next evening and run-off to Lysander’s aunt’s home and be wed, and Hermia agrees to the plan. It is at this point in the story that the plot becomes intriguing, as the reader becomes somewhat emotionally “attached’’ to the young lovers and sympathetic of their plight. However, when the couple enters the forest, en route to Lysander’s aunt’s, it is other mischievous characters that take the story into a whole new realm of humorous entertainment...
Love plays a very significant role in this Shakespearian comedy, as it is the driving force of the play: Hermia and Lysander’s forbidden love and their choice to flee Athens is what sets the plot into motion. Love is also what drives many of the characters, and through readers’ perspectives, their actions may seem strange, even comical to us: from Helena pursuing Demetrius and risking her reputation, to fairy queen Titania falling in love with Bottom. However, all these things are done out of love. In conclusion, A Midsummer Night’s Dream displays the blindness of love and how it greatly contradicts with reason.
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.
These beliefs do not, however, hold him back for long as the society he now lives in alter his previous values and morals. A majority of the boys on the island are wanting to go after the pigs for meat. Jacks major convern is to obtain meat and as Ralph is trying to convinve him to help with shelter jack says, “ We want meat” (Golding 51). Golding is making Jacks growing savage nature blatantly obvious, as he ignores the need for shelter and simply wants to go hunt down pigs. The hunt is no longer merely a source of gathering food but has transmuted into the only activity of interest and fulfillment for jack and his hunters. Now a complete savage Jack has acquired a thirst for killing and hunting. This thirst, and abso...
Throughout the book William Golding makes many excellent uses of symbols and a very large intertwining web of symbols. He created an alternate course to history with a very complex plot describing society and its flaws. He also identified many tenants that define the society that we live in today. My arguement is crucial in better understanding the underlying message and and understanding what the author is trying to convey throughout his book.