How Does Shakespeare Use Similes In A Midsummer Night's Dream

Throughout Shakespeare’s numerous works it is very clear to see why he is considered one of, if not, the greatest writer in recorded history. The way in which he uses his words to paint vivid pictures and scenes is truly remarkable. One way in which he is able to do so with such great aptitude can be seen through the way Shakespeare uses metaphors and similes throughout his works. A simile is defined as a figure of speech that makes a comparison, while a metaphor is defined as a simile that uses the word like or as in order to connect the things being compared. In Shakespeare’s play, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, many uses of both similes and metaphors can be seen being put to masterful use by Shakespeare and on many occasions they help

to get the point across of what is being said better than if it were just obviously stated. Being able to make a simile or metaphor do that is a very hard thing to accomplish, but Shakespeare makes it seem almost effortless in the way his literary devices are put to such flawless use.
In the play, Midsummer Night’s Dream, while Egeus is first attempting to get Theseus to convince his daughter, Hermia, to marry Demetrius rather than Lysander, who she truly wants to marry, many metaphors and similes are used in order to express this father-daughter relationship. One simile that really stuck out was used during an exchange between Theseus and Hermia:
One that composed your beauties, yea, and one
To whom you are but as a form in wax
By him imprinted and within his power
To leave the figure or disfigure it.
Theseus, when speaking to Hermia about having to obey what her father, Egeus, wants her to do uses this simile.

But, rather than just overtly stating that, he uses a simile in order to get his point across to Hermia. In the first part of the simile, Theseus is first stating that Hermia is basically just her father but in a different form. Theseus does this by comparing Hermia to a “form of wax” of her father, thus using a simile to get across the point that she is her father’s child and is therefore made by and of him. In a way, Theseus uses this to then preface the idea that Egeus is allowed to make Hermia do whatever he pleases and therefore she should have to marry whoever he choses. The use of Hermia being a wax figure does not end there though, it continues into the next two lines. Theseus then goes onto say that since Egeus has imprinted, or made, Hermia he has the right to do with her what he pleases. Rather than just saying this, though, Shakespeare uses another simile by saying that Egeus can choose to leave the wax figure or disfigure it if he chooses to do so. This continued the simile that Hermia is a wax figure made by her father, and also in a different way continued to show that Theseus is siding with Egeus in the matter of what Hermia has to

do.
This idea of a daughter being a wax figure of her father is still something that is very relatable in today’s world. It was and will always be true that the birth child of parents will end up looking more or less similar to the parents. It is also true that the child will most likely end up having similar ideas and traits as the parents as they have molded them, similarly to how a wax figure is molded by a sculptor. Thus furthering the simile even more in that, not only did Egeus create the wax figure, or namely Hermia, but also he also then molded and shaped her into what he thought was a suitable form. The thing that has changed very much since Shakespeare’s time is the idea that a parent can actually mold their child into exactly what they want them to be. Although in some societies things like arranged marriages and planning out a child’s life is still a thing, in many societies it is now up to the child to choose their own path and do as they please in life. During the 1500’s though, it was not up to the child how their life was set and the course of their life was up to the parents. In a way, the parents of a child were able to put the final structure of the wax figure into shape without taking the child’s opinion into the matter of how they wanted the figure to look. While in today’s society, especially in America, the child is able to decide how they want their final wax figure to look and be seen by others.
The second part of the simile where Theseus says that Egeus has the right to leave or disfigure the wax figure shows just how little respect, power, and privilege the women of Shakespeare’s time had. In the 1500’s if you were born a woman you were told exactly what to do and when to do it, who to marry and when it would be and other things of this nature. That is why it was so crazy for Egeus to think that Hermia won’t listen to his wishes and marry Demetrius, but rather she wants to marry Lysander instead. During this time period it was unheard of for a woman to disobey her father and especially in the realm of marriage, where it was clear that the father had the final say in the matter. In a way this part of the simile works in two ways as well. The idea that Theseus has the right to leave or disfigure Hermia can be taken more literally as the idea that he has the right to keep her or get rid of her, or kill her it seems. Or it can be taken in a different way in the idea that Theseus has the choice to leave her alone and let her marry Lysander, which will keep her happy as it would seem so would the wax figure if you left it alone. Theseus can choose to disfigure Hermia, which can be taken as him making her marry Demetrius and disfiguring her plans for herself and disfiguring her own self-value. But, it is fairly obvious that in either sense of the simile it can be seen that if he is to leave Hermia then she will be for the better, but if he is to disfigure Hermia then she will be worse off. Again, comparing this to the time we are living in now, it is pretty clear that a father in a more liberal society would leave the wax figure while in Shakespeare’s society it seems as thought the father would choose to disfigure the statue.
In this simile the true genius of Shakespeare can be seen in how beautifully written the passage is and also in how many different ways the writing can be dissected. All his literary devices used end up having many different meanings and can be seen to be used in many different ways. It is remarkable how he is able to write things in a time so long ago but still seem to remain fresh and new to readers of today with similes and metaphors such as the one discussed above.