Love v. Reality – A Comparison
A person’s perception of reality can be changed or altered based on the events that happen in their life. The experiences of one’s past, especially when related to love, can shape their personality and values. In A Midsummer Night’s Dream by William Shakespeare, Hermia, Helena, Lysander, and Demetrius battle the chaos of intertwining love interests and magical fairies in Athens. Similarly, in Vertigo by Alfred Hitchcock, Scottie is wrapped around the finger of his old friend Gavin and made an accomplice to murder while investigating the alarming behavior of his supposed wife, Madeleine. Most people might think that these two stories are just what they seem at face value, but these works dive deeper into the phycological
Titania is the queen of the fairies, and naturally, Oberon’s wife. For lovers, the relationship between Oberon and Titania can be very toxic and liberating at the same time. A disagreement over the destiny of a young Indian boy results in a revelation of each other’s unfaithfulness. Oberon, being the jealous type, decides to get back at Titania by enchanting her with the love potion as well, furthermore, he decides that she must fall in love with someone or thing that isn’t desirable. Here we introduce the character Bottom, a smug actor within the Athenian community who is rehearsing for an upcoming performance. A perfect candidate except for one detail, “too human”, Puck quickly solves this problem by turning Bottom’s head into that of a donkey’s, which is fitting in name and character. As Bottom walks into the forest, isolated from his crew, he wakes up Titania with his song. Titania, freshly enchanted, instantly falls to the tune of his voice and welcomes Bottom to her lair where they can keep each other company, this is shown in these quotes: “What angel wakes me from my flowery bed?” (3.1), “Come, wait upon him; lead him to my bower.” (3.1). Titania’s character is so thoroughly afflicted by the effects of the love potion that the once proud Titania, now is helplessly in love with a
A pursuer of justice, Scottie worked as a detective on a case which led to a fateful jump between buildings during a police chase. As Scottie jumps, his hands slip, and he ends up hanging from a flimsy gutter atop a multi-story building. His partner wastes no time to come to Scottie’s aid, although a wrong shifting of his weight over the ledge causes him to fall over Scottie’s back and plunge into his death, onto the streets below. This life scarring experience leaves Scottie with a condition called vertigo, which does not allow him to go up to great heights. This is taken advantage of by his old friend Gavin, who uses him in his plan to murder his wife. Scottie is led to believe that Gavin’s wife is possessed by her great-grandmother, and is forced to investigate the alarming behavior of Gavin’s supposed wife, Madeleine. Not only is Scottie perception of Gavin’s motives incorrect, Scottie also does not realize that the Madeleine he follows in not Gavin’s wife, but an actor called Judy that Gavin hired to play Madeleine’s role and follow a specific script. Unfortunately for Scottie, he ends up falling in love with Judy’s illusion which is destined to meet a tragic end. His illusion of love for Judy’s act and the loss of the illusion itself cast Scottie into a temporary state of detachment. (1:25:25 – 1:29:01). It is clear now
After a year of pampering, Logan becomes demanding and rude, he went as far to try to force Janie to do farm work. It was when this happened that Janie decided to take a stand and run away with Joe. At this time, Janie appears to have found a part of her voice and strong will. In a way, she gains a sense of independence and realizes she has the power to walk away from an unhealthy situation and does not have to be a slave to her own husband. After moving to Eatonville and marrying Joe, Janie discovers that people are not always who they seem to be.
Titania has been giving all of her time and affection to a “changeling” child, left in the custody of Titania. Not only is Oberon jealous that Titania no longer gives affection or time to him, but Oberon selfishly wants the boy to be employed as his henchman. When Titania refuses to disclose the boy’s location to Oberon, Oberon devises a plan to use magic on Titania by forcing her to fall in love with the next living creature she lays her eyes upon. How this is supposed to lead to the boy, I have no idea. But Titania ends up falling in love with an Athenian man who has the head of a donkey; using the strange donkey-love distraction, Oberon is able to locate and take the boy. Does Oberon want the boy solely for the purpose of employing him as a henchman, or does Oberon wish to rekindle a relationship between himself and Titania that the boy has interrupted? Either way, forcing your wife to fall in love with a donkey man is pretty outrageous and
Oberon is one of the most important characters in the play A Midsummer Night's Dream by William Shakespeare and is the answer to the question of why there are so many problems in the play. Not only is Oberon the King of the Fairies but he is the husband of Titania and the master of Puck. Oberon’s character is multifaceted although it is evident that he will do anything for a good laugh. At times, Oberon is extraordinarily nice, generous, and compassionate. He felt sorry for Helena and tried to get Demetrius to fall in love with her. However, On the other hand, Oberon is cruel, jealous, and tyrannical. Resembling his mischievous servant Puck, Oberon finds no problem with playing with other people’s love. He swindled his own wife and laughed at the misfortunes of the four Athenians Helena, Hermia, Lysander, and Demetrius. Despite one’s view of Oberon, it is clear that he is the root of all the problems in the play because he starts a sequence of problems by making the love juice, orders the love juice to be used on Demetrius which in turn causes disarray for all four of the young lovers, and causes disgrace for Titania and creates obstacles for Bottom and the Rude Mechanicals when he uses the love juice on Titania in order to fulfill his own selfish desires.
The play moves into the woods which is haunted by fairies who are there to bless the wedding of Theseus and Hippolyta. The quarreling between Oberon and Titania over the changeling boy leads to the king wanting to embarrass Titania with the love juice by making her fall in love with a monster. The first person she sees is Bottom and she falls violently in love with him.
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.
Infatuation is love which is self-indulgent, obsessive and irrational. It causes people to lose their self-control and perspective. It is often a product of the senses, which is of physical infatuation rather than mental compatibility, thus it is appropriate for Oberon's love potion to be applied to the eyes which is the strongest senses a person depends on to view the world.
The contrasted humor is clearly shown as Titania weaves flowers into the hair of Bottom’s donkey-like head. Titania is a beautiful and delicate creature, while Bottom is completely grotesque. Magic creates an unreal image of Bottom, which in turn creates a comical contrast between Bottom and Titania. As part of the already comical sub-plot, Bottom’s altering through magic adds even more humor to the overall play. Next, the misuse of magic causes conflict among the four Athenian lovers.
William Shakespeare’s writings are famous for containing timeless, universal themes. A particular theme that is explored frequently in his writings is the relationship between men and women. A Midsummer Night’s Dream contains a multitude of couplings, which are often attributed to the fairies in the play. Each of these pairings has positive and negative aspects, however, some relationships are more ideal than others. From A Midsummer Night’s Dream the optimal pairings are Lysander and Hermia, Demetrius and Helena, and Oberon and Titania; while the less desirable pairings are Theseus and Hippolyta, Hermia and Demetrius, Lysander and Helena, and Titania and Bottom. Throughout A Midsummer
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.
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.
Nanny, Janie’s grandmother, wanted Janie to have a stable life reassuring her that Janie would have a comfortable life. So Nanny arranged the marriage between Janie and Logan Killicks. Nanny experienced the cruelty of slavery having been raped by her master and forced to flee from her master’s wife's wrath. Nanny saw hope in her child's eyes as she escaped from the farm she was in. Nanny’s only child, Janie’s mother, had been raped by her school teacher.
maintaining the course of their true love. A long standing couple, even the king and queen of fairies face the complications true love brings from time to time: “Ever true in loving be, / and the blots of Nature’s hand” (5.1.425-426...
...uch like Helena, who overlooks Demetrius’ shortcomings, Titania looks past Bottom’s very apparent ignorance out of love.
To emphasize, in Act III, the reader is presented with the play’s most extraordinary contrast, the relationship between Titania and Bottom. “What wakes me from my flow’ry bed?” (III.i.131). Titania is awoken by the so-called melodic singing of Bottom. In the present scene, both characters are under some particular sort of spell. Titania’s eyes were anointed with the nectar of the love flower, thus causing her to fall in love with the next living thing she encounters. In the meantime, Puck pulled a prank on Bottom, turning his head into that of an ass. Both characters of the play are interpreted as complete opposites. Titania, characterized as the beautiful, graceful fairy queen; Bottom is portrayed as overdramatic, self centered, and as of now, not keen on the eyes. However, the love nectar never fails and seems to bring the two into a state of lust. The contrast between the two is overwhelming. An important scene in the pl...
When the lovers awoke in the morning, they thought all of the ridiculous things that had happened or been said the night before had just all been a dream. However, if Oberon had been more specific in his directions to Robin, "a sweet Athenian lady is in love with a disdainful youth. Anoint his eyes. thou shalt know the man by the Athenian garments he hath on," all of this could have been avoided, and everything would have been fine (page 53). This gives insight to the thematic nature of the work by setting a magical atmosphere for the lovers to be in.