Which is more important, happiness or loyalty? In the play, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, written in 1595, William Shakespeare explores this question through the intense emotions of his characters. One example of this is when Hermia, a maiden, chooses to run away with her forbidden lover, Lysander, instead of marrying the man of her father’s choice, Demetrius, or picking one of the two harsh consequences. Another example is when Titania, the fairy queen of the forest near Athens, disobeys her husband Oberon, the fairy king, who demands Titania hand over an infant that she loves extremely. Through this play, Shakespeare implies that it is more important to follow your heart than to be allegiant and loyal to someone if the loyalty keeps you from …show more content…
Titania is usually forced to obey her husband, Oberon. However, when Oberon insists she hand over the child for whom she is currently caring and genuinely loves, Titania firmly refuses to do so. She shows her disobedience and resistance when she says to Oberon,“Set your heart at rest. The fairyland buys not the child of me… I will not part with him.” (2.1.123-124, 139) This quote displays how strongly she believes the people and things she love are more meaningful than loyalty if the things she love get compromised through devotion. All of her actions and speech reveal how valuable she feels those she loves are and that she is willing to do anything for …show more content…
Disobedience may lead to some struggles before you get what you want, or you may not even get your desired outcome at all even though it’s your best option. This is evident when Lysander says to Hermia,“Hang off, thou cat, thou burr, let loose or I will shake thee from me like a serpent” (3.2.266-267). This principle is also apparent when Puck, a fairy says to Oberon, “When in that moment, so it came to pass, Titania waked, and straightaway fell in love with an ass” (3.2.34-35). In both scenarios, disloyalty led to hardships. Hermia suffered heartbreak when Lysander was under a love potion and became deeply attracted to another woman. Additionally, Titania’s disobedience to Oberon caused Oberon to become furious and seek revenge on Titania by making her fall in love with a donkey, and then he stole her child. As you can see, there are harsh punishments for disloyalty even if it's your only option
The famous Romeo and Juliet, thinking that it could be a tragic love story that existed in the past, yet the Tomba di Giulietta is not true. William Shakespeare’s play is famous, but famous to the point where people speculate Juliet’s tomb is an actual tomb of Juliet because Verona is an actual city. If the tomb of Juliet is an actual burial of Juliet, then why would it be accessible to the public. The tomb of Juliet doesn’t seem right because someone could be actually profiting off of the tourist attraction, yet the evidence of Juliet’s tomb is too vague.
Loyalty is usually considered an important quality for someone to have, but, as shown in Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet, loyalty can have some bad outcomes. Many of the characters in Romeo and Juliet are loyal to each other, particularly the servants of the Capulets and Montagues, Tybalt, and Romeo and Juliet themselves. Sometimes this loyalty can cause unwanted problems.
“But I know when thou hast stolen away from Fairyland and in the shape of corin sat all day playing on pipes of corn and versing love to amorous Phillida. Why art thou here, come from the farthest steep of India, but that, forsooth, the bouncing Amazon your buskined mistress and your warrior love...” (II.i ll. 64-70). Titania claims that she knows Oberon snuck away from the Fairylands to be with Hippolyta. She also believes that Oberon left India to go see Hippolyta. This is evident in the quote when he says, “But I know when thou hast stolen away from fairyland” and “Why art thou here, come from the farthest steep of India, but that, forsooth, the bouncing Amazon.” While it is not stated, it is inferred that Titania is speaking of Hippolyta. Titania wants Oberon to know that she is not clueless to his love for Hippolyta. Proof of this is in these words, “Your buskined mistress.” Titania is hurt by Oberon’s actions, and she desires a different type of relationship between the two of them. This is only one of many problems Titania and Oberon had. “How canst thou thus for shame, Titania, glance at my credit with Hippolyta, knowing I know thy love to Theseus? Didst not thou lead him through the glimmering night From Perigouna, whom he ravished, and make him with fair Aegles break his faith, with Ariadne and Antiopa” (II.i ll. 74-80). Oberon defends himself after being blamed for loving Hippolyta. He
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.
In society, it is often believed that the ones who hold the most authority are those who cause the most problems. The most powerful people are known to create problems, whether it is selfishness, proudness or just misusing abilities their abilities to make a positive change. Throughout the play, the high level of authority takes advantage of its powers and abilities. Not only does the “king” of fairies create new conflicts, but the ones in effect, are formed into bigger ones. In William Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Oberon is the root behind all the problems in the play, he misuses the love potion, shows selfishness, and is responsible for the mistakes of anointing the eyes of the Athenian men.
Throughout A Midsummer Night’s Dream the theme of conflict with authority is apparent and is the cause of the problems that befall the characters. It also is used to set the mood of the play. The passage below spoken by Theseus in the opening of the play clearly states this theme.
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
Each day, people need to make important decisions and consider their outcomes. Often times, they need to choose what is best for them, and not what they want to do. In Shakespeare’s tragedy Romeo and Juliet, he explores how the traits a person possesses can impact their actions and their results. In the play, there is an ongoing feud between the Montagues and Capulets. When Romeo Montague and Juliet Capulet meet, they instantly fall in love only to discover they are from feuding families. With a love so strong, they risk getting married secretly, seeking some help from Juliet’s Nurse. The actions that the Nurse takes demonstrate both loyalty and irresponsibility, but ultimately lead to turmoil. In the Nurse, Shakespeare shows how the positive
Confronted by the "sharp" law of Athens, and not wishing to obey it, Lysander thinks of escape. But he has no idea that the wood, which he sees merely as a rendezvous before he and Hermia fly to his aunt, has its own law and ruler. As Theseus is compromised by his own law, so is Oberon. Theseus wishes to overrule Egeus, but knows that his own authority derives from the law, that this cannot be set aside when it does not suit the ruler's wishes. He does discover a merciful provision of the law which Egeus has overlooked (for Hermia to choose "the livery of a nun") but hopes to persuade Demetrius to relinquish his claim, insisting that Hermia take time before choosing her fate. The lovers' difficulties are made clear by the law of Athens, but arise from their own passions: thus, when they enter the woods, they take their problems with them. Oberon is compromised because his quarrel with Titania has caused him and her to neglect their duties: Oberon, who should rule firmly over the entire fairy kingdom cannot rule in his own domestic arrangements. We see how each ruler, in turn, resolves this problem, without further breaking of his law.
Reason and love in A Midsummer Night’s Dream 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.
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.
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.
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 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.