Midsummer Night's Dream

To Love or Not to Love, That is the Theme

In lines 159-163, act IV,scene 1 of A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Demetrius says.“Was betrothed ere I saw Hermia. But like in sickness, I loathe this food. . . .And for evermore be true.” A Midsummer Night’s Dream is a play which is focused on the love between four young lovers. A theme that could represent this play is that love is not always easy. Throughout the play, Shakespeare shows this theme. He shows this theme by having constant fighting for love between characters, the constant switches in love interests, and the manipulation of love.

One example that shows, love is not always easy, is a good theme for the play, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, is having constant fighting between characters in the play. In the beginning of the play, Lysander says to Demetrius “I love Hermia more than he does.” Demetrius gets mad at this statement, which sparks a fight between the two. This is a common pattern throughout the play. Demetrius and Lysander are fighting for the same girl, Hermia. This shows that love is not always easy because two people can be fighting for the same person. Another scene shows them fighting in the woods, but this time in the woods and for a different girl. This scene shows that people will fight for multiple different people, which can

make love difficult. These tensions between the two men is only the first reason that love is not always easy.
Another way the play shows love isn’t always easy, is the constant switches in love interests between the characters.

At the beginning of the play, Demetrius is in love with Hermia. However, as the play goes on, he begins to develop an interest in Helena. This shows that love is not always easy because love can change for a person. Another example of this changing between love is when Lysander falls in love with Helena. Lysander, like Demetrius, was in love with Hermia. This shows that no matter how much a person loves another person, love can still change no matter the situation. Both of these situations show that love can change, which in some ways, it can make it

difficult.
Finally, throughout the story, Oberon sends Puck to manipulate people into loving other people they don’t love. An example of this could be when Oberon sends Puck to make Titania fall in love with Bottom. Oberon wanted to get back at Titania for not giving the child Titania had to him. Another example of this manipulation is when Oberon sends Puck again to make Demetrius and Lysander fall in love with the same girl, Helena. This caused the two men to fight each other. This also causes Hermia to be mad at Helena. She is mad at her because Hermia thinks Helena manipulated both of the men to love her. This shows that love can have manipulation which can make love more difficult.
The constant fighting between characters, switches of love interests, and the manipulation of love, all show love is not always easy. When Demetrius says, “Was betrothed ere I saw Hermia. But like in sickness, I loathe this food. . . .And for evermore be true.” he is switching his love interest and is being manipulated at the same time. Overall, the theme, love is not always easy, is a fitting theme for the play.