William Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream In William Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream, there are endless images of water and the moon. Both images lend themselves to a feeling of femininity and calm. In classical mythology, the image of water is often linked with Aphrodite, goddess of passion and love. Born of the foam of the sea, Aphrodite was revered as an unfaithful wife to her husband Hephaestus (Grant 36). This may have a direct coloration to the unfaithful nature of the four lovers, Hermia, Helena, Lysander, and Demetrius, while in the woods. Perhaps more important, however, is Aphrodite’s link to the other Olympian maiden goddesses. As Aphrodite was attributed with love and beauty, Athena was the protector of war and arts, and finally, Artemis was the goddess of the woods and wild things (Hamilton 31). Artemis was brother of Apollo, god of the sun, and therefore she was the goddess of the moon. Through out literature it seems imagery of the moon and water can be used nearly interchangeably because they both imply feminine powers; water is representative of life and motion and the moon is representative of Artemis directly. Shakespeare seems to have been quite aware of the duties and powers of this ancient goddess. In many instances, this “protectress of dewy youth” is equated with other goddesses named Phoebe, Selene, or Luna (Hamilton 32). By any name, however, it is most important to realize the goddesses’ representation of the sky and woodlands. The character or Lysander makes direct reference to the relevance of this goddess in Act I, Scene 1 while talking to his forbidden beloved Hermia: Tomorrow night, when Phoebe doth behold, Her silver visage in the wat’... ... middle of paper ... ...ancient mythology familiar to Shakespeare and his audience. Works Cited Grant, Michael and John Hazel. Who’s Who Classical Mythology Oxford University Press, NewYork: 1993 Hamilton, Edith. Mythology Warner Books, New York: 1942 Hamilton-Parker, Craig. “Moon” Remembering and Understanding Your Dreams Stearling Publishing Co. Inc., New York: 2000 Shakespeare, William. The Tempest Orgel, Stephen Ed. Oxford University Press, New York: 1998 Shakespeare, William. A Midsummer Night’s Dream The Norton Shakespeare: Comedies Greenblatt, Stephen Ed. W.W. Norton and Company, New York: 1997 Shakespeare, William. A Midsummer Night’s Dream Mowat, Barbra and Werstine, Paul Ed. Washington Square Press, New York: 1993 Thorndike, E.L and Clarence L. Barnhart. “Lunatic” Thorndike Barnhart Student Dictionary Scott, Foresman and Company, Illinois: 1988: (666)
Hermia , Lysander , Helena and Demetrius represent young love in Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream . They are potrayed as foolish and fickle , acting like children and requiring a parental figure to guide them . The parental figures are Hermia’s father , Egeus , and figuratively Theseus , the mortal ruler , and Oberon , the mystical ruler.
William, Shakespeare Twelfth Night. The Norton Anthology of English Literature, Volume B. Ed. Stephen Greenblatt. New York: W. W. Norton & Co., 2006. 1079-1139.
William, Shakespeare Twelfth Night. The Norton Anthology of English Literature, Volume B. Ed. Stephen Greenblatt. New York: W. W. Norton & Co., 2006. 1079-1139.
Shakespeare, William, and Russ McDonald. A Midsummer Night's Dream. New York, NY: Penguin, 2000. Print.
Shakespeare, William. “A Midsummer Night’s Dream”. The Pelican Shakespeare. New York: Penguin Books Inc. 2000.
Shakespeare, William. Twelfth Night. The Complete Signet Classic Shakespeare, ed. Sylvan Barnet, New York: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, Inc., 1972.
Shakespeare, William. A Midsummer Night's Dream. The Norton Shakespeare: Greenblatt, Stephen, editor. New York: W W Norton & Company, 1997.
The fairies and the fairy realm have many responsibilities in this play. The most important of which is that they are the cause of much of the conflict and comedy within this story. They represent mischievousness and pleasantry which gives the play most of its emotion and feeling. They relate to humans because they make mistakes but differ in the fact that they do not understand the human world.
Shakespeare, William. Twelfth Night, Or, What You Will. Ed. Barbara A. Mowat and Paul Werstine. New York: Simon & Schuster Paperbacks, 2009. Print.
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...
Shakespeare, William. A Midsummer Night's Dream. Comp. Folger Shakespeare Library. New York, NY: Simon & Schuster Paperbacks, 2009. Print.
Aphrodite is depicted in her persona as a perfect, breathtaking woman, characterized by her potent sexual attractiveness. While Artemis is similar in her gender and her eternal youth, her appearance is not characterized with sexual attraction as much as it is fruitfulness and purity, as she is the goddess of chastity and natural environments. Aphrodite’s main symbol is a girdle that has magical powers to compel love, while Artemis contains a bow that is used for hunting flesh, and is very physically strong. And of course, because Artemis is a virgin god, she lacks a husband or any children for herself, while Aphrodite is in the complete opposite realm: she not only has a husband (Hephaestus), but an illicit lover too (Ares, the god of...
Shakespeare, William. A Midsummer Night’s Dream. Ed. Barbara A. Mowat and Paul Werstine. New York: Washington Square Press, 2004.
"William Shakespeare, William. "Twelfth Night." Norton's Anthology of English Literature. Ed. Stephen Greenblatt. New York City: W.W. Norton & Co., 2010.
William Shakespeare, born in 1594, is one of the greatest writers in literature. He dies in 1616 after completing many sonnets and plays. One of which is "A Midsummer Night’s Dream." They say that this play is the most purely romantic of Shakespeare’s comedies. The themes of the play are dreams and reality, love and magic. This extraordinary play is a play-with-in-a-play, which master writers only write successfully. Shakespeare proves here to be a master writer. Critics find it a task to explain the intricateness of the play, audiences find it very pleasing to read and watch. "A Midsummer Night’s Dream" is a comedy combining elements of love, fairies, magic, and dreams. This play is a comedy about five couples who suffer through love’s strange games and the evil behind the devious tricks. This play begins as Theseus, the Duke, is preparing to marry Hippolyta. He woos her with his sword. Hermia is in love with Lysander. Egeus, Hermia’s father, forbids the relationship with Lysander and orders her to marry Demetrius. Demetrius loves Hermia, but she does not love him. On the other hand, Helena is in love with Demetrius. To settle the confusion, Theseus decides that Hermia must marry Demetrius or become a nun. In retaliation to her father’s command, Hermia and Lysander run away together. Amidst all the problems in the human world, Titania and Oberon, the fairy queen and king, continually argue about their various relationships that they have taken part in. (Scott 336) Titania leaves Oberon as a result of the arguments. Oberon is hurt and wants revenge on Titania. So he tells Puck, Oberon’s servant, to put a magic flower juice on her eyelids while she is sleeping. This potion causes the victim to desperately in love with the first creature that they see. Oberon’s plan is carried out, but the potion is also placed on Lysander’s eyes. Lysander awakes to see Helena, who is aimlessly walking through the woods, and instantly falls in love with her. She thinks that he is making fun of her being in love with Demetrius, so she leaves and Lysander follows. This leaves Hermia to wake up alone. Puck now has journeyed to the area where several actors are rehearsing. He uses his magic to turn one of them into a donkey, in hopes that Titania will awake to see it.