A Midsummer Night's Dream

757 Words2 Pages

In A Midsummer Night's Dream, one of the masterpieces of William Shakespeare, Shakespeare explores various aspects of love and friendship. With the help of the main characters such as Lysander, Demetrious Helena and Hermia, he endeavors that the path of love is full of obstacles, however, if one is committed and faithful, he/she can defy those obstacles leading him/her to success. As Lysander says “The course of true love never did run smooth”, the love stories presented in the play undergo difficult situations but eventually the genuine love is recognized by the triumph of the true loves. As in virtually every love story, Lysander and Hermia’s love story has a twist to it: Hermia's father demands Hermia to marry Demetrious. This is a very classical situation. In the past, parents had the rights to arrange their daughter’s marriage to whoever they please. Usually they would exercise their rights which is the very case in Hermia’s life. This creates a big problem and cause a tremendous pressure for Hermia and Lysander, as they love each other. In addition, the Athenian rule that governs father's right to choose groom for his daughter promotes the duke to warn Hermia to make a decision in very short period of four days that either she wants to be a nun for life or marry Demetrious. Furthermore, the absence of Hemia's mother in the story seems to make it difficult for Hermia, however it’s can’t be said that her mother’s presence could have alter the situation. If her mother was alive, as a women herself she might have understood where Hermia stands. At least Hermia would have gotten some more support. Nevertheless, even if her mother had supported her, women had very little to say in any major decisions during those... ... middle of paper ... ...heir love lives. Despite the fact that all the difficulties lovers face, eventually everyone gets along and they get their loves and problems seems to be fixed at least for the time being. The Duke finally supports Lysander and Hermia's marriage and Helena gladly accepts Demetrious although she is skeptical of his unexpected change in his behavior. The Duke changing his mind over Lysander and Helena's love and deciding not to enforce the Athenian rule that requires him to support Hermia’s father’s poition. Even after the opposition from Hermia’s father he allows to Lysander to marry Hermia in his own wedding day along with Demetrious and Helena. The story gets a happy ending unlike many of the Shakespeare work such as Romeo and Juliet. Although the characters journey to their love were full of challenges, ultimately they are victorious in achieving their love.

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