More handpicked essays just for you.
An elizabethan perspective of a midsummers night dream
Role of authority in A midsummer nights dream
Women in midsummer night's dream
Don’t take our word for it - see why 10 million students trust us with their essay needs.
Shakespeare has created characters who don’t have very distinct characteristics, but are just as three-dimensional in their personalities and are differentiable in their intent and in the values they demonstrate. They’ve put just as much, if not more, meaning in their actions and words because it’s their only defining factors. It can be argued that because A Midsummer Night’s Dream is a comedy that none of the character's actions and/or words should be taken seriously because the play can’t be that psychologically deep, but Shakespeare is known for his three-dimensional characters and A Midsummer Night’s dream is no exception. Although Helena’s physical character is only characterized as being taller than Hermia, her internal character is much more complex than is let on. Love and belonging are complex, but at the same time, …show more content…
Although Helena’s love for Demetrius may have been constant, it’s also destructive in the way that Helena demeans herself in order to rationalize Demetrius’s harsh words towards her, “—spurn me, strike me, neglect me, lose me. Only give me leave, unworthy as I am, to follow you.” (Act 2 Scene 1) Helena even goes as far as to reveal Lysander and Hermia’s plan to elope together to Demetrius in a desperate and illogical attempt to somehow get him to acknowledge her. She even admits that her pining for him is wrong, albeit only because Demetrius is also wrong in his one-sided love towards Hermia, “And as he errs, doting on Hermia’s eyes, so I, admiring of his qualities,” (Act 1 Scene 1) indicating that her feelings are out of her own control. Demetrius did originally love Helena, but then he instantly fell out of love with her then in love with Hermia. This maybe have been unfair in Helena’s eyes, but it wasn't his own conscious decision, love is not a
Lysander tells Theseus that Demetrius "Made love to … Helena, And won her soul.” Helena says that before Demetrius looked upon Hermia, "He hail'd down oaths that he was only mine.” In an attempt to win back some of Demetrius's affection, Helena tells him of Hermia's plan to meet in the wood and elope with Lysander.
Helena acts in ways of love as she pursues Demetrius in an unhealthy way, yet Demetrius scorns her in all ways, regardless of her effort. “Tempt not too much the hatred of my spirit, for I am sick when I do look on thee” (2. 1. 211-212). Demetrius acts as he hates Helena, he says she makes him sick. But through a series of mischief and manipulation, a love potion is used on Demetrius and Lysander, and in turn both men who once loved Hermia now are fighting for Helena’s love. The difficulty of love and the many hardships that are attached with it are acclaimed in this work of literature and is a key component in the idea of love that is portrayed. When others become involved and interested with the lovers lives is where the mischief present. The meddling fairy, Puck, and Oberon, the fairy King, are to blame for the manipulation occurring. Puck is a servant for Oberon, Puck says, “fear not, my lord, your servant shall do so” (2. 2. 268). Helena now believes both men are mocking, and deceiving her because of their new found love for her which was asserted by Puck in orders from Oberon. The hardships of love set in even more when Hermia enters the story once again and realizes she has been left in the woods by Lysander, and is ultimately left alone because of Lysander’s new found love for Helena. The lovers find themselves together once more and each of the men express
In act two scene two Lysander continues to insult Hermia. For example in the book it states “ Content with Hermia? No, I do repent…” (2.2.118-120). This shows that Lysander wants Helena’s love, but he is trying to hard to get it. In act three scene two Helena finds that both Lysander and Demetrius are “mocking” her. For example in the book it states “ ...I pray you,though you mock me, gentlemen.” (3.2.314). This shows that Helena doesn’t believe that Demetrius and Lysander “love” her. Oberon and Lysander find it impossible to control love.
Infatuation causes Helena to lose all sense of dignity, as can be seen when in the woods, she desperately pleads with Demetrius to ?but treat me as your spaniel?. Here, Helena also becomes irrational, obsessed with pursuing Demetrius, though it is obvious that Demetrius is fixated on winning Hermia?s hand in marriage. Helena?s infatuation also causes her to see things from a skewed perspective, for she falsely believes that when she divulges Hermia?s plans for eloping with Lysander, Demetrius? love for Helena will rekindle. As the audience, we know that the most probable course of action for Demetrius upon hearing such news is to pursue Lysander and Hermia, or to report them to Theseus or Egeus. Clearly, infatuation has clouded Helena?s ability to think clearly, and she sees things in her own idealistic way.
Similar to other works by Shakespeare, such as The Taming of the Shrew, A Midsummer Night’s Dream embellishes the pressures that arise between genders dealing with complicated family and romantic situations. The plot includes a duke who is going to marry a woman he conquered in battle, the king and queen of the fairies embroiled in a fight so fierce that it unbalances the natural world, and a daughter fighting with her father for her right to marry the man she chooses. The girl’s father selects Demetrius to marry his daughter, but she is in love with another man, Lysander, who loves her in return, and her friend Helena is in love Demetrius, but he wants nothing to do with her. Considering the fact that males were dominant during that era, whereas, men chased women, and women remained submissive, Shakespeare dallies with those traditional roles and there are several possible reasons why. Perhaps he made women a stronger force in his plays because he wanted to give his audience a break fr...
Demetrius is a fool because he is unaware that his love changes through out the play. We learn from Demetrius that he has loved Helena before bestowing his affections on Hermia ( 1.1 106-107 , 242-243 ). It is not for nothing that he is termed “spotted and inconstant man'; ( 1.1 110 ). Athough at the start of the play Demetrius no longer loves Helena. ( 2.1 195 ) Demetrius says, “I love thee not , therefore pursue me not.'; ( 2.1 201 ) “Hence , get thee gone , and follow me no more.'; In Act 3 Scene 2 , Demetrius after being juiced begins to love Helena. ( 3.2 172-176 ) Demetrius says , “Lysander , keep thy Hermia; I will none. If e’er I loved her , all that love is gone. My heart to her but as guest – wise sojourned , And not to helen is it home returned , there to reamain.'; This proves how fickle he is , for he is not aware of his changing love once for Helena then for Hermia then returning to Helena with the help of the mystical father Oberon.
Helena was the younger sister of Hermia. It often bothered her that her sister got all the attention, and she even want it. Helena was madly in love with Demetrius, However Demetrius was arranged to marry Hermia. Helena truly believe she was not good enough, and could not understand why Demetrius did now want
During much of the play, Helena relentlessly chases Demetrius, giving him love no matter how many times he spurns her. While in pursuit of him in the woods, where he tells her that he will never reciprocate her feelings, she tells him, “I am your spaniel; and, Demetrius,/The more you beat me, I will fawn on you” (II.i.203-204). She is so desperate to win him over that she lowers her own status, calling herself his dog; no matter how many times he may abuse her, she will always adore him. Out of love, Helena is willing to swallow her pride to prove her devotion to him. More evidence of Helena’s blind love towards Demetrius can be found in her overlooking the flaws in Demetrius’ character. For example, he proves himself to be quite insensitive towards Helena: when they are in the woods, he says he will “leave [her] to the mercy of the wild beasts” (II.i.228) if she doesn’t stop following him. He also says to her, “…I am sick when I do look on thee” (II.i.212). Lastly, he threatens her, saying “…if thou follow me, do not believe/But I shall do thee mischief in the wood” (II.i.237). Helena acknowledges this aspect of his character, though choos...
The relationship between Demetrius and Hermia is problematic, in that Demetrius is seeking the affections of Hermia, while she is in love with Lysander. However, Hermia’s father approves of Demetrius and tries to force her to marry him, but Hermia refuses because of her love for Lysander (A Midsummer Night’s Dream 1.1.22-82). Lysander points out the flaw in the situation through this comment, “You have her father 's love, Demetrius –/Let me have Hermia 's. Do you marry him,” (A Midsummer Night’s Dream 1.1.93-94). The second flawed relationship is between Lysander and Helena, as a result of an enchantment put on Lysander that made him fall in love with Helena. Helena does not want the affections of Lysander, but rather the love of Demetrius, and believes that Lysander is taunting her. In addition, this relationship creates tensions because Hermia is in love with Lysander (A Midsummer Night’s Dream 2.2.109-140). Both relationships are not desirable due to a lack of mutual admiration and the creation of non-peaceful and unsatisfying
In Act 2; Scene 1, she questions traditions by stating, ‘We cannot fight for love, as men may do; we should be wooed, and were not meant to woo.’ Throughout the play, rather than the boy chasing the girl, Helena chases after Demetrius trying to persuade him to love her. Although, the audience do know that she was put under a spell to woo Demetrius, this is not the find of behaviour you would find for women in Ancient Greece. This example of where roles are reversed suggests that in Ancient Athens, women were generalized as people who were not able to control themselves and this is why they needed to be supervised under a man. In addition, when Helena says, ‘I am your spaniel...The more you beat me, I will fawn on you; Use me but as your spaniel…’ Several times, Demetrius tells Helena to leave him alone but she chooses not to listen to him and continues to follow him and make him ire even when she knows he does not love her. This line shows that she is willing to do whatever it takes to submit herself to Demetrius and behaves like a dog in order to receive attention from him. This also portrays the low self esteem and self confidence within Helena and how she has no pride left in her at all. She is someone who is dependent on men and her self-respect also does not matter to her. Helena fulfils the role women are expected to play where they are seen as inferior in their male dominated
The play shows how the ideal relationship is that in which the affections and the reasonable mind are both in harmony. At the start of the play, both Demetrius and Helena are clearly at fault. Demetrius has allowed his love for Helena to abate; she, by fawning on him, is guilty of doting, which exacerbates his dislike. An honourable man would stand by his promise and try to re-discover his love for Helena, and it is this which draws Lysander's taunt that Demetrius is "spotted and inconstant". In time, perhaps, Demetrius might reconsider Helena's merits, but in the brief ti...
Hermia and Helena's relationship has changed greatly after the intervention of Puck with the love potion. Once best friends, they have become each others enemies, and all for the love of Lysander and Demetrius.
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. The fantastical woods is contrasted to the order of the Athenian law, and Elizabethan values of the time are polarised throughout the narrative, such as Helena’s feeling ugly even though she is tall and fair. A Midsummer Night’s Dream is thus not solely a comedic meditation on the nature of the origin or meaning of love, it also cautions against trying to rationalise the message of the play. Puck, who by his very nature cannot exist in rational society, propels the action of A Midsummer Night’s Dream. He is a manifestation of mischief and the unpredictability of nature, which governs not only the fantastical woods outside of Athens, but also the Athenians themselves when it comes to love. Yet, it is Puck, and thus nature, which rectifies the imbalance of the lovers in the beginning of the play. Rationalising, o...
“Love looks not with eyes but with the mind,” laments Helena (23). In this quote, Helena explains that true love isn’t about a person’s looks, but about a person’s disposition; all in all, love is blind. This especially evident in the play that this quote is found, A Midsummer Night’s Dream. In the play, Titania is tricked by Oberon and Robin to fall in love with Bottom who had a donkey head, but she still loved Bottom, even though he was hideous. Also, Helena, the character mentioned before, is madly in love with Demetrius who doesn’t love her back but she tries constantly to get him to love her. So, Helena’s comment is definitely correct especially in the play A Midsummer Night’s Dream, because of the romantics between the characters of Bottom and Titania, and the characters of Helena and Demetrius.
Demetrius, Helena, Lysander, and Hermia are the for young teens of the story. At the beginning of the play it is Lysander and Helena who are madly in love, and are planning to to escape from Athens to elope. Helena is in love with Demetrius, and Demetrius cared for Helena and liked her a lot but was not in love with her. As soon as Demetrius sees Hermia he immediately stops having any feelings for Helena whatsoever and is deeply in love with Hermia. Demetrius thought that he had fallen in love at first sight, but Helena was determined to show him differently. Demetrius: ³ Tempt not too much the hatred of my spirit,/ For I am sick when I do look on thee.² Helena: ³And I am sick when I look not on you.² (Act II, sc. i, lines 218-220) This piece of dialogue shows how much Demetrius is now in love with Hermia from just seeing her, and how disgusted he feels when he looks upon Helena who he used to care about. Helena is simply just expressing how much she is love with Demetrius and how bad she feels that he is treating her in such a manner of hatred.