In the play A Midsummer's night dream, William shakespeare expresses love,blind and Hate through some of the characters in the play. I'm going to be focusing on Helena and how she shows/tells us ( the audience ) about love. The basis of Helena is that she is in love with demetrius but demetrius doesn't want her. Then once demetrius finally wants her she doesn’t want him because he is under a love potion.
In the beginning of the play Helena is obsessed with Demetrius but he is in love with Hermia, buy Hermia is in love with Lysander. This is just a big wheel of loving people they can't have. As the story goes on hermia and lysander run off with each other Demetrius and Helena follow. Helena doesn’t care that he doesn't like her she just keeps on trying and won't stop until he finally gives in. As said in the book Helena and Hermia are just as beautiful as one another. So people don’t understand why he is trying to get Hermia when Helena is just as beautiful.
Helena obsessed over Demitrius emphasizes the impulse of love and its excesses. She is making a fool of herself by chasing after Demetrius, but she cannot because she is madly in love with
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This point is emphasized when the two male characters ( lysander and Demetrius ) get poisoned. This wasn't just any ordinary poison it was more like a potion of love. The potion made them love the first creature they saw when they wake up from their slumber. Oberon and his servant puck were suppose to just put the love potion on Demetrius but they made a mistake and put it on lysander. When Lysander woke up, the first creature he saw was Helena. So as Oberon and Puck messed up they went back and tried again and they got it right this time and so Demetrius wakes up and sees Helena. As those to are “in love” with her she does not like it because she wants honesty out of a man and not just the trickery of the
The mood immediately changes and we discover that Hermia rather than being filled with filial love is determined to marry Lysander rather than her father’s choice for her. And so the love theme is made more complex as we have the wrathful love of her father confronted by the love of her daughter for the man who is not her fathers’ choice. The love theme is further complicated by the arrival of Helena. Here we see the platonic love of two friends.
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.
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.
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.
Some of the most prominent themes in A Midsummer Night’s Dream are the omnipresence of love and desire and the tendencies of characters to manifest their defining traits. Helena and Hermia are two perfect examples of this. Hermia is the lover, and Helena the desirer, and both thrive off of their obsessions. In fact, both women are so tied to these traits that when they are taken away, their characters deflate and fall static.
Helena's interpretation of love, as a deep, powerful emotion is virtually unseen in the rest of the play. Rather, the opposite, superficial love, plagues most characters of the play. Theseus, Demetrius, and Lysander constantly offer comments about females. Rather than focusing on who these women are, these comments pertain to the appearance of the women.
Love is a powerful emotion, capable of turning reasonable people into fools. Out of love, ridiculous emotions arise, like jealousy and desperation. Love can shield us from the truth, narrowing a perspective to solely what the lover wants to see. Though beautiful and inspiring when requited, a love unreturned can be devastating and maddening. In his play, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, William Shakespeare comically explores the flaws and suffering of lovers. Four young Athenians: Demetrius, Lysander, Hermia, and Helena, are confronted by love’s challenge, one that becomes increasingly difficult with the interference of the fairy world. Through specific word choice and word order, a struggle between lovers is revealed throughout the play. In A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Shakespeare uses descriptive diction to emphasize the impact love has on reality and one’s own rationality, and how society’s desperate pursuit to find love can turn even strong individuals into fools.
Helen’s love for Demetrius is one example of love obscuring reality. Demetrius wholly reveals his true evilness when he says to Helen “I’ll run from thee and hide me in the brake, and leave thee to the mercy of wild beasts”, yet Helena is still madly in love with him (44). As Helena says herself, “love can transpose to form and dignity, love looks not with the eyes but with the mind…” (20). She is saying that her mind will not let her fall out of love with Demetrius no matter how appalling of a person he is. Thus, reality is not in her best interest as she will miserably be in love with a person she is appalled by. It is better to be blind to his flaws. Furthermo...
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...
Demetrius’ love to Helena is under a force of spell, in addition, the mistaken love which is
In the beginning Lysander and Hermia run off to the forest to try to escape the king’s commandments, so they can be together. They believe if they can escape their problems and go somewhere where there is no rules they can finally be happy together. In an essay Bouloussa states how the Athenian lovers (Hermia & Lysander) attempt to escape their problems because they believe this is where there happiness lies. But Helena tells Demetrius and he goes after them, which leads Helena to follow. One day while out Puck and Oberon see Helena and Demetrius fighting and Oberon decides to use the love potion on Demetrius to attempt to fix the love mess. Initially, Puck is only supposed to use the love potion on Demetrius not Lysander. But of course Puck messes up, and ends up using the love potion on both of them, which causes them both to chase after Helena for her love and affection. Furthermore, when she sees them acting this way she believes they are mocking her, so she rejects their
Helena is madly in love with Demetrius and would give her life for just one kind word from him.
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
Helena represents the passion for love in this text, as she runs after Demetrius into a forest seeking love between them, even after Demetrius has told her to stay away. This passion for love is significant to the play, because this play is displaying how love triumphs the social hierarchy, even though magic is a deciding factor. “The more I love, the more he hateth me” (I.i.199). Helena says this of Demetrius as her love to him is deemed unwanted and repulsive. Her passion for love is so strong that she is willing shed blood for it, “I am your spaniel. And Demetrius the more you beat me, I will faun on you. Use me as your spaniel, spurn me, strike me, neglect me, lose me” (II.i.204-206). Even to an extent where she would die for Demetrius, “Stay, thou kill me, sweet Demetrius” (II.ii.84). At one point in the play Helena loses her sight of having a passion for love, when Demetrius and Lysander both fall head over heels for Helena, she can't believe them. It seems Helena has disbursed so much time rationalizing why she isn't loved that, when the moment comes along whether it is reality or falsehood, she can't embrace it and enjoy it for how it is seen. She develops even more self-pity for herself when she trusts that she has gone from being unloved to a person of pure mockery. As time passes her love for Demetriu...
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.