A Midsummer Night’s Dream, one of Shakespeare’s “High Comedy” plays, contains the following line: “the course of true love never did run smooth” (Shakespeare, 196). This truth resonates throughout Shakespeare’s sonnets, as real love is not all looks of longing and quiet desire, despite what poets such as Petrarch would have one believe. In reality, love is far more complex, with both positive and negative facets. Throughout the sonnets, Shakespeare provides keen insight into the true nature of love; positive connotations are rarely used in his description of love, instead Shakespeare describes it as war, disease, and madness. Through the speaker in his sonnets, Shakespeare explores love as a multifaceted entity, painting an authentic portrait …show more content…
In Il Canzoniere, the fact that Petrarch’s fictive speaker has only so much as shared eye contact with the infamous Laura does not deter him from clinging on to an imaginary relationship, even after her death: “If only she had lived, we would have come to where, speaking,/ I could have put down in those chaste ears the ancient burden of/ my sweet thoughts” (Durling, 317. 8-10). It is evident throughout the entirety of Il Canzoniere that Petrarch’s speaker is doomed to live in the “if only” stage of human relationships, thus confining love to its pure and idealistic facet. Though Petrarch’s sonnets are often seen as romantic, his portrait of human relationships is not realistic. Shakespeare’s sonnets are not wholly without the “pure” love associated with Petrarchan sonnets, particularly in the Fair Youth sequence. Take for instance Shakespeare’s Sonnet 18, which begins with: “Shall I compare thee to a summer’s day?/Thou art more lovely and more temperate” (18. 1-2). Sonnet 18 shares the idealistic nature of a Petrarch sonnet, as the speaker is “free of that fear of the beloved’s corruption which enters the sequence at least as early as [Sonnet] 24” (Vendler, 120). However, Shakespeare’s portrait of love is not confined to this one facet: it changes along with his characters and their
Is love controlled by human beings who love one another or is love controlled by a higher power? There are many people who believe that a higher power has control over love. An example of a higher power would be a cupid, a flying angel-type creature who is supposed to shoot arrows at people to make them fall in love. There are other people who reject the idea that a higher power controls love and that the people who experience love can control it. In the novel, "A Midsummer Night's Dream", by William Shakespeare, several examples of love's association with a higher power are presented. With the use of examples from the above novel, this essay will discuss the evidence that love is associated with a higher power. Examples like: Thesius arranging a marriage between himself and Hippolyta, Egeus choosing who Hermia should marry and the fairies who have the ability to control love in the Enchanted Forest.
Fate and Love in A Midsummer Night's Dream & nbsp; & nbsp; There are many instances in A Midsummer Night's Dream where love is coerced from or foisted upon unwilling persons. This romantic bondage comes from both man-made edicts and the other-worldly enchantment of love potions. Tinkering with the natural progression of love has consequences. These human and fairy-led machinations, which are brought to light under the pale, watery moon, are an affront to nature. Shakespeare knows that all must be restored to its place under fate's thumb when the party of dreamers awakens.
Fairies, mortals, magic, love, and hate all intertwine to make A Midsummer Night’s Dream by William Shakespeare a very enchanting tale, that takes the reader on a truly dream-like adventure. The action takes place in Athens, Greece in ancient times, but has the atmosphere of a land of fantasy and illusion which could be anywhere. The mischievousness and the emotions exhibited by characters in the play, along with their attempts to double-cross destiny, not only make the tale entertaining, but also help solidify one of the play’s major themes; that true love and it’s cleverly disguised counterparts can drive beings to do seemingly irrational things.
Love is chaotic and free, and because love is so powerful, we often do extreme and erratic things to capture it. The tradition of marriage, or mawage, is so firmly established in history that the gender roles common to marriage are often inescapable, no matter how strong love is, or how powerful a person is. In A Midsummer Night’s Dream, William Shakespeare uses imagery to portray the theme of gender roles and show how love has the spell-bounding power to either change or reinforce those roles.
What is love? Love is a very powerful emotion! Love is something that can come at any time in your life. It can appear in any way, shape, or form. In the famous play “Midsummer Night's Dream,” by William Shakespeare, love is a major theme that affects many people and causes many challenges. In order for love to conquer these challenges one needs to stay true to their love, they may need the help of some magic, and must be persistent.
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.
In the first soliloquy of Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream, Helena talks primarily of a love that contains depth, a love that looks at who a person is, personality-wise, as opposed to nothing more than their appearance. Helena explains, "Love looks not with the eyes, but with the mind" (1.1.240). In the shallow culture in which Helena lives, and even in today's society, it is difficult for people to look beyond the outer shell and follow a deeper perception. The concept of the "perfect person" is constantly drilled into people's minds. In Helena's day, this was through expectations taught to children from their parents. Today, this type of expectation comes mostly from the media and entertainment industries.
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.
The overriding theme of the play "A Midsummer Night's Dream" by William Shakespeare deals with the nature of love. Though true love seems to be held up as an ideal, false love is mostly what we are shown. Underneath his frantic comedy, Shakespeare seems to be asking the questions all lovers ask in the midst of their confusion: How do we know when love is real? How can we trust ourselves that love is real when we are so easily swayed by passion and romantic conventions? Some readers may sense bitterness behind the comedy, but will probably also recognize the truth behind Shakespeare's satire. Often, love leads us down blind alleys and makes us do things we regret later. The lovers within the scene, especially the men, are made to seem rather shallow. They change the objects of their affections, all the time swearing eternal love to one or the other. In this scene Shakespeare presents the idea that both false love and true love can prevail..
Love can be quite chaotic at times. As much as poets and songwriters promote the idea of idyllic romantic love, the experience in reality is often fraught with emotional turmoil. When people are in love, they tend to make poor decisions, from disobeying authority figures to making rash, poorly thought-out choices. In the play A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Shakespeare uses various motifs to illustrate how love, irrationality, and disobedience are thematically linked to disorder.
Throughout the events which unfold in A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Shakespeare delivers several messages on love. Through this play, one of the significant ideas he suggests is that love is blind, often defying logic and overriding other emotions and priorities. Helena loves Demetrius unconditionally and pursues him despite knowing that he loathes her; conflict arises between Helena and Hermia, childhood best friends, over Demetrius and Lysander; and because she is in love, Queen Titania is able to see beauty and virtue in the ass-headed Nick Bottom.
In this play, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, true love plays a huge role in the play.
Finding true love is not an easy task for anybody. The constant pursuit of love is a roller coaster of commitment. This daunting task has plagued many people in life as well as many characters in A Midsummer Night’s Dream written by Shakespeare, especially Helena. The theme “the course of true love never did run smooth” definitely stays true with Helena. Her quest for love has many bumps in the road, getting involved in complicated love triangles and magical love potions.
Shakespeare’s View on Love (A discussion on Shakespeare’s views on love through his sonnets) Several of SHakespeare’s plays have many clashing themes on love. Romeo and Juliet, shows us that love conquers everything, true love is real, and that you have the right to choose who you love. Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream has similar views on love while adding the idea of love at first sight. Throughout his sonnets, you can imply several views on love and it could even be taken to the point of people have the right to love who they wish and gender isn’t a concern.
Love is a Many-Splendored Thing (Webster, 1955) William Shakespeare writes about several different types of love in his play, “A Midsummer Night's Dream”. At first glance, one might assume that love is love. However, a person will learn as they experience the play that this assumption is inaccurate.