Some of the Characters Contradicts Themselves A Midsummer Night’s Dream is one of Shakespeare’s dramas that explore how love can change people’s behavior. Love can make people get the best of them and also it can force them to act the worst. Lovers sometimes contradict themselves with different situations. Throughout William Shakespeare ‘s play A Midsummer Night’s Dream, it is emphasized that love most of the times is illogic, childish and depends mainly upon looks and attractiveness or upon love potion that charm the eyes, but along the way there are certain contradictions in some of his characters’ behavior while expressing their love towards each other.
Dream like quality of love that Shakespeare may believe in is obvious in different
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Theseus described lovers as “Madmen”. Helena was the character that really showed this aspect of love. She always felt ashamed and she always blamed herself for loving Demetrius despite his bad treatment to her and his love towards her friend Hermia. Nevertheless, she is still loyal to their old promises. She cannot find explanations for his abundance as she knows that she is as beautiful as Hermia but she also believes that “Love said to be a child, because in choice he is so oft beguiled.” In her article Discordia Concors on the Order of A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Jane Brown contrasts Helena and Hermia’s conviction about love when she writes,” Helena insists on the blindness of love.” That is to say, she gives herself the excuses to act that recessively when she believes that her heart is forced to do so and she has to follow it. Same thing with Demetrius, his heart is blind and he is helpless in following it. Accordingly, she deprived herself from dignity and wished that he can use her as his “Spaniel”. Moreover, she humiliated herself more when she pursued him in the woods although she declares that women “Should be wooed, and were not made to woo.” Later on in the next act and after the love potion was dripped in Demetrius eyes, Helena gets so mad when he complimented her as a “Goddess, nymph, perfect, divine!” She protests,” Never did mockers waste more idle breath.” This contradicts her …show more content…
She refuses this marriage proposal in a bold and courageous speech as she declares, “My soal consents not to give sovereignty.” Hermia here is presenting in this play the type of the strong woman who can stand out for her rights in deciding her destiny. Jane Brown, in her article Discordia Concors on the Order of A Midsummer Night’s Dream, agrees when she writes, ”As a nun her love of the divinity would be strictly spiritual.” Moreover, in this drama love was sometimes based on looks, attractiveness and external beauty. Hermia interpreted the sudden change in Lysander’s feelings towards her just because Helena is taller than her and she has fairer skin. In other words, she considers herself less appealing than Helena. This also contradicts her strong personality that some readers admired earlier in the play. In addition, this also contradicts her trust in Lysander himself and his love that gave her the bravery to face her father and Theseus that courageously. My point is not that Hermia stopped trusting Lysander any more, as she accepted to marry him at the end even after his betrayal to their promises when he expressed his love towards her friend Helena. In addition, she “continues to worry about Lysander’s safety even after he has abused and abandoned her.” As explained by
An important passion shown in this story is the passion of friendship from Helena. Lysander and demetrius were both deeply in love with Hermia, but suddenly they became slaves for Helena, under the spell of a love potion. This antagonises Helena and she blames it all on Hermia and her cruel joke. She says to Hermia, “The sisters’ vows, the hours that we have spent, when we have chid the hasty-footed time for parting us,-o is all forgot” (III.II.199-201)? Helena asks her if she has forgotten about their friendship, about the vows they took to be like sisters and never leave each other. This shows that although Hermia may have forgotten their friendship, Helena will always remember because friendship is really important to her. Friendship is a bond Helena feels really passionate about and takes very seriously. Another quote that shows Helena’s passion for friendship is “ Both warbling of one song, both in one key, as if our hands, our sides, voices and minds have been incorporated”(III. II. 207-208). This represents that Helena took their friendship sincerely and she believed in them and nothing could break their bond. Her last bit of her anger com...
Every action made in A Midsummer Night’s Dream revolves around the idea of love. It is a concept which few people can understand because of the extremity a person can go through to go after their love. “Lovers and madmen have such seething brains, such shaping fantasies that apprehend more than cool reason ever comprehends.” Lovers see the world in a way which everyday people cannot comprehend. The idea of love leads to them making irrational choices which may seem
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.
As in the case of Demetrius, infatuation causes Helena to be selfish, thinking only of her own relationship betterment with Demetrius, thus Helena betrays Hermia and Lysander?s secret in the hopes that Demetrius will be grateful to her and that she could meet him. Helena, too, is infatuated with Demetrius, who ?dotes, devoutly dotes, dotes in idolatry? on Demetrius. The repetition of the word ?dotes? emphasizes on the extent of Helena?s besotted state. Helena fails to consider Hermia and Lysander?s feelings and the consequences of her actions, only contemplating on how to have Demetrius? ?sight thither and back again?.
In act five, scene one, Theseus gives a speech to Hippolyta regarding the foolish dreams Helena, Lysander, Demetrius, and Hermia just had. Before this, Helena, Lysander, Demetrius and Hermia all wake up cloudy and confused about being anointed by the flower and falling in love with the wrong person. Lysander and Hermia recount their plan of escaping and the forest as well as Helena who chose to follow them into the forest. Egeus refuses to allow Lysander’s love for Hermia, but Theseus rules against Egeus allowing Lysander and Hermia and Demetrius and Helena to marry. Before the wedding Theseus talks to Hippolyta about the confusing stories of these dazed lovers. Theseus believes these people have overactive imaginations and dismisses what they say as foolish.
The Theme of Love in A Midsummer Night’s Dream by William Shakespeare In the play ‘A Midsummer Night’s Dream’ many aspects of love are explored. In this essay I will be exploring how Shakespeare conveys the theme of love including illusion, confusion, escape, harmony and lust. Historically, it has been suggested that ‘A Midsummer Night’s Dream’ was written for a wedding, signifying the importance of love in this play, however there is no real evidence to prove this myth. Rather, the Lord Chamberlain’s men performed ‘A Midsummer Night’s Dream’ on the London stage.
“A Midsummer Night’s Dream” is a play based on a romantic love story. In this play, there are several types of love displayed between several of the main characters in the play. One of the most famous quotes from the play was by Lysander and it was “The course of true love never did run smooth” (Act 1, Scene 1). This meant that with any type of love, a person will experience its ups and downs, they will agree to disagree, but more importantly, love is unpredictable. Parenteral love, forced love, and true love are 3 types of love displayed/expressed in the play “A Midsummer Night’s Dream.”
William Shakespeare, an illustrious and eminent playwright from the Elizabethan Age (16th Century) and part owner of the Globe theatre wrote A Midsummer Night’s Dream in which he portrays the theme of love in many different ways. These include the paternal love seen in the troubled times for Egeus and his rebellious daughter Hermia, true Love displayed with the valiant acts of Lysander and Hermia and the destructive love present in the agonizing acts of Titania towards her desperate lover Oberon. Through the highs and lows of love, the first love we clasp is the paternal love from our family.
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
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.
Love plays a very significant role in this Shakespearian comedy, as it is the driving force of the play: Hermia and Lysander’s forbidden love and their choice to flee Athens is what sets the plot into motion. Love is also what drives many of the characters, and through readers’ perspectives, their actions may seem strange, even comical to us: from Helena pursuing Demetrius and risking her reputation, to fairy queen Titania falling in love with Bottom. However, all these things are done out of love. In conclusion, A Midsummer Night’s Dream displays the blindness of love and how it greatly contradicts with reason.
A Midsummer’s Night Dream, written by William Shakespeare, is a complicated love story that involves four teenagers. Hermia and Lysander are so in love; however, Hermia’s dad wants her to marry Demetrius. Helena is chasing after Demetrius, who treats her like a dog. The speaker is none other than the love-struck Helena. Her speech is not directed to anybody because Helena was alone, yet she still wants to make it clear how deeply in love she is with Demetrius. Shakespeare uses many literary devices to further explain and state that Helena loves Demetrius.
While true love is treasured when achieved, its rarity can be attributed to the multitude of obstacles lovers must face. Couples often have trouble expressing their love for one another or may face challenges within the marriages. Whether it be disagreements, affection of surroundings, friendships lost, or jealousy, the quest for true love has its consequences. This concept is expressed several times in A Midsummer’s Night Dream, in the cases of many of the lovers. However, it can be argued that although complications ensue, true love is worth a life of trouble.
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
When we first meet Hermia in the play called A Midsummer Night's Dream, written by William Shakespeare, she is a girl in love against her father's wishes. From the very start of the play we can see how much enamored she is with Lysander. We can also see that Hermia is a woman with her own desires, and does not liked to be forced to do things that she does not want. She does not want to marry the man that her father betrothed to her, even though it could mean her demise. Her choices of living in a nunnery and live the life of chastity was not an option for Hermia. She loved Lysander and all she wanted was to be with him.