Wait a second!
More handpicked essays just for you.
More handpicked essays just for you.
Literary Analysis of a Midsummer Night Dream
The contrast in a midsummer night dream
The contrast in a midsummer night dream
Don’t take our word for it - see why 10 million students trust us with their essay needs.
Recommended: Literary Analysis of a Midsummer Night Dream
A Midsummer Night’s Dream The famous Shakespeare is well known for his plays. Each one of them with a specific message, hiding between the text. A Midsummer Night’s Dream was written by Shakespeare. It is a book that is lighthearted in nature and consists of darker themes. The characters all go into the woods to get away from responsibility. In the woods, the meet unexpected visitors and try to sort out their problems. The plot and setting helps advance the book’s theme. In the book, the message the book conveys is that a person must make sacrifices in order to achieve their goals. Helena is a big offender; she tells Demetrius about Hermia running away with Lysander .“Steal forth thy father’s house tomorrow night.
And in the wood, a league without the town.” (1.1.164-65). Helena is willing to harm her friendship with Hermia so that she may get Demetrius. And when Demetrius rejects her affection, Helena does not give up. Another
…show more content…
In contrast, Shakespeare uses his setting wisely. The town represents rules and responsibility, qualities that adults have. The forest represents magic and mystery. Running into the woods is the first choice of Hermia and Lysander. No one heads into the forest, especially at night. It helps the tone of the scene during soliloquies. The characters head into the forest and their goals and relationships are torn apart. The scene of Hermia and Lysander sleeping is contrasted by Helena sadness. The quiet and lonely forest enhances Helena’s rejection. Also, the fog during the fight scene of Lysander and Demetrius helps add a sense of uncertainty. As they shout into the fog, it gives off a sense of futileness. In the morning, the sun signifies a new start. The main characters fix all of their problems and head back home. They head back to the town with all their goals completed. After the get married, they are now more mature than
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...
In Shakespeare’s Midsummer’s Night Dream he entices the reader using character development, imagery, and symbolism. These tools help make it a wonderful play for teens, teaching them what a well-written comedy looks like. As well as taking them into a story they won’t soon forget.
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.
A Midsummer Night's Dream is a festive comedy. The play takes place in June and this is a bewitched time. In the spring the custom is to celebrate the return of fertility to the earth. During this time the young people spend the night in the woods to celebrate. Shakespeare uses the greenworld pattern in this play. The play begins in the city, moves out to the country and then back to the city. Being in the country makes things better because there is tranquility, freedom and people can become uncivilized versus when they are in the city and have to follow customs and laws and behave rationally.
Everything is not what it seems in A Midsummer Night’s Dream, which is essentially how Shakespeare creates the plot, signifies the relationships between the characters, and accentuates various themes. The element of surprise and the play’s atmosphere of chicanery expressed through a multitude of metaphors leave the plot and relationships on uncertain terms. One metaphor, personifying the word serpent, relates to the theme of uncertainty and surprise and accentuates the vivid characters and their relationships.
Overall A Midsummer Night's dream shows us the interesting topic of “the wild”. The wilderness has a lot of key parts in the play which show us how it correlates with the clean and lawful court yard. Even though the woods was a great escape for the couples, they could not make it last, and by going back to the truth everything was satisfactory
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.
Then along come Helena and Demetrius to this spot. They are still arguing and Demetrius leaves her with the sleeping Lysander and Hermia. Helena notices them there and tries to wake Lysander. Lysander wakes and the first thing he sees is Helena. " And run through fire for thy sweat sake.
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
First, Shakespeare uses the motif of the seasons early on in the play to solidify the connection between love gone awry and chaos. The initial romantic conflict is established when Egeus brings his daughter, Hermia, to Theseus to try and force her into marrying Demetrius, the man of his choice. Hermia has no interest in Demetrius because she is madly in love with Lysander. Unfortunately for her, Theseus sides with Egeus and threatens to enforce Athenian law if she does not obey him. Obviously, this situation is awful for Hermia; she is being kept from her true love. Her options are dismal: she has the choice of disobeying Egeus, betraying Lysander, or living a lonely life as a nun. Either way, she loses. The situation seems completely hopeless. Shakespeare illustrates this hopelessness by connecting Hermia’s grim future with the winter. When Theseus describes Hermia’s potential future, he calls her a “withering” rose and a “barren sister,” destined to a life of “chanting faint hymns to the cold fruitless moon” (Shakespeare 1.1.75). Essentially, Hermia will be trapped in an endless winter. This unnatural seasonal change will become a reality if she becomes a nun and remains celibate. For a young woman who is passionately in love with a young man...
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...
Helena is madly in love with Demetrius and would give her life for just one kind word from him.
Burke, Kenneth. “Why A Midsummer Night's Dream?”. Shakespeare Quarterly 57. 3 (2006): 297-308. Web. 25 Apr 2014.
In closing, there are many similarities between A Midsummer Night’s Dream and Macbeth. Through these similarities, individuals can compare how Shakespeare uses love’s difficulties, magic and events that occur during day and night to help with the play’s plot. This allows individuals who wish to go deeper into Shakespeare’s work and format for play’s, the opportunity to do so.
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.