Analysis of “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” Understanding of love and true devotion is one of the most prevalent themes, if not the theme, in literature since the beginning of time. William Shakespeare often wrote of the implications of love and how truly foolish it can be. This is made most apparent in his work, “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” in which love is cast about from person to person by the power of a flower’s juice in the eyes of its victim. The scene in which both pairs of lovers reunite after having the love spell cast on them by Puck is one of the best displays of the transient and seemingly foolish nature of love through the use of clever syntax, diction, and vivid imagery for which Shakespeare is known. In Scene II of Act III, Lysander …show more content…
Shakespeare well utilizes the ambiguous meaning of words in his texts, this one included. Shakespeare shows the power associated with size and gives merit to Hermia’s concern, although ill founded. Hermia questions if Helena has “grown so high in [Lysander’s] esteem” as to forget their love entirely. The double meaning of growth is hidden within their banter, but also shows the importance that size really did have in how people were viewed in the era. Femininity was important, but power was also valued. That is something that one who deems themselves “dwarfish” cannot attain. The author proceeds to show “growth” of hatred and love throughout the passage such as how Lysander has “grown so rude”, yet also employs several instances of animal imagery. Lysander pits vitriol at Hermia, “Hang off, thou cat, thou burr! Vile thing, let loose, Or I will shake thee from me like a serpent!” The animal imagery distances Lysander from his recently loved enemy, Hermia, making her less and less in his eyes to the point that her love to him is like poison, urging “Thy love! Out, tawny Tartar, out! Out, loathed medicine! Hated potion, hence”. The animal imagery extends to the sisterly love Hermia and Helena once shared, “Both warbling of one song, both in one key” like that of song birds as that is how they find mates and as common warblers, life partners. Diction is used in the rhyme that prevails the piece when the lovers talk. The rhyme functions to keep the play light-hearted and interesting to the audience. Rhyme, however, is sacrificed in select portions to emphasize a point. Helena speaks in prose when she proclaims how close Hermia and herself once were, potentially showing how the loss thereof has caused the joy to also leave her life. Lysander speaks in prose for one line in the beginning of the interaction when he wishes to implore, “Demetrius loves [Hermia], and he
When love is in attendance it brings care, faith, affection and intimacy. This is proved true in the spectacular play A Midsummer Night's Dream written by William Shakespeare. This play displays the facts about lust, hatred, jealousy and their roles in something powerfully desirable. It is entitled love. Love is present everywhere, in every form, in every condition and even when one least expects it.
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
In A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Shakespeare makes heavy use of hyperbole, the twisting of reality into something greater than what it actually is, in both the dialogue and the ridiculous, larger-than-life nature of the situations that occur to provide a basis for the conflict between reality and illusion, blurring the line that separates the two concepts.
To begin, Hermia and Lysander were both madly in love with each other in Midnights Summer Dream however their fairytale love did have its issues. When two people love each other, people often ask, why get in their way? The answer is simple because either you don’t realize what they are feeling and think you know better, or you are unaware of the situation. The first is the case with Hermia and Lysander. Hermia had several problems to solve in order to be with her beloved Lysander. In the beginning, her father disapproved of the love and thought Hermia should marry Demetrius – a man of equal standing and looks as Lysander. In Act 1, Scene 1, in between lines170-180, Hermia says, “…I swear to thee by Cupid’s strongest bow… In that same place thou hast appointed me, Tomorrow truly I will meet with thee.” Here she is saying that she agrees to run away with Lysander. After she solved that issue by deciding to run away, Lysander somehow fell in love with Helena. Little to Hermia’s knowledge Lysander was under a potions control that made him fall madly in love with Helena. Hermia didn’t let this stand in her way though, she persisted on Lysander that sh...
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.
...lemma of romance, and while the play engages several different romantic elements, it does not represent a genuine love chronicle. A Midsummer Night's Dream separates the spectators from the sentiments of the proponents with the purpose of triggering amusement at the troubles and difficulties experienced by people in love. The analysis of the relevance of the plot, characters and theme in the play in today’s world will offer a deeper understanding of the play structure and the author’s intention. All the three authors expressed a common understanding: Shakespeare was ahead of his time in terms of style, approach and content. Even during the Elizabethan era, he was able to write and successfully produced a play that contained seamless dance, music and costumes, it was a century after his death that most of the styles were fully understood and successfully implemented.
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..
Shakespeare creates a situation in which two pairs of young lovers, Lysander and Hermia, are forced to elope from the oppressive authority of their Elders, here we see Lysander asking Hermia to flee to the woods, “there gentle Hermia may I marry thee; and to that place the sharp Athenian law cannot pursue us” Freedom is not permitted in Athens, therefore the two lovers plan to escape into the woods. Hermia has two options given from her oppressive father, ‘either to die the death, or to abjure for ever in society of men’. She disobeys his commands. Shakespeare uses images to reflect Athens, and to magnify and to solidify Lysander and Hermia’s love for each other, which is strong and cannot be broken, without the use of magic. ‘Withering on a virgin thorn, grows, lives, and dies in single blessedness’.
“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.
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...
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.
Love is superficial. In "A Midsummer Night's Dream" multiple love triangles exist that switch between the plots. Historical and gender roles are a key point in this play. One key point explains the troublesome choices one can go through while in love. While another key point directed toward on cultural norms and perception of love. In the Ancient world of Athens males dominated their culture ultimately deciding the lives of many woman and men.
In the play “Romeo and Juliet”, Shakespeare shows that love has power to control one’s actions, feelings, and the relationship itself through the bond between a destined couple. The passion between the pair grew strong enough to have the capability to do these mighty things. The predestined newlyweds are brought down a rocky road of obstacles learning love’s strength and the meaning of love.