Examples Of Free Will In A Midsummer Night's Dream

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Every individual has their own free will, so the results of attempting to control someone’s actions are unpredictable. In the play A Midsummer Night’s Dream by William Shakespeare, control is a main theme. Hermia, Helena, Demetrius, and Lysander, four young Athenian lovers, are attempting to control each other. Egeus, an Athens citizen, attempts to control the love life of his young daughter, Hermia. Unknowingly, everyone is being controlled by Oberon, the king in the fairy world. Primarily, Shakespeare makes the case that it is not possible to control another person’s actions because people have their own free will, and the results are unpredictable. It is not possible to control others because they have their own free will. Egeus wants his daughter, Hermia, to marry Demetrius, but Hermia is reluctant to because she is in love with Lysander. Lysander urges Hermia to run away into the forest, saying, “If thou lovest me then, / Steal forth thy father’s house tomorrow night. / And in the …show more content…

With the love spell, Puck is in control of the four Athenians. Puck gleefully tells Oberon that he is in control of the lovers, saying, “Helena is here at hand, / And the youth, mistook by me, / Pleading for a lover’s fee. / Shall we their fond pageant see? / Lord, what fools these mortals be!” (3.2.113-117). After Puck made the mistake, Oberon puts the potion on Demetrius. Demetrius wakes up, and under the effects of the spell, loves Helena, saying, “O Helena, goddess, nymph, perfect, divine! / To what, my love, shall I compare thine eyne” (3.2. 139-141), showing his love for her. Helena has always wanted Demetrius to love her, and now he does. However, Puck is using magic to control others. There is no magic in the real world, so it is not possible to control others. Although Puck is in control of the young Athenians, he is using magic to control them, which is not present in the real

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