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. In response to Hermia’s defiance toward marrying Demetrius, Theseus offers Hermia three choices in the first scene: to obey her father’s will; to become a nun and forever stay an unwed virgin; to die.
And when finally finding true love they discover that they have fallen in love their own enemy. They both realize that the idea of love can be amazing, but also a painful experience. Shakespeare demonstrates love versus evil and the forms love takes that is acknowledged as an universal issue that connects different types of audiences. Audiences are captured by relating on love and the emotions that are displayed. From Romeo and Rosaline’s unrequited love, Paris and Juliet’s false love, and Romeo and Juliet’s ill-fated love, create the forms of love that establishes love as a leading theme in Act I.
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. First, Shakespeare uses the motif of the seasons early on in the play to solidify the connection between love gone awry and chaos.
From the start Romeo and Juliet’s love seemed to be an uphill battle that they would never win even with help. The relationship of Romeo and Juliet is a tragic love story of two star crossed lovers trying to find a way to love each other. The first point of tragedy is right in the prologue to act 1 where it states that Romeo and Juliet are already doomed, it is a catastrophe of unawareness “From forth the fatal loins of these two foes/A pair of star-crossed lovers take their life,” (prologue act 1.5-6). Before the story even begins, before the characters are even established its already stated that two “star-crossed lovers take their life,”. Star crossed lovers are two people who love each other are doomed, the stars which are believed to tell one’s fate are crossed so they do not align therefore are not ment to be lovers.
Their age and immaturity leads the protagonists to the misconception that their love is monumental and unique. A complex combination of circumstances, fate and the protagonists themselves, ultimately contribute to the most controversial question ever asked in one of Shakespeare’s most famous works. Romeo and Juliet’s love for one another is proclaimed throughout the play. Their love is contrasted against the rest of their community which is plagued by conflict between their parents. Shakespeare notes that the youth’s judgement is clouded by their immaturity.
The Disasters of Love Love: the most splendid, indescribable, intense euphoric feeling for someone or thing. Young love can cause one to act and think irrationally; as if love had a magical power over ones body and mind. In William Shakespeare’s tragic playwright, Romeo and Juliet, two lovers cross paths set out for them by fate; Although all odds are against them because of a bitter, ongoing family feud, Romeo and Juliet recklessly go against their parent’s will and risk it all for love. Love often results in poor decision-making. Throughout the story, Romeo and Juliet conduct themselves in such a manner that is considered reckless.
Throughout the play, there are several instances where someone risks their lives for love. Your life, pride, and something you once loved, all are inferior to getting your new love. In the play, the chaos of love makes for crazy entertainment. But just like in life, sometimes it leads to “happily ever
In the play, Shakespeare has messages, but one message that stands out is: Love is a crazy thing that can control ones mind and makes a person do things without thinking twice. This becomes evident through the actions of Romeo, Juliet, and Mercutio. Romeo’s point of view about love is that it can be very saddening and melancholy, but it also can be joyful, pleasant and exciting. Throughout the play, things that Romeo mentioned showed a lot about his opinion of love. “Love is a smoke made with fume of sigh/Being purged, a fire sparkling in lover’s eyes/Being vexed, a sea nourished with loving tears.”(I.i.197-199) This shows that Romeo was depressed in the beginning part of the play.
Inconstant Passion With Consequences Extreme passion results in irrational actions with horrifying consequences. The indecisive and fervent whims regarding love and the human heart are often selfish and fickle. For the victims of love, destruction is often inevitable. In William Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet, unrequited love forces both Romeo and Juliet to commit suicide, as neither one believes it is possible to continue life without the other. Both, through mere days of desperation, elation, deception, and grief, were ultimately cheated out of their lives by their love.
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. Works Cited Shakespeare, William.