Literary Devices In A Midsummer Night's Dream

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. In Helena’s self-pitying speech, Shakespeare uses syntax. In this example, he puts the object before the subject and verb, helps to put emphasis on the words quantity and dignity: “Things base and vile, holding no quantity, love can transpose to form and dignity” (238-239). Also, it helps to create suspense since

For instance, when Helena says “as waggish boys in the game themselves forswear, so the boy Love is perjured everywhere,” Helena is trying to say that the only reason Demetrius wants Hermia is because boys want any girl who will give them attention (246-247). Helena is competing for the love of Demetrius. Rhyming couplets also make the piece flow smoothly. Shakespeare chose a rhyming couplet in this specific part of the speech because it significantly portrays Helena’s devotions to Demetrius. Shakespeare also incorporates illusion as a tool to make the reader connect the two love stories without having to explain the moral of Cupid. When he says that “love looks not with the eyes but with the mind; and therefore is the winged Cupid painted blind,” he is trying to say that love is more than just looks, but the connection between two people (240-241). Cupid is the universal symbol of love which leads the readers to understand the meaning of the speech; Helena has so much affection for