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Love in a midsummer night's dream
Dramatic personae of A midsummer night's dream
Shakespeare's views of male and female relationships
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Sitting on a porch swing with one's true love hugging and kissing as the moon smiles down upon them, seems like the perfect situation for true love. Unfortunately, nothing could be further from the truth. Shakespeare presents the truth about true love in his comical tragedy A Midsummer Night's Dream. Lysander clearly stated loves situation when he told Hermia "the course of true love never did run smooth" (Griffiths 94). "In some ways Lysander's declaration becomes the play's structural and thematic point" by which Shakespeare uses to explore the storms of love (Bloom 12). In A Midsummer Night's Dream, Shakespeare uses young lovers to depict how "love masters young people" and pushes them to extreme measures (Comtois 20). The explanation Shakespeare gives for people doing nearly anything for love is that "reason and love keep little company together nowadays" (Griffiths 149). Shakespeare does not label love as a failure, he simply states that it is hard to come by and even harder to preserve. William Shakespear was born in Stratford-upon-Avon on April 23, 1964 (Bloom 7). He was the third child of John and Mary (Arden) Shakespeare (Bloom 7). At eighteen, he married Anne Hathaway and they had three children, Susan and twins Hamnet and Judith (Bloom 8). In 1592, he became a recognized actor and wrote his first play, Henry VI, Part one (Bloom 7). The success of the play impelled him to write the second and third parts (Bloom 7). In 1594, he acted in a comedy before Queen Elizabeth and many more royal performances followed (Bloom 8). In 1596, Hamnet died, that same year Shakespeare bought a home, New Place, in the center of Stratford (Bloom 8). Shakespeare began the Lord Chamberlain's Company and they performed in the G... ... middle of paper ... ...Lovers in A Midsummer Night's Dream." Essays in Literature 12.1 (1985): 12-25. Dent, R.W. "Imagination in A Midsummer Night's Dream." A Midsummer Night's Dream: Critical Essays. Ed. Dorothea Kehler. New York: Garland, 1998. 85-106. Garner, Shirley Nelson. "A Midsummer Night's Dream: `Jack shall have Jill;/ Nought shall go ill'." New Casebooks: A Midsummer Night's Dream. Ed. Richard Dutton. New York: St. Martin's Press, 1996. Girard, Rene. "Myth and Ritual in Shakespeare: A Midsummer Night's Dream." Modern Critical Interpretations: William Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream. Ed. Harold Bloom. New York: Chelsea House, 1987. 15-36. Griffiths, Trevor R. Shakespeare in Production: A Midsummer Night's Dream. New York: Cambridge UP, 1996. Young, David P. Something of Great Constancy: The Art of A Midsummer Night's Dream. London: Yale UP, 1966.
William Shakespeare, an English actor and play write, was born in Stratford upon Avon on April 23, 1564. When he was 18 he married Anne Hathaway, a Stratford woman, who was 26 years old. Shakespeare and Hathaway had three children. The first was Susanna and the twins were Hamnet and Judith. Another of Shakespeare's great works of art, Hamnet, was named after Hamnet. Juliet, in Shakespeare's famous play Romeo and Juliet, was named after Judith. Shakespeare died on April 23, 1601. There are many events that contributed to Romeo and Juliet's deaths. These events are either fate or coincidence.
A Midsummer Night's Dream is one of Shakespeare's most widely read comedies about love. This seems somewhat strange, however, in light of the fact that so few of its characters seem to display any kind of full or true love. A close examination of the actions and words of each of the players will reveal that only one of them, by the end of Act V, should be considered a "lover".
Throughout A Midsummer’s Night Dream Shakespeare argues that the notion that is perceived as love is often not love at all and it’s rather selfishness or an obsession. Indeed true love appears in this play as a guest, as a character even, it is rather fleeting and dream-like. It was never meant to stay, even when by the end everything appears to be happy and arranged in order.
As exhibited many times throughout this wonderful piece of writing that Shakespeare has given to us, love is a mysterious thing. Love can be either for the better, or the worse. Love should be the choice of you, yourself, and not forced upon you by others. As the famous quote “Love is not for the faint of heart.” states, love is not an easy thing. Love is very unpredictable and love is not for everyone. You must undergo heartache, failure and rejection in order to succeed with love. This quote is very prevalent in A Midsummer Night’s Dream.
In A Midsummer Night's Dream, one of the masterpieces of William Shakespeare, Shakespeare explores various aspects of love and friendship. With the help of the main characters such as Lysander, Demetrious Helena and Hermia, he endeavors that the path of love is full of obstacles, however, if one is committed and faithful, he/she can defy those obstacles leading him/her to success. As Lysander says “The course of true love never did run smooth”, the love stories presented in the play undergo difficult situations but eventually the genuine love is recognized by the triumph of the true loves.
The Theme of Love in A Midsummer Night’s Dream by William Shakespeare In the play ‘A Midsummer Night’s Dream’ many aspects of love are explored. In this essay I will be exploring how Shakespeare conveys the theme of love including illusion, confusion, escape, harmony and lust. Historically, it has been suggested that ‘A Midsummer Night’s Dream’ was written for a wedding, signifying the importance of love in this play, however there is no real evidence to prove this myth. Rather, the Lord Chamberlain’s men performed ‘A Midsummer Night’s Dream’ on the London stage.
Finding a true love is something most people search for their entire lives. Best said by Nicholas Sparks, “How far should a person go in the name of true love?” This reoccurring theme can be seen throughout William Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream, a comedy about the triumphs of young foolish lovers and the forces that act against them. Two main characters, Hermia and Lysander, face many obstacles in their journey of love. Overall, Shakespeare uses the quote; “Could ever hear by tale or history, the course of true love never did run smooth” (I, i, 136-137), to foreshadow the entities Hermia and Lysander have to fight in order to be together.
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.
In A Midsummer Night’s Dream by Shakespeare, there are many incidents with true love, fake love, jealousy etc. But any of these can lead to true love. “The course of true love never did run smooth” (1. 1. 134.) is what Lysander, Hermia’s lover, said about love. Helena, Hermia, Demetrius, Lysander, Oberon, Bottom, Titania, and Robin all get mixed up with different types of love. Even though they end up in true love at the end, the course of true love did not run smooth.
A Midsummer Night’s Dream by William Shakespeare explores different versions of love. Theseus and Hippolyta are to be married as a result of her defeat in war, causing their love to be forced. Demetrius and Helena’s love is unrequited because he does not initially love her back. Titania and Oberon’s love is struggling because they often disagree. Titania and Bottom’s love is strictly physical and only exists because of the effects of Cupid’s potion. Because of these reasons, Lysander and Hermia are the only example of true love.
While true love is treasured when achieved, its rarity can be attributed to the multitude of obstacles lovers must face. Couples often have trouble expressing their love for one another or may face challenges within the marriages. Whether it be disagreements, affection of surroundings, friendships lost, or jealousy, the quest for true love has its consequences. This concept is expressed several times in A Midsummer’s Night Dream, in the cases of many of the lovers. However, it can be argued that although complications ensue, true love is worth a life of trouble.
In A Midsummer Nights’ Dream by William Shakespeare, the bonds of love are overpowered by interference, illustrating that true love is not invincible. Genuine and everlasting love appears as the goal in the play, but the only relationships present don’t ever attain it. This highlights the inability for any of the characters to have “in-conquerable” love. Manufactured love unseated the relationships of the many lovers, causing distress and eventually ending the relationships. At the beginning of the play, Lysander and Hermia were deeply in love with one another. After Bottom’s spell was cast, however, Lysander began to love another, Helena. His artificial love overpowers that of former Hermia’s,
Unfortunately, the fragile aspects of love make it a very difficult emotion at times. Shakespeare saw this quality in love and used A Midsummer Night’s Dream to employ this flaw. Shakespeare was able to create a fantasy in which he described what situations and ideas cause love to be so problematic. Shakespeare used competition, comedy and irony to make this theme clear to the audience. He was able to caution his audience to avoid these situations in their own love lives.
In William Shakespeare’s play A Midsummer Night’s Dream, he strides to portray the tides of love! But even for Shakespeare, It’s quite hard to grasp the understanding of love, for there is always arising complications, that get in the way of lustful love; Throughout the play, Shakespeare, undermines the notion that true love ever existed.
A common theme in literature is love. Love can take hold in an instant and can make you do things you never would have done otherwise. Love appears in several different ways in Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream. Hermia and Lysander show true love, while Helena demonstrates unrequited love. Titania and Bottom presents us with magic love. In the play, love is also the cause of a few broken hearts. While there is no one common definition of love that suits all of the characters, the romantic relationship in the play all leans to one simple rule laid out by Lysander, “The course of true love never did run smooth.”