Explore the Way ‘the Course of True Love Never Did Run Smooth’ in ‘a Midsummer Night's Dream’. Focus on the Obstacles the Lovers Face and How These Are Resolved and How the Lovers’ Quarrel in Act Three Scene Two

‘A Midsummer Night’s Dream’ features many aspects of love which connects the three worlds presented in the play; court, workers and fairies. This causes love to be an important theme in the play and it involves several of the characters. Shakespeare orchestrates a situation where love is complicated and this means that the lovers have to face many obstacles in the course of ‘A Midsummer Night’s Dream’. The main obstacles which they face are the conventions of marriage which are set out in the play, that the characters follow their heats and not their heads which leads to confusion and causes complications and the other main obstacle is the external magical forces which interfere with the lovers. The three worlds which Shakespeare presents us with is an important dramatic technique as it intertwines all of the characters’ lives.
Egeus is what was seen as a good father of the time in which it was written and the arranged betrothal seen in the play was not all that strange when put in comparison with other marriages in Elizabethan England. Egeus is controlling, forceful and dominant. An example of this is shown by his continuous use of possessive words such as ‘my’ and ‘mine’. At this time it was the norm for suitors to first ask the fathers permission before securing the daughters hand in marriage. As Demetrius first got Egeus’ favour, ‘This man hath my consent to marry her.’, he was the one whom Egeus wanted Hermia to marry, despite her being in love with Lysander. At the beginning of the play Egeus accused Lysander of turning Hermia’s obedience ‘which is due to me to stubborn harshness', he also accuses Lysander of ‘bewitching’ Hermia. Another rule of marriage which Egeus tries to enforce is that Hermia should marry whomever he chooses for her. Throughout Egeus’ speech he doesn’t talk to Hermia directly, instead he pleads his case to Theseus. A part of his speech where he applies his pleas to Theseus is when he says, more than once, ‘my gracious Duke’. The... [continues]

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