Preview

Love In A Midsummer Night's Dream

Good Essays
Open Document
Open Document
456 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Love In A Midsummer Night's Dream
Love, especially young love, is blind. It can lead us into the unknown or impair our thinking, but sometimes the stars align and everything works out to a joyous ending. In A Midsummer’s Night’s Dream, a comedy by Shakespeare, we follow two lovers who are well suited for each other because of their personality and attitude towards love. Dear Lysander and Hermia have at least a touch of this celestial magic with their undeniably good finale. Hermia and Lysander, two lovers ideal, satisfy the dream of love that is real. In explaining why he is more suitable than rival Demetrius, enamored Lysander puts up this fuss, I am, my lord, as well derived as he, As well possessed. My love is more than his; My fortunes every way fairly ranked (If not with vantage) as Demetrius’; And (which is more than all these boasts can be) I am beloved of beauteous Hermia.”(Shakespeare 1.1.101-6)
Lysander more eligible a suitor than Demetrius, not just because of his wealth or heritage, but because of his personality. His relatively gentle and sensitive
…show more content…
Upon waking, Demetrius explains Hermia and Lysander’s plan to run away to Athens and declares his love for Helena. Eegus is outraged and threatens to punish Hermia, but the Duke Theseus overrides his wishes and allows each of the four lovers to marry who they wish (Shakespeare 4.1.144-93). In Lysander acting so boldly in front of Theseus the Duke by explaining his and Hermia’s plan to run away, he illustrates how strongly he feels for her. A lesser man would surely lie and accept Helena. As for Helena, she is taking a big risk in attempting to run away, and is lucky that the Duke is so understanding; he could be brutal and have her head cut off. Both of these actions are hazards to each other, but they are well thought out and planned for the sake of true love, not foolish gambles recklessly taken by one who is crazed by magic-induced

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Satisfactory Essays

    As Theseus, the Duke of Athens, and Hippolyta prepare for their wedding, Egeus, a nobleman of the town, comes before them to seek assistance with his disobedient daughter, Hermia. Egeus wants her to marry Demetrius, but she wants to marry Lysander. According to the law of Athens, she must marry the man her father chooses or die. Theseus acknowledges that Egeus has the law on his side, but offers Hermia the alternate choice of becoming a nun. Lysander and Hermia decide to run away so that they can be married. Before they leave, they see Helena, Hermia’s best friend, and tell her of their plans. Helena is in…

    • 109 Words
    • 1 Page
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    To conclude, these circumstances add to the controversial marriages throughout the story, A Midsummer Night’s Dream. However, those forces negatively overcame mutual desire as in the case of the war-made couple Hippolyta, and Theseus, the couple who fell in love due to a potion Helena, and Demetrius, and a couple with true love but ridden with obstacles Hermia, and Lysander. Overall, Shakespeare has negatively impacted the book by allowing external forces to affect the marriage, and dictate the…

    • 829 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    As Puck follows through with his orders he mistakes Lysander for Demetrius and rubs the flower on Lysander’s eyes instead of Demetrius. Because of this Lysander falls deeply in love with Helena, Hermia’s friend. After this incident a lot of confusion between the characters arise and Hermia tries to find out why Lysander has lost his love for her. In the midst of her confusion Lysander begins acting aggressively towards Hermia. During this aggression Lysander announces to Hermia “Ay, by my life; and never did desire to see thee more. Therefore be out of hope, of question, of doubt; be certain, nothing truer; ‘tis no jest that I do hate thee and love Helena.”(3.2.287-291). In other words, Lysander is telling Hermia that truly hates her and only loves Helena. This insult was included in this play to display the current standing of Hermia and Lysander’s relationship. The insult shows how Puck’s small mistake has affected the lives of Hermia, Lysander, Demetrius and…

    • 397 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Hermia is supposed to marry Demetrius, but she is in love with Lysander. If she does not marry to her father’s consent, she can become a nun or get killed. This shows how twisted the law was…

    • 341 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    This play is very confusing there is a lot of things going on at once. Love is a very important part in the play, because it happens with a lot of people. In the play Shakespeare is saying that the man doesn't always have to be a leader in a relationship. For example Helena came to Demetrius telling him about her love for him. Another example is when Hermia's father gave her 3 options marry Demetrius, become a nun or die. For her sake of love she chose to run away with her love Lysander, her true love…

    • 410 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    Honour, loyalty, and vows are all associated with duty but they are also associated with love In, “A Midsummer Night’s Dream”, by william Shakespeare, one of the prominent themes is, that love after the initial attraction, is only a duty due to the obligations of relationships. This kind relationship can be seen between Demetrius and Helena, between Oberon and a Titania and between Egeus and Helena.…

    • 174 Words
    • 1 Page
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    In A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Shakespeare is telling the readers that, love needs no reason to exist; it defies logic and ignores all circumstances. This compelling message is very thoroughly communicated with the connection of the fantasy world and reality. The connection occurs in a forest, where each character of significance is, at one point, present. Here, the characters experience unforeseen events, as a result of the debatable use of magic, from those in power. However, despite the extreme unusualness and complications, the characters challenge the circumstances, and persist in loving the one they feel closest to. In this play, this situation is best represented by three significant relationships. The first exists between a lover and her hater, the next involves a young and rebellious couple, and the last concerns an ill-fated mechanical and the queen of the fairies.…

    • 491 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    In the play, Demetrius shows love and attention to Helena, the woman he rejects, and Lysander leaves and forgets about his beloved Hermia. This is the impact of the magic juice. Lysander and Demetrius even become reckless to fight for Helena’s love, “Now follow, if dar’st, to try whose right, /Of thine or mine, is most in Helena. /‘Follow’? Nay, I’ll go with thee, cheek by jowl.”(3.2.356-368), this quote also tells us that both Lysander and Demetrius are ready to kill each other in return for Helena’s…

    • 950 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    "A Midsummer Night's Dream" by William Shakespeare frequently explores the complex types of love. Love is timeless subject. It will forever be the theme of much popular entertainment and the source of conflict for many men and women. No one understands the theme of love greater than Shakespeare and therefore I will look at how conflict is developed through love in "Midsummer Night's Dream"…

    • 556 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Love and Midsummer Night

    • 765 Words
    • 4 Pages

    In A Midsummer Night's Dream the challenges to romantic love are when Hermia goes against her father’s orders to marry Demetrius the man that she doesn’t want to marry.…

    • 765 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Midsummer Nights Dream

    • 776 Words
    • 4 Pages

    At the Start of a Midsummer Night’s Dream the relationships between the lovers, Hermia, Helena, Lysander and Demetrius are very confusing. Hermia is being forced by her father, Egeus, to marry Demetrius which she doesn’t love but he loves her. Hermia loves Lysander and he loves her. Helena loves Demetrius In Act 3 scene 2 and nobody loves Helena. The relationships between the lovers change because Puck puts a love potion first, on Lysander’s eyes and then on Demetrius’s eyes so that the first person they saw when they woke up, they loved. So now both Demetrius and Lysander love Helena. Helena still loves Demetrius and, Hermia still loves Lysander. But now nobody loves Hermia.…

    • 776 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Hermia and Lysander are a young Athenian couple who are very much in love, and their struggles show us that true love can survive even through hard times if lovers are determined and fight against all odds to be together. Hermia’s father, Egeus, demanded that Hermia marry Demetrius instead of Lysander. Hermia refused, saying “O hell, to choose love by another’s eyes!” (1.1.140). She is determined to be patient and marry Lysander no matter what it takes, saying “Then let us teach our trial patience . . .” (1.1.152). Since Egeus would not change his mind, Lysander and Hermia agreed to run away together and get married. Lysander told Hermia, “If thou lovest me then,/Steal forth thy father’s house tomorrow night” (1.1.163-164). They met in…

    • 257 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    As Lysander says, "The course of true love never did run smooth." Love in A Midsummer Night's Dream is portrayed as complicated and difficult, yet Shakespeare does it in a way that is humorous and lighthearted. In this play love often brings out the worst in people, yet in the end it's what brings everyone back together. Love has the ability to spellbind people as Shakespeare represents symbolically through Puck's actions, and we see how intensely complicated it can be when it nearly tears apart Hermia's family and causes argument between the four main human characters. The four types of love, forced love, parental love, romantic love and complicated love permeate all aspects of life in this play and we see the awesome power it has over human emotion, psychology, and behavior.…

    • 863 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    LYSANDER, in love with Hermia: Lysander’s relationship with Hermia shows the theme of the difficulty of love. For example, he cannot marry her openly because Egeus, her father, wishes her to wed Demetrius, and when Lysander and Hermia run away into the forest, Lysander becomes the victim of misapplied magic and wakes up in love with Helena.…

    • 1667 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Also, Hermia knew how she should behave before they got married. She is virtuous. When Lysander asked if he can lie beside her, Hermia refused him directly. Hermia’s protecting her…

    • 557 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays

Related Topics