Love In A Midsummer Night's Dream Essay
EXPLORE SHAKESPEARS PRESENTATION OF LOVE IN
“A MIDSUMMER NIGHTS DREAM”
The following essay will explore Shakespeare’s interpretation of love informing on language, characters and symbols Shakespeare uses to display the various themes linked to love. Discussing themes of control, jealousy, insanity, fickleness and the platonic love found within the characters of ‘A Midsummer Nights Dream’.
The theme of love is used throughout the play and portrayed in the reality of Athens by day and the dreamlike imagery of the woods by night. Shakespeare presents the woods as an alternative place to the real world, the insanity of the woods questions what love is for the characters involved. The woods become the magical playground for Puck, the mischievous fairy, invisible to the human eye, to manipulate the famous quote of Lysander “the course of true love never did run smooth” (i,i,134).
The play is set in …show more content…
The love juice becomes a vital influence for Oberon to discredit his wife and he constructs a plan with Puck to make her fall in love with an ass. Shakespeare uses the character of Oberon when he controls the love of Demetrius and unwittingly Lysander. Speaking now in blank verse to establish authority Oberon tells of the vile plan stating “Having once this juice I’ll watch Titania when she is asleep, And drop the liquor of it in her eyes:” (ii,i,176-178).
Shakespeare displays jealousy again at the beginning of the play with the love triangle of Helena, Demetrius and Hermia. When Demitrius’ declaration of love for Hermia leaves Helena feeling invaluable and insecure about herself, Shakespeare emphasizes Helena’s feeling of jealousy through the use of rhyming couplets an example of this can be found in act 1 where Helena states “Call you me fair? That ‘fair’ again unsay”. Demetrius loves your fair: O happy fair! Your eyes are lodestars, and your tongues sweet air
“A MIDSUMMER NIGHTS DREAM”
The following essay will explore Shakespeare’s interpretation of love informing on language, characters and symbols Shakespeare uses to display the various themes linked to love. Discussing themes of control, jealousy, insanity, fickleness and the platonic love found within the characters of ‘A Midsummer Nights Dream’.
The theme of love is used throughout the play and portrayed in the reality of Athens by day and the dreamlike imagery of the woods by night. Shakespeare presents the woods as an alternative place to the real world, the insanity of the woods questions what love is for the characters involved. The woods become the magical playground for Puck, the mischievous fairy, invisible to the human eye, to manipulate the famous quote of Lysander “the course of true love never did run smooth” (i,i,134).
The play is set in …show more content…
The love juice becomes a vital influence for Oberon to discredit his wife and he constructs a plan with Puck to make her fall in love with an ass. Shakespeare uses the character of Oberon when he controls the love of Demetrius and unwittingly Lysander. Speaking now in blank verse to establish authority Oberon tells of the vile plan stating “Having once this juice I’ll watch Titania when she is asleep, And drop the liquor of it in her eyes:” (ii,i,176-178).
Shakespeare displays jealousy again at the beginning of the play with the love triangle of Helena, Demetrius and Hermia. When Demitrius’ declaration of love for Hermia leaves Helena feeling invaluable and insecure about herself, Shakespeare emphasizes Helena’s feeling of jealousy through the use of rhyming couplets an example of this can be found in act 1 where Helena states “Call you me fair? That ‘fair’ again unsay”. Demetrius loves your fair: O happy fair! Your eyes are lodestars, and your tongues sweet air